Gelcoat Or Paint? Which One Should I Use On My Boat Restoration!!
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- Опубликовано: 4 июн 2024
- In this video, I briefly discuss some of the advantages / disadvantages of each of these materials, as well as some considerations you should keep in mind when making these decisions.
Please leave any comments / suggestions below!
Thank you!
www.BoatworksToday.com
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I really can't understand why anyone would do a thumbs- down. You're giving FREE advice and instructions on how to do these things like a professional....I donno....some peoples kids...
Thanks for the kind words Jack :-) Eh, to each their own.. Doesn't bother me :-)
Gelcoat industry lobbyists no doubt
1333 likes to 29 dislikes (as of today) is a pretty good ratio by youtube standards!
Jack neff I have the same problem on my channel. if you go against tried and stupid people are going spew hatred at you. it hurts brains to tell people they've been wasting their time and that there is a better way.
because they can and they are A-holes
Yeah man I don't know why anyone would ever thumb you down. There isn't too many people out there today that would take the time and share their tips and tricks. Your videos are awesome!! Thank you and keep making videos!!
Even the talking videos I feel like I’m getting great knowledge from an experienced craftsman at a random marina. Thank you
I've been a subscriber for years and I am constantly going back to your older videos for knowledge and reference. The gift that keeps on giving
You just saved me, and I'm sure hundreds of others, a whole lot of time and money. Thank you!
I HATE HATE HATE videos on youtube longer than 2 minutes. Except yours. Thank you!
I worked 16 years for Ericson Yachts and we did touch up on new products due to minor dings from the building process and some that was from damage in the molds (it's not always possible to take a mold out of production to do repair as it stops the whole assembly line - so you repair the product instead). Most people don't know that gelcoat is formulated to be laid down inside a mold, and not to be used for repair. The mold surface is highly polished so the part comes out looking good. On the other hand when you lay down gelcoat outside of a mold it does not flow like paint so you end up with an "orange peel"finish, which requires sanding with finer and finer grits of wet sandpaper and then buffing. Additionally, unless you spray a water soluble sealant during the curing time over the gelcoat after you have laid it down, it becomes "oxygen poisoned", which is a condition where it never fully cures at the surface so it will be hard after it sets but will remain permanently tacky. Additionally, it is required that you catalyze it, which only gives 15 minutes of working time before it sets, and you have to have acetone to clean your sprayer, which is the best way to apply it so you don't get brush hair in it. It is messy, sticky, and labor intensive, and even if you have factory supplied touch up colors, it will be likely to show the spot that was repaired after some time has passed. For all of those reasons, paint is a better option, especially if you are doing a large area. However you can't apply paint over a gelcoated hull, unless you are painting the entire hull. If you need to have small repair areas done with gelcoat, it is better to pay a pro who has the experience and know how to do the work. Plus he will be able to mix and match colors on older boats that have faded or had color change.
Lazy Days wish I had read this first... now I have a white and gray hull on my otherwise nice looking Cetus kayak.... oops..
What water soluble sealant do you apply
Hah, I am the owner of a 1987 E-38-200! Nice boat!
@@larrybyrne4467 PVA. (Polyvinylalcohol)
@@larrybyrne4467 marine wax
I appreciate the discussion and information. I am getting ready to do a complete resto on a boat and had heard different things on what needed to be done for the fiberglass hull. This helped to clarify the differences and gave me a better idea of the direction I plan on taking the project.
I sprayed gel for a wakeboat company when i was a kid. You nailed it, I just bought a 37ft ketch, your videos are very helpful updating my knowledge
I'm doing the first bottom job of my 32-foot monohull. And, I thought of your channel immediately after booking the haulout. Thanks for the effort and information.
As a novice boat owner I really appreciate your videos. Thank you
Thank you for the video; I appreciate the time you took to make it. This has helped me decide how I will conduct the restoration of a 15' fiberglass Seaking Runabout that I recently acquired that requires a couple of hull repairs, some additional TLC, and a color change.
