Painting over gelcoat - any one have regrets?

[Cheechako]

Paint is the go-to, due largely to cost. Good paint, done well is fine. Only use 2 part paint!

The one problem with paint is "stick to a similar color", if (when!) it gets scratched, the under color shows through. So if they are both similar white it wont show much. If you paint dark green over white you will have white scratches!

[team karst]

And little gel coat stress cracks will enlarge when painted. Zero cracks before the topcoat.

[gamayun]

Originally Posted by team karst

And little gel coat stress cracks will enlarge when painted. Zero cracks before the topcoat.

Ah, forgot to address this part, which was in the "sanding" phase. Areas with spider cracks were Dremeled down to good glass then epoxied and sanded. The reason for the cracks was also addressed such reinforcing around the traveler and other through fittings. Most of the spider cracks were along the cockpit benches, so no idea what caused them to form, but they've not returned. I'll try to find pictures. 8t turned out really well.

[scherzoja]

I'm with the gel coat crowd, it's not that hard. Both paint and gel coat require a lot of sanding. With paint, you sand before paint. With gel coat, you sand after spraying gel coat.

With gel coat, the prepped substrate does not have to be perfect because the thickness of the gel coat will fill in some of the imperfections. Pin holes larger than about 1/4 mm dia. need to be filled/sanded before spraying, but anything smaller than about 1/4 mm will fill in with gel coat.

When sanding gelcoat, the first two passes (60 grit and 80 grit) are the most arduous, but after that (120, 220, 320, 400, 600, 2000), that sanding is not very strenuous, just tedious. Once sanding is done, buff with electric polisher using 3M rubbing compound, Finesse II, then finish with carnauba wax (Mothers or Collinite No. 885 Fleetwax Paste Wax). The sanding with 60 grit can be (should be?) done with an orbital sander to break through the tacky layer (not wet sanding). I did not use wax in the gel coat, but did spray with PVA; however, there was always a very slightly tacky layer that I had to remove. That is what the 60 and 80 grit are for. Also, the 60/80 grits get rid of the orange peel texture.

Even with spraying gel coat, you have to Dremel out and fill in all spider cracks. Gel coat will not do that; they'll just show up again.

I sprayed gel coat on all smooth surfaces from gunwale up (including cockpit) and it turned out well. Fortunately, the topsides, although chalky and faded, sand out just fine, so I don't have to redo that gel coat, just wet sanding.

For color matching, I couldn't do it. I mixed up a batch of color that was similar to the original "off-white-on-the-brownish-side" and made a spreadsheet of the proportions so I can replicate that color for future matches.

Attached is a picture of the cabin sides.

Boat is a 1982 pearson with badly cracked/chalky/pinholy gelcoat on all horizontal surfaces.

[zachduckworth]

Thanks for all the advice.
Coincidentally the OP contacted me today and this topic came he. He said that he had it buffed before I bought it and the gel coat is getting pretty thin in a lot of places. I've noticed that on the hull in some spots. So, it seems that some kind of re-coating going to happen sooner than later. He suggested a run down to Ensenada to work on it, apparently painting can be done quite cheap there. I'd probably combine that with a mast pull, full re-rig, replacement of masthead, put in conduit so that the wires stopping banging inside the boom (ugh...) and a number of other things I'd like to do. Maybe this summer if I get the chance.

[mvweebles]

Originally Posted by zachduckworth

Thanks for all the advice.
Coincidentally the OP contacted me today and this topic came he. He said that he had it buffed before I bought it and the gel coat is getting pretty thin in a lot of places. I've noticed that on the hull in some spots. So, it seems that some kind of re-coating going to happen sooner than later. He suggested a run down to Ensenada to work on it, apparently painting can be done quite cheap there. I'd probably combine that with a mast pull, full re-rig, replacement of masthead, put in conduit so that the wires stopping banging inside the boom (ugh...) and a number of other things I'd like to do. Maybe this summer if I get the chance.

If you decide to go to Ensenada, i am just finishing having a complete paint job done and can relate my experience and opinion:

- La Costa Boatworks will do a very good job at a reasonable price.

- Baja Naval will do an excellent job at a price that's as close to SoCal rates as they think they can get away with.

- Niza Marine will do a positively awful job for a price between the two.

I started with Niza and have had all their work re-done by La Costa. Sags, poor fiberglass work, overspray, extreme delays which incur yard fees, did not bed deck hardware, etc.

BTW - I did some research on re-gelcoat vs paint. I talked to a couple longtime surveyors who had managed large boatyards in their past. They explained that gelcoat is best used in a mold where anaerobic chemical reaction cures. The result is a comparatively porous surface. While gelcoat can certainly be repaired, it's often done by stretching plastic film over the sprayed area while it cures. Paint is a much better product for re-coating an entire boat, at least that was my takeaway. I'd also note that at a few higher end boat builders such as Hatteras paint over gelcoat when new.


Attachment 270128

[Virginia Lee]

Originally Posted by gamayun

I struggled with this question for a long time on my 1988 boat. A year ago, I sanded, primed, and painted the deck with Alexseal (a near white color, "winter clouds" or something) and used coarse SoftSand for the non-skid. It turned out great. I only rolled (no tipping) because of an additive that makes the bubbles disappear. Just gotta watch for drips. I still have to do the topside, but that was painted from the factory, which has held up well but it's time. I just need to decide whether to stay with the same Navy color or go lighter.

