Media New bottom gelcoat

With all the conversations regarding painting of hulls, I thought it might benefit some if I posted a few pictures of the results having my hull re-gelcoated.

For the record I did the following:
1. rough sanded the gelcoat cracks down to the fiberglass, the remainder with 120 to remove gloss
2. paid $200 to have a boat repair place spray the hull with gelcoat
3. spent about $20 and 20 hours sanding (started with 400 dry then 800, 1500 and 2000 all wet). 4. Lastly I buffed the entire boat with 3M Finesse-It II ($15 via the internet or $25 @ West Marine)

This my 1st attempt uploading pictures, my apologies in advance if they're not very good.
 

Attachments

  • bow before 1.jpg
    bow before 1.jpg
    15.8 KB · Views: 135
  • stern chip 1.jpg
    stern chip 1.jpg
    8.3 KB · Views: 122
  • gel coat crack under cockpit 1.jpg
    gel coat crack under cockpit 1.jpg
    10 KB · Views: 116
  • bow after.jpg
    bow after.jpg
    31.9 KB · Views: 142
  • stern after 1.jpg
    stern after 1.jpg
    14.8 KB · Views: 152
  • finished product.jpg
    finished product.jpg
    18.9 KB · Views: 184
This boat is '83. I did the same thing to my '79 last year. At this time I am refinishing the deck on the '79. I will post additional pictures of the deck as soon as I complete the job.
 
If the hull was prepped correctly and the gelcoat was sprayed on the total weight gain shouldn't be more than a couple of pounds at most. Gelcoat can not be put on thick as it will crack( it is very brittle). And to make it smooth and glossy you end up sanding and buffing quite a bit back off the boat. I think it's a great way to refinish a beach launched boat of any type. It lasts longer than paints and is easer to fix down the road.
One last thing Cookie COULD YOU PLEASE LAY OFF THE CAPS IT MAKES YOUR POSTS HARD ON THE EYES TO READ.
 
I can't say exactly how much the new gelcoat added to the weight. If forced to, I would guess in the 5 to 7# range. I can say that the 22 year old hull, with four 4" ports (previous owner) now weighs in at 134#.
 

Back
Top