Clear coat to restore boat finish??

[Bill P]

I've heard of people wet sanding, and clearcoating their boats to restore a heavily oxidized finish. Does anyone have any info, or comments on this? Does the clearcoat look like new, or can you tell it's a touchup? Remember, I'm asking about a clearcoat, not new gelcoating. I guess it's a clear enamel, like the one on cars. Thanks.

 

[Jim B]

Bill i have never heard of that before but i have seen some pretty oxidized boats restored to almost like new condition by Ed Gerossie at forge pond auto and marine. He wetsands and buffs them out. He does an awesome job on them, mabye that might be a solution for you. I have seen some pretty bad loooking boats look real nice when hes done with them.

 

[arnold helgerson]

as an automotive painter i would not recomend top coating gelcoat with an automotive clearcoat. the two have very different compound make-ups. you could end up with a big mess. you should be able to wet sand with 600 grit paper follow that with 1200 or 1500 paper and use a polishing compound to bring it back to a great shine, finish with a coat of wax . gelcoat is pretty easy to buff as it does not burn as quickly as paint does. the gelcoat would have to be severely sun damaged for this not to work.

 

[James D.]

i've heard of very good results regarding clear coating a boats finish. i would check with some good reputable fiberglass repair shops in your area as there may be different results based on the different type of boat finsishes out there. i'm sure there are different types and applications of "clear coat" for different materials. i would think that the job would need to be done right so as to get real good adhesion of the clear coat to the gelcoat. i'm not sure if the expense is worth it or not, but to me, if you loose the boats original coat due to sun damage, you are going to be spending an awful lot of time sanding, buffing, and waxing to protect what you have left. i'm thinkin this is about one of the only ways to bring back the appearance of a severly uv damaged boat in which the finish and appearance will last any length of time. i'm bettin there will be a lot of opinions on this issue. a really good lookin boat's appearance can sure be ruined by the effects of the sun.

jd

 

[Bruce Freeman]

OK I will ask since I own a tin boat..I thought the gel coat was the color over the glass and it had a clear coat over it?? Where did I go wrong..

BF

 

[Bill P]

My boat mechanic, suggested the same course of action, and it seems like it would be easier, than having it sprayed. I've used rubbing compound, and haze remover, and all kinds of waxes, and they only work, for a short time. The finish doesn't seem to badly oxidized, but it won't hold a shine, for longer than a few weeks. It starts to look hazy, after the wax starts to wear off. I've seen boats, that were so badly sun damaged, that you could scratch your name in to the surface, with your fingernail, but mine is no where near that bad. I'll definitely try the wetsanding, and buffing route. If you want to get an idea, of how bad it is, check out my library files, I have a picture there, that you can see the surface, on the storage lid, in front of the drivers console. Thanks.

 

[John Foster]

You might want to try this stuf. I haven't used it, But a bunch of guys on the BFHP swear by it.



John
http://www.protecleisure.com/Product.htm

 

[Jr. Dunn]

Ok guys. Being a manufacturer of "composites" and with all the stuff about gel-coats on here, I felt compelled to respond. Virtually all "lay-up" operations are about the same and boats are built using this type of "lay up" operation. The gel-coat is typically polyester (cheaper) but on some other products, it may be epoxy or a variety of other resins. Anyway, after applying a "release" coat to the mold surface, a gel-coat is sprayed or brushed directly on the mold surface and then allowed to "tack up". Then the reinforcement material (fiberglass, carbon fiber, Kevlar, etc) is layed in and saturated with the same resin so as to bond well with the gel-coat. ...and so-forth.

Anyway, with this in mind, the gelcoat may be of various thicknesses and most likely pretty thick on boats but keep in mind that very agressive or repeated sanding/buffing will actually be removing this "coat". I would recommend buffing but nothing extremely agressive and then I would be sure to apply 3 to 4 really good coats of wax and keep it waxed! However, auto body shops do apply clearcoats over similar type fiberglass parts (example: on the Corvette) but I would consult with them as far as type of clearcoats to be used.

This was a pretty brief explanation but hopefully it may help to answer some of your questions or concerns.

 

[Ken Wise]

A good high build urthain clear will hold up if you sand the boat real good. If you don't it will peel off. Use 500,600 or 800 grit Ive cleared at less a dozon boats with no problems. Remember don't miss a spot sanding and when done it will look new again. Ken