Best video on YT! I still come back time to time to checkout the detailed demonstrations for my project that hasn't taken off for 4 years. Very informative and thorough. I just play it at 1.25x speed and its perfect! Thank you for your work!
I just got a boat project and this answered so many of my questions! Thank you!
Thanks Andy! I have a small fibreglass project coming up and going back over these how to videos is a tremendous help
Thanks for being a second well qualified and dispassionate mind on where to use gelcoat and where to paint...you helped me strategize refurbishing a 1976 Ranger 23 sailboat I'm doing for a friend....
Oddly enough this is exactly what I was looking for! Thank you!
Just about to refinish my little 20 foot colvic fishing boat over here in the uk. Its still original gelcoat but damaged / stained after 40+ years. I didnt want to paint but you have reassured me that I,m not going to be making a mistake by paintinr her. Thankyou so much and Kind Regards from across the pond.👍
I appreciate these videos. The advice given is great.
Good info bro. I have a dive service business and this explains what I have run into around the water line and now I can pass the info on to my customers. Big thanks man.
This was extremely helpful. I have never been disappointed by any of your videos: practical, informative, nuanced and thorough. Many thanks!!
Well, I've got to tell you. . . your objectivity on the subject has thoroughly convinced me to stick with regular ol' paint! And, brother, let me tell you, I can lay some paint on far thicker than a sheet of copy paper!
Great, you have helped me figure out my next project. Last spring I tried to do some touch up nick repairs on a 40 year old sailboat only to have it look like it caught some nasty skin rash. I hope your next video covers prepping an old surface before painting. btw, your videos are by far the best around. Clear, concise and we actually see how it is done.
In the same boat...
Just saw the first video and subscribed. This is a no brained! Thanks for helping me with what I need to do moving forward.
5 years old and videos still gold man appreciate the experienced advice, gonna go spray paint my boat this weekend 🤣
Great information. I have used both gel and paint. Love how gel works
As a newbie to boat ownership, I've kind of bitten off more than i can chew in terms of repairs. This Guy is my Guru! The info and practical advice is exactly what i need. Shame he's not in the UK, would of bought him a beer! Cheers Bud
Excellent information for an aspiring boat restorer! Thanks
This is really helpful. Thanks. I'm looking at older sailboats to buy (and work on) and one of them has a failed coat of poly paint that needs to be stripped off before restoring the surface. I think paint wins the argument like some of the other viewers mentioned earlier.
Great commentary. I am preparing to paint my fiberglass boat and was looking for this information and you nailed it. Thx.
This is an incredibly helpful, information-filled overview -- Thank you!
Hello from Greece….!!!
First of all I want to thank you for everything you share with us and the way you explain everything patiently and with every detail. I bought a BW 13' 1973 and I'm restoring it.
My job is jointer or carpenter or furniture and cabinet maker. Different name in different countries… so I'm a good hand worker. Referring to the specific kind of boats, they appear in our country as tender boats to big yacht. That means that they were exposed to the sun for ages. So mine is quite "burned" and all the color and wood stain are damaged. I had almost decided to finish the boat with gel coat and go throw sanding and brushing to make it shine. My problem is that the boat on the exposed surfaces (top and inside) has too many very small cracks. Very very small but many. It's not a deep damage. It is just on the gel coat. That is why I almost decide to finish with gel coat, because it is a thick paint and it can cover all that cracks. On the other hand while watching your videos, I find out that I can use one or two layers of a primer and penetrate all this small cracks and finish with color. But as you said and I do agree is that the color is very thin although is very shiny easy to work more long lasting shine etch….
My question is, if I finish with color is it correct if I apply two or three layers of color to make it thicker and stronger as a top layer? And then, can I use the shinning tools to restore it after some years or if I make a scratch on the hull? Do you know how the color react on shinning procedure?
Thank you in advance for all your support.
Thank you, this is great info. I'm a wooden boat lover but considering fiberglass and I was curious as to the typical finish differences used on glass boats.
Another great video Andy. Can't wait to see the next episode.
Restoring a fiberglass hull, and I appreciate the advice!