We did topsides of our previously Awlgripped boats last year using Alexseal, roll and roll method (there are Youtubes). It isn't as smooth as a spray job but passes a 6' rule and looks fantastic at 12 feet. We scratched the boat last year and it repaired as advertised (which Awlgrip does not.) And -- she's flag blue, a very difficult color.

I am doing the white parts of the cabin top currently. Its more difficult, more "stuff" to paint around. I have orange peel, but put on three coats and am now sanding through the grits, then will buff.

The test portion looks great.

I recommend Alexseal, but it is a lot of work.

[Goodxcharly]

I’m pretty sure paint holds up better than gel coat when it comes to UV. Holds a shine longer. Paint might not be quite as durable when bumping up against hard objects.
Paint the same color as your gel coat and scratches won’t show up so easy.

My 2 bits.

[col50]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

As Geoff mentioned, a boat can definitely be re-gelcoated. But there are definitely far more people good at applying paint than good at spraying gelcoat. I wouldn't be afraid to buy a painted boat, but I'd absolutely need to know what it was painted with (so it could be cared for properly).

For the 2 part paints, some, like Awlgrip are considered non-repairable. But IIRC, some of them like Alexseal can be repaired and blended. I'm not sure about Imron.

Also consider that some boats are painted right from the factory. Like every Hatteras out there. They all left the factory painted, not with exposed gelcoat. If memory serves, Imron was their paint of choice for many years.

Interlux Perfection can also be repaired, sanded, buffed, and blended.

[Mickeyrouse]

I have painted our hull since 2009. And painted…and painted…and painted. And it may have been painted before we acquired the boat in ‘96. Gelcote doesn’t last forever, and neither does paint. I have used Interlux Perfection with a foam roller, and while I would say it gives pretty good results and is easy to touch up, I can’t say one way or the other how it compares to other paints. Surface preparation is all-important. And the hull has to be CLEAN. It is possible to get the surface too smooth, so professional re-finishers go over the hull lightly with grit a little heavier than the last sanding to provide anchor pattern for the paint to have something to really grip to. It can be done in the water- I have several times- but surface prep is easier and safer on the hard. After all, dropping a cheap Harbor Freight sander in the water is just as dangerous as dropping a Festool.

[bcboomer]

I'm faced with repainting the molded non-skid deck on our '86 O'Day. 90% of it looks good but some carelessness by "professionals" has stripped the paint off in a few spots.
I have no idea what paint was used and I don't want to sand off the molded pattern.
Do I need to strip off all of the old paint?
Suggestions would be appreciated.

[rpackard]

Use kiwigrip for the decks. Very easy and looks great. covers most imperfections.

[MJH]

Originally Posted by zachduckworth

Hi all,
I have a 1984 Islander Bahama 30 that has the original gel coat. Looking down the road a year or two I'd like to get the gel coat redone or else have it painted. I was wondering if there are any serious drawbacks of going to paint, as I sort of prefer the look and I can get my topside repainted fairly cheap in the water. I was wondering if anyone has any regrets from painting or if there are any serious considerations to be aware of (other the the $2500 for the painting...).

My boat is painted and it is one of the tradeoffs I made when I purchase it new-to-me. I don't like paint as there is no turning back. There are tons of products advertised for gelcoat care but relatively few for paint with the result being only to re-paint again. The cost to have your boat painted in two-part paint is very, very expensive. To do a good DIY job with two-part paint requires extraordinary measures problematic to the average open boat yard. I painted the mast in two-part paint and it failed. I have since read a number of stories of other DIY two-part failures. You must follow the manufacturer's directions to the letter and it still is a tricky paint to use.

I painted my deck three years ago and used single part Interlux Brightside, a one-part polyurethane. My thinking was that I would be walking all over it anyway and touchup would be easy...I'm satisfied.

My motto is think twice before trading gelcoat for paint.

[djdeakyne]

Any properly done spray job is a big project whether paint or gelcoat.


We resprayed our 45' catamaran. Just me and my wife, because we could not find someone experienced enough to do it for us. See http://www.sailtortuguita.com/2017/1...-vs-paint.html and following posts about the equipment and process.


It's going to be the same amount of time whether you paint or gel but either way, you're looking at months of work and you'll need a boatyard that will allow you to spray.


The freeboard is easy. It took roughly 1 week for each side of each hull. 2 days to prep, 1 day to spray, 4 days to sand. Then there is the reinstall rub rails and thru- hulls, spray boot stripe, etc.



If you are doing the topsides and cockpit, add a few more months due to the tedious detail sanding.


Cost? Awlcraft is $1000/gal catalyzed. $1000 will get you 10 gallons of ISO/NPG Gelcoat including Duratec 904-001 Additive. I used 3-4 gallons of gelcoat per side which would have probably taken a gallon of Awlcraft.



Would I do it again? Sides, absolutely. Deck, probably.

[sailcrazy]

We had the deckcap on our1989 Monohull painted back in 2012....the gelcoat was looking pretty tired, and I wanted non-skid as part of the deckcap. It worked, the job was excellent. The painters told me that the paint will need to be redone in 10-12 years....well, that 10-12 years is now. The deckcap, where in merges with the coachroof sides,is discolored. The prof crew we hired to clean and wax the boat did just that. But in 3 or 4 places, it looks like they either used to much pressure or to much buffing wheel speed on their buffer because the pant there is now gone, or so thin you can see thru it. Once you paint it, just know you need to repaint at some point.