20 Hourston fixer upper

[Rayvon]

Agree with "Doubleheader" that it's best to have gelcoat from water line to rubrail. Paint will chip and flake off if it rubs a dock (we all do it sooner or later) and will be hard to fair and paint again without showing the repair,but gelcoat will hold well and it's easy to patch a chip or gouge as long as you can match color.Paint properly prepped and applied on top sides will shine for years with hardly any maintenance.

 

[EZZ70]

[QUOTE="Sprayed a hull on a 22ft pursuit.[/QUOTE]

You re-sprayed with gel coat? How did it turn out? any pics...?

 

[EZZ70]

Agree with "Doubleheader" that it's best to have gelcoat from water line to rubrail. Paint will chip and flake off if it rubs a dock (we all do it sooner or later) and will be hard to fair and paint again without showing the repair,but gelcoat will hold well and it's easy to patch a chip or gouge as long as you can match color.Paint properly prepped and applied on top sides will shine for years with hardly any maintenance.

Agree...

Hey Rayon, any advise how to go about bringing this gel coat of mine back? It is an off-white colour not as off as Hatteras, i dot believe.... Do i respray a layer of gel coat over what exists and the cut, wet sand and polish?

 

[adrian1991]

Is this what your gel coat looked like? So it looks as though the 26'er is gel coated, terrible job mind you but never the less...

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Exactly what my hull looks like gonna be a fun fall project

 

[EZZ70]

Looks like gel to me, little worse than mine though. Hit it with some xylene and you’ll know for sure lol

Its gel... now what to do? Anyone with suggestions @Rayvon

 

[Doubleheader]

Its gel... now what to do? Anyone with suggestions @Rayvon

I would start sanding it out with 220, might get lucky and it’ll flatten out before you hit the blue. Worse case match up some gel and spray another layer, sand, wet sand and polish.

 

[EZZ70]

I would start sanding it out with 220, might get lucky and it’ll flatten out before you hit the blue. Worse case match up some gel and spray another layer, sand, wet sand and polish.

Ya, I was kinda thinking the same, I think it would be the cheapest, not quickest, way. I have been using Industrial Paint and Plastic gel coat, is there a brand better than another for spray? Any good advice on getting gel coat to lay down and smooth out without it being too labour intensive...

How does gel matches?

 

[Doubleheader]

Ya, I was kinda thinking the same, I think it would be the cheapest, not quickest, way. I have been using Industrial Paint and Plastic gel coat, is there a brand better than another for spray? Any good advice on getting gel coat to lay down and smooth out without it being too labour intensive...

How does gel matches?

I have a tough time with gel, even thinned 20% with styrene a 1.4mm tip is too small it seems. Need to get it on thick enough to get a proper cure, matching colours I always end up chasing my tail. Need more catalyst with styrene or other thinners as well. Hot batch of gel is a pita with a gun too. Hopefully someone else can chime in Ha

 

[Rayvon]

It's probably best left to a professional to spray the gelcoat,but the prep can be done DIY.The hard part is repairing what appears to be blisters in the old gelcoat .They have to be completely opened up and sanded,filled and faired before applying more gelcoat or paint.You should be able to buy gelcoat that is close enough to your original color,I thought you would be painting the upper deck anyway,so match the paint color to the new hull color.Whether you decide to paint or gelcoat the prep will be the same as long as you use poly fillers and not something that will react with the paint or gelcoat.Your entering Pro territory with the final finish quality,so you will have to decide if your up to the challenge of trying it yourself or paying for Pro help.

 

[mikep]

You want to use duratec for spraying gel. Follow the instructions on the can. sprays like thick paint.

 

[myles]

One thing I suggest is to decide now what route you will go with for resurfacing in the future and chose your products appropriately for current touch ups. If your sticking with Gelcoat I advise using only polyester based filling and patching products that will be compatible with gelcoat down the road. Once you go epoxy-based you pretty much are stuck with the paint route down the road. Poly will react negatively with some epoxy-based products and will be a poor bond at best.

GOOD advice for beginners no doubt. Use poly and keep it simple. Wets out really nice, super cheap and good properties. However, I have had great success using epoxy laminate and bonding Gelcoat as a surface finish. If you want 100% waterproof product or higher strength and better flexibility then use epoxy and polyester sticks to it no issues if done correctly. Its overkill for the average project, but for me, I was hanging a 25K engine off a pod I built so I wanted to make sure that thing was as strong as possible while keeping the weight reasonable. Not knocking polyester but I really enjoy working with RAKA epoxy products when the project calls for maximum secondary bonding/strength. Also, the fact that epoxy has no smell is fantastic. Removal of the amine blush is critical, you can use peel ply fabric or wash the part in soap and water after the epoxy has cured then fair the surface out and spay the Gelcoat.

