Association Forum - Refurbishing the Hull (Gelcoat Application)

Assn Members Area · Join

Home.

Association Forum

Ships Store

Cruising

Racing

Technical Tips

Photo Gallery - New

Boat Search - Updated

Manuals & Brochures

Swap Meet

Links

Officer Flag Line & Staff

Bylaws & Constitution

Members Area

Join the Association

Notice:
The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.

Association Forum

Username:	Password:
Save Password
Forgot your Password?

All Forums

Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Catalina 25 Specific Forum

Refurbishing the Hull (Gelcoat Application)

New Topic

Topic Locked

Printer Friendly

Author

Topic

Thee and Me
Deckhand

Member Avatar

18 Posts

Initially Posted - 07/07/2010 : 22:09:21

I am embarking on a project to "restore the gloss" , to borrow a phrase from Don Casey. I've repaired all of the blemishes, plan to follow Don Casey's recommendations for cleaning the compounding the hull surface above the water line (bottom and boot stripe are painted.

My question is, does anyone have any experience with spraying the hull sides with gelcoat? Don Casey refers to the fact that gelcoat can be thinned and sprayed. If this is possible, I think it would really spruce up the appearance, and make the hull texture more consistent than it is now.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Best regards,

JT

Edited by - on

OJ
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 07/08/2010 : 03:57:42

Dan should be chiming in here in the near future.

http://www.catalina-capri-25s.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=21108

I admire your ambition to redo the hull using gel coat. It's not always easy, but please share some pix of your project.

Edited by - on

OJ
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 07/10/2010 : 19:39:51

Well, until Dan responds you might talk with the people at Mini-Craft:

http://www.minicraft.com/

Edited by - on

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Djibouti
9080 Posts

Response Posted - 07/11/2010 : 08:44:27

Is your hull white? If so, I'd put in some time compounding (not "heavy-duty") and polishing at least an area before taking on the gelcoat project. Colors can be trickier to restore, but still worth a try. I was happy with the performance of Poly Glow on an older hull--it only requires that the gelcoat be uniform in color and free of marks and wax. The first time, you wipe on 5-6 coats (it takes a couple of hours total) until you have a uniform shine. It lasts for years, with a touch-up coat once a year. You can get a slightly higher gloss with wax, but the effort on an older hull is considerably greater.

Edited by - Stinkpotter on 07/11/2010 08:47:03

Happy D
Admiral

Members Avatar

921 Posts

Response Posted - 07/11/2010 : 17:24:08

I would seriously warn against gel coating a complete hull. I would only recommend doing that if the boat was very valuable. It is extremely time consuming. Sanding and sanding then polishing forever. As you saw from the previous pictures, the transom is awesome, but I don't think I will ever be able to sand and polish the entire hull. It's too much work. However, gel coating can be accomplished in sections. One of the beauties of gelcoat is that you don't need to maintain a wet edge. In fact, you can stop for the night and spray more on within a day or two.
I used Duratec Gelcoat High Gloss Additive to thin and cure the gelcoat. I love the stuff. The shine is amazing. The Duratec suspends the shine through the thickness of the gelcoat. It really is great stuff.
Mix it 50/50 and spray it out of a primer gun with a big nozzle. I sprayed with a 2.5mm tip.
Sand the existing hull with 80 grit before spraying. If you need to prime an area, use the same gelcoat you intend to finish with. I sprayed it on thick and have heavy orange peel. Now I'll be sanding forever. Repairs are a snap.
Minicraft has a gelcoat that is already thinned for spraying and you can get a sand free shine, according to them. I don't believe that for a second.
It's $250.00 / gallon. One gallon does one side of the boat.
If you really are going to do a complete gelcoat job, email me and I'll give you lots more details.

Edited by - on

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Djibouti
9080 Posts

Response Posted - 07/11/2010 : 18:25:10

Interesting!! So the question becomes, do you want to be a hull refinisher, or a sailor.

Edited by - on

Thee and Me
Deckhand

Members Avatar

18 Posts

Response Posted - 07/13/2010 : 22:37:52

Stinkpotter,

I'd rather be sailing, of course. We are in the process of buying a C30 and so expect to be sailing her and selling the C25. However, I'm attempting to do right by Thee and Me (the C25). But thanks for the warning. Any idea of how many hours to expect?

HappyD,

Thanks for the information, this the kind of information I was looking for. Any projection on hours to do the hull?

Best regards,

JT

Edited by - on

Topic

New Topic

Topic Locked

Printer Friendly

Jump To:

Association Forum

Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.