Getting ready for a restoration, thank you for the well put together information!
These videos are very informative, a must for any boat owner, even if you do not intend to do your own repairs -the insight in such detail you offer of all the options available is awesome. Well done, keep up the great work and please keep uploading!
Thank you VERY much!!!! I really appreciate the kind words :-)
Thanx Andy, I enjoy watching your videos, very informative 👍 you help us so much when we are restoring our boats. Thanx, Cheers 😊
Like many of you, I watched this video and decided to paint my boat. It is a 30 year old boat with worn down gelcoat appearing faded and even worn through down to the grey in some places. So anyway, the boat turned out looking great! A couple things he doesn't cover here are surface prep and foot traction. Surface prep on on the paint I chose said to use ammonia and on tough mildew stains to use bleach(But do not mix the two!!!!). I started out using bleach because that's what it said, but then a neighbor gave me a bottle of professional paint prep and I don't know what it was called but it smelled like peroxide. It worked even better than the bleach and less elbow grease. I think this is an important step before you start painting. Also the finish is much slicker now and I can tell I am going to have to be more careful walking around in the boat. I may see if I can put another top coat on it(i applied 2 coats), but this time mix in some friction material so people do not slip and fall.
You have to do non skid watch a few more videos apply it over the wet paint it’s sand or rubber dry paint again
can you update on the paint job? I bought a homemade skiff last year that was painted over the original gelcoat. The paint is severely chipping and pitting. Now I have to strip and sand every inch of boat in order to re gelcoat. In my opinion it ruined the boat. curious how yours held up
Im an automotive painter, been contemplating what to redo my jetski in. Few boat guys insist I must gel coat it but ive never touched gelcoat before and hearing your experience with it has hwlped me decide to stick to what I know and will be using paint and probably clearcoat over everything. Biggest reason is appearance and knowladge of those materials
Hey bro did you paint your jet ski? I gel-coated my jet-skis. I taught myself watching RUclips videos with a harbor, freight gun and a 2.5 tip for me eBay. But the reason I’m asking is I’m wondering if you did paint it how well has it held up? I have a 26 foot day cruiser and was thinking about paint and clearcoat rather than Gelcoat.
Slowly working my way through your excellent videos for a boat restoration project I am hoping to start soon.
Thank you for taking the time to make them and for sharing.
ATB
Mac
+BigMacBushcraft Thanks for watching! Good luck on the project search :-)
fabulous thanks for helping me make a painless decision quickly!! I have a 46' 1978 Pacemaker needs a total redo. beauty inside . it needs to be knockout shiney outside and easy to maintain. . paint it is.
Thanks for a well articulated and fact based explanation on this topic - It's near and dear to my heart as I just initiated a restoration project using Awlgrip and techniques learned from your previous videos - much appreciated and spot on!
+Chip Plyler awesome Chip! Feel free to post some progress pics on my Facebook page! I'm sure others would love to follow along ;-)
Thank you so much.
Gone through tons of vids to try figure out what to do with a boat I've just purchased.
You've answered every question I have in one straight forward no b.s. Video.
Paint it is
Thank you
Thank you for the sharing of your expertise. I own an RV detail business and I'm always seeking knowledge.
Dear Sir .... , first of all thank you for those professional advices. I have a story that I had bought a second hand boat 4 years ago and I had no information on internet or elsewhere about renewing it.. You won't believe it, I had bought many cleaners(jelcoat cleaners, chemicals from the superstores) I had a very big experience about whitening a Gelcoat. But at the end I began to see mostly washed areas gelcoat had become very thin that you could barely see the fibers. Yesterday I got a gelcoat but forgot to add parafin not to stick to hand , that ruined all work because I couldn't do wet sanding because it hasn't become dry, after that I was dissapointed. I used thinner to take the sticky surface and sprayed acrylic paint because in 4 years I was really pissed off because of the gelcoat yellowing and rust stains. Day by day I had experience, ruined everything but now I had the most shiny and pure white surface of all time. The boat looks like brand new but I have a very big problem about painting is the "how do you say", "paint drops" "leaks" .. I'll try to solve this issue..
