TOPIC: Gel Coat help.

So I have sanded down the old gel coat. re-glassed portions of each of the keels on my boat and now I am going to need to re gel coat it. any suggestions on brand, type, application method or any of the like?

HellCat,

I used Hi-Bond Gel-Coat with the wax in it. I would brush on a layer then let it harden and sand it smooth. It seemed that I was sanding off at least half the thickness of the coat. So I had to do many coats.

If I was to do it again I would put the hull in a enclosed area and use the no-wax Gel-Coat, building up a few layers at a time and sealing them with one coat of Waxed Gel-Coat. Then sanding it smooth and doing another application....and so on.

But most importantly: Get the surface as perfect as you can before you start to Gel-Coat. Any imperfection will show through the Gel-Coat. It will not hide anything, and it will not fill a gap any thicker than a Frog's Hair. (No offense Frog, we all love your hair. {what little there is of it})

The good side to it is that once it is done it will look good for a very long time. It might not shine a well as paint, but it is more durable.

If I was doing one for show I would paint it. If I was doing one to give to my grand kids I would Gel-Coat it. They both have their place in this hobby, and are both a whole lot of work. There is no easy way of making it look good.

It's not rocket science like some people make it out to be. If you screw it up just sand it down and start over. You will do fine, now get back to work.

Gelcoating is really a lost art. Not easy to do and LOTS of hard work. For it to last and really adhere properly you should grind all the old gelcoat off down to good fresh glass. All imperfections should be filled and faired with polyester based fairing material. Acetone wash prior to first coat. Use Non Waxed Gelcoat. It should be sprayed preferrably with a Pot Gun using a 2.5 mm or 3.0mm tip. 3-4 layers should be applied to a thickness of 20 mils. All coats should be applied wet on wet, that is before the previous coat has cured. Final coat should have wax to allow the gelcoat to cure. Now the fun begins. The reason you apply so many coats and so thick is that you will now be sanding almost 1/2 the thickness off to get it level and smooth. You will then buff and polish to get that high lustre finish. this is a LOT of work and you MUST have the proper equipment to do this properly. It is NOT easy to do RIGHT. Painting is easier IMHO but NOT as durable a finish.