Originally Posted by Jake
Originally Posted by Undecided
I put the ole bitch in the garage today and getting her taped off to grind off all of the non-skid.

After I'm done with that, I'll tackle the refinishing project. Here's what I'm dealing with:

Old scar repair. When the white was sprayed on it was just too transparent or just not built up enough.
[Linked Image]

Yellow side repair. This was gel coat that never fully kicked. It also happens to be the spot where I tagged the lowered tailgate of Jake's truck with the boat while trailering down at Columbia sailing club. Last time I tried to do anything with this spot, it just got tacky and sticky like I had just pulled off a decal there. I think the only way I'm going to fix that is with a big decal... Jake???

[Linked Image]

Then the gel coat flaking. Just need to sand it down I think so it stops then properly wet sand, compound and polish.

[Linked Image]

Boat is going up for sale this winter likely so I need to get her looking respectable at least.


Interesting...the white bow repair where it flaked off - that was gel coat with duratec (I did this part) but it looks like it's back too far and on shiny gelcoat. This is probably why it's flaking off....in my defense, I hadn't anticipated how transparent the duratec would make the gelcoat and I ended up having to put much more on and feather it back further than I intended to blend in the thickness...but now I know. Thanks for the pics.


My guess from the pic is the flaking started around the tang and then spread. When you have a break in the surface like that tang hole offers you give the elements a way in. Given that area flexes a lot it also helps loosen the bond of the new stuff. One thing to do in the future is take a razor knife and dig around the tang to clean it out and if any rust is present use some rust remover on the tang to clean it off. After the repair you can use a little 5200 to seal.

Another thing about spot repairs is when you blend them in and sand, the blend edge is very thin. This is another weakness of the surface that will degrade faster allowing the elements to get behind the repair.

Gel coats and paints have a minimum thickness required to be durable. I think Gel is around 15 mil. paint 4-5 mil.

Have Fun