 

[myles]

Yes and no... Gelcoat does go on thick and saves some prep for sure, but it’s a lot of maintenance, starts fading the day it hits the weather and stains very easy. Most paints are super easy to do touch ups and the same can of paint will feather in with some wet sanding a decade later. Paint is much more stain resistant and easier to maintain. I do prefer gelcoat for the rub rail down for docking and towing on gravel, very few contours for buffing/polishing as well. But a roof and deck which more likely to be exposed to sun, less likely to gaffs, docks and dings I chose the paint route. Halibut slime on gelcoat baked in the sun sucks lol. Jmho...

I have had acceptable success with Starbright premium line of products with PTFE. Once the gel is shiny you just wipe that stuff on every 3-6 months takes me about 1 hr to do my 20ft topside and you get unreal hydrophobic qualities and a super slick finish. Paint is great, but if you keep on top of the gel coat and protect it with good products it's so easy to keep it shiny for much longer than any paint. Don't get me wrong, paint is fantastic but if you actually use the boat for fish it will start to show in 5-10 years, and if I'm sanding out a topside to re-spay I want to do it with something that will last longer than a decade. For me, id rather do a little more yearly upkeep and have the durability that Gelcoat provides. If the gel coat is coated in good inhibitors stains are not an issue, blood and guts wipe right off. The key is re-applying the coating minimum 1 time a year or yes your boat will look like a faded POS in no time and then its a lot more work to get her shiny again. Trade-offs!

 

[Doubleheader]

No question that epoxy is a superior product, but I’ve had a few negative results with epoxy fairing compounds and poly on top. It’s tough to beat poly and thickeners, or better yet epoxy and thickeners for fillet and fairing. Tougher to sand albeit. There are definitely products to get around the chemical reactions but I like simple.

 

[Doubleheader]

I couldn’t keep up with the maintenance of gelcoat guiding, so I went with paint above the rail. Perhaps it will backfire down the road but a few years or more of just hosing off with freshwater daily is enticing enough personally.

 

[adrian1991]

Any one know where I can find this trim for the edging of my hatch busted through it yesterday
Rv shop in nanaimo said they don't got stuff like that anymore alll custom made for each window or hatch

 

[rovingfisherman]

This was the process I used for the gelcoat restoration on my '79.
https://www.sailnet.com/forums/gear-maintenance/52772-tips-compound-polish-wax.html
At the time I was able to have some conversations with Bill Hourston which added to the restore experience.
I used Pettit EZPoxy Single component 3108 Hatteras Off White on the hardtop only, this is the perfect match for the Hourston Gelcoat for this year. I have not had any chipping? or flaking? at all. I am in year 4. The rest of the boat was wet sanded by hand as per the link.
Did not have any of the imperfections that you guys have so I cannot comment, however 220 seems to be crazy aggressive to me. I didn't get any close ups of my hull at the time but here is a few before and afters. The last pic I just took now. Hope this helps a little.

 

[adrian1991]

This was the process I used for the gelcoat restoration on my '79.
https://www.sailnet.com/forums/gear-maintenance/52772-tips-compound-polish-wax.html
At the time I was able to have some conversations with Bill Hourston which added to the restore experience.
I used Pettit EZPoxy Single component 3108 Hatteras Off White on the hardtop only, this is the perfect match for the Hourston Gelcoat for this year. I have not had any chipping? or flaking? at all. I am in year 4. The rest of the boat was wet sanded by hand as per the link.
Did not have any of the imperfections that you guys have so I cannot comment, however 220 seems to be crazy aggressive to me. I didn't get any close ups of my hull at the time but here is a few before and afters. The last pic I just took now. Hope this helps a little.



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Can you send me some close up on your rod holders on the roof so I can copy them also how they are attached if you dont mind

 

[scott craven]

Nice Boat Paul !

 

[EZZ70]

I received some test paint today, I am going to try the Interlux Brightside, not sure if I will roll/tip or spray, likely spray but I was thinking of adding EZ-Poxy Performance Enhancer to the test to see if I can get a harder finish... any thoughts?

 

[Doubleheader]

Sweet rig roving! I have black antifoul paint as well but don’t think I’ll have time before fishin season. I like the black in th upper aft corner of hardtop too nice touch, I might have to copy you HA. Good tips too thanks. The 220 is quite harsh like you say but it gets the ball rolling quickly, good mechanical bond to the primer stage as well.