Too far gone for Gellcoat restoration??

[Daystreamer]

I need some expert advise here, I have been reading the gelcoat restoration procedures outlined in various people's threads and am just about ready to try the 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200 grit, then aqua buff 1000 and 2000 with the windex, then Maguire's #3 Machine glaze, and finally finishing it off with the Maguire's wax. My question is; Before I go out and buy all this stuff, I need to know if the gelcoat is too far gone for it to work. In certain area's on the nose it looks like the sun fading has gone through the clear and in the white crazed areas has gone through the red color itself and sanding it won't do anything to bring it back. I really don't want to resort to paint. Located in Gainesville Florida, I would even be open to professional repair solutions, I see a few of you S&F members still do a limited amount of side work, thx, rob 352-281-3434

[Fish]

kinda hard to tell for me, but maybe someone like gelcoatjoe might be able to answer better.

I do know one thing, it depends a lot on how much gellcoat you have there. I bought an all red donzi in 1990 that had been sitting outside in a bank repo yard in ft. lauderdale for over 2 years. The sun turned the red deck almost white with just a hint of pink and it was all chalky. I figured I would have to paint it but gave wet sanding a try.

It took two weeks and a lot of elbo grease, but it came back incredibly and looked like it had a 1/4 inch of water on the red deck when I was done sanding, buffing and waxing. The thing is, donzi built it with a lot of gelcoat so it worked.

give it a shot, worst thing that can happen is that you end up having to paint it, and it will already be partially sanded. I would wait for a few more expreienced opinions though; there are some really knowledably folks on here that may know something else to try.

[Riverman]

give it a shot, worst thing that can happen is that you end up having to paint it, and it will already be partially sanded. I would wait for a few more expreienced opinions though; there are some really knowledably folks on here that may know something else to try.

Fish speaks the truth. And if you do have to paint, look at the bright side, you can paint the boat in any colour and design you want.

[pyro]

looks like it's sanded through the red gel into the gray overspray layers underneath it. Can't fix that without a paint job, but still might be able to be saved...

[Scream And Fly]

I would also say that a boat that has seen that much weather should be checked as far as its stingers, core, etc.

[Daystreamer]

It used to sit under a carport facing west, and the afternoon sun could hit the nose I was told. Only the nose looks like that.

[ghost28]

that looks like a repaired area on the bow where the blushing is bad...the rest of the boat would come back by using the sanding and polishing methord you outlined above...i would go get some supplies and start in that area and see...you may be suprised with the results....its either that or a complete paint job which i woud only do as a last resort....

[Daystreamer]

Thanks for the help, started wet sanding with 400 and sunlight soap on the afflicted areas and the inital results look very encouraging. looks like gelcoat restoration is the way to go, may leave a few small blotches on the very front but probably 97% of the hull will look new. Will post a few pictures when she's done.

I guess since 400 grit is as rough as I am goint to use I would want to do all the deeper cutting before moving on to finer grits?? How do you know when youv'e sanded enough and it is time to move up to the next grit?

yes this is my first attempt at this, sorry for the stupid questions.

[nauti-boy]

you'll know, make sure you use a block when sanding, and a squeege to see the difference in textures. the squeege is the key to wetsanding, after using 400 use 1000 evenly. after the 1000 grit you should already see some what of a shine, if you dont you didnt use enough 1000.buff with wool pad and medium grit compound, preferably something not too paste like. good luck!

[nauti-boy]

p.s.- it looks like you might need a paint job

[nauti-boy]

p.s.s.- gelcoat joe = gelcoat NO!!!

[Techno]

I would have suggested using the zano bros. stuff but you already scratched it up.

On the areas where sanding won't do a damn thing for, hopefully they are small, buy a vinyl sticker and stick them over it. Stripes graphics whatever.

I'm assuming your boat comes back 90+% and only small areas like in your 2nd picture are a problem.

[CoatingDr]

look at what was done to restore a sun damaged finish on a paint job on a Jeep in worse condition http://http://vivilon.com/recrepics.html

[99fxst99]

Sand an area in the worst damage. Run (flow) water over it. That is what it will look like if you clear it with Imron or another polyurethane enamel. See if this will bring it back. We saved a lot of faded metalflake 'streams and Checkmates like this.

[fishnchips]

Take Easy way