By the way I really enjoy dealing with my boat and watching your videos. I'm the boat renewing addictive guy that really loves gelcoat, fiberglass, sand papers, dust and etc :)
Please excuse me for typos and language errors. Kind Regards !
What a great video series. You've answered a lot of questions for me.
THANKS! That was a great comparison. And it made me research roll and tip.
your awesome buddy thanks for all the info your carrying me through my boat restoration.
Hi, I just watched your video and it was brilliant, I am new to all this, I just bought an old fibreglass boat 12ft long and it does need some repairs but I don't want to spend a lot of money doing repairs, so I will look into painting as apposed to gelcoating, you are very inspiring thankyou Scott from Sydney Australia.
Always good information on your videos. 🍻
I currently have a boat that someone has painted over found that i can sand it of no primer under paint couple gel repairs but no more dull paint nice hard gelcoat.. Now to flowcoat the inside top deck and transum. Cheers for the info
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! You just saved me a LOT of work. Buying a 2001 Beneteau 361 for a 'great' price. The catch is the gelcoat in the cockpit was/is a mess and the owner pulled the boat from the shop after it sat for a year without finishing. So lots of sanded areas but no gelcoat replaced. I would rather finish sand/repair and paint the entire cockpit than try to mess with gelcoat at this point.
Excellent video buddy, I'm at that stage now and I think after these videos I've made my mind up what I'm going for this time 👍
May be a bit late. . . but it's as informative and applicable today as it was a few years ago. Great job!!!
Very appreciative of the time that you put into your videos. I tune in eagerly for all of them
+Andrew Mack Thank you very much!
Where was this a few weeks ago when I needed it? Ended up painting over a re-gelcoat job on a 10' sailing dinghy hull.
Thank you for this great information.
I really like your style of educating us. Thank YOU!
No hate here. Love your video.. I have a restoration going on now. Watching many of videos! Decided to go with bottom coat, black paint, bass boat. Never more than a few hours in the water at one time. Have a few repairs first.. thank you for you videos. Don’t care what it looks like 😂.. just want want it solid 😊
Thanks for taking time and explaining the difference!
Excellent video. Lots of really great information that is easy to understand and very well articulated.
I didn't know about rolling and tipping. After looking into it, I think I'll use it thanks!
Hey there, just found your videos. They are extremely informative and I want to thank you.
I do have a question as well.
I have an old 1962 Hydroswift Runabout I am in the process of repairing. I was wondering how I would go about preparing to paint over the old gel coat?
excellent advise, I am going to be painting my hull soon and I thought of gelcoat for about a second and this video was a deciding factor.
Ah yes wise one...
Great information man!! I really appreciate your time and effort!! I'm learning a lot about plastic!!
The only people to give this video a thumbs-down must professionals that hate when people learn to do their own repairs or lay people that know-it-all. This is a great instructional video on selecting the right marine materials for your job. It will save time, money and needless frustration in the long run. On a scale of 1-10, this video is a 10.
Great info. Easy to follow and useful for making the right choices
Andy you are the nicest!
People don’t deserve you!!!
Telling people it’s a talkie is enough!!
Ignore the haters!
Thanks for the info. Help me to make up my mind on my project. Good one.
Great information here, both clear and objective. Why people would 'thumbs down' this is confusing.... Keep up the good work! 👍
Hi hopefully your still checking this video for comments. I have a auto body shop in New Hampshire. I used your video to restore a 1974 MFG skiff it came out wonderful I used base/clear. The only downside is it's very fragile with scratches etc. I am now restoring a 78 mfg gypsy it's a bigger boat, heavier and more of a speed boat although I paint everyday I've never used gel coat. could you do a video with just explaining A-Z on gel coat specifically the hull below the water line , type of gun used , tip size used , how to hang the boat or get around the stands , your videos are so good I'm glad you have kept going and come out with more since last year keep up the good work 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻🚤🛥⛵️
Question please. Its the same prep on a boat like a car if you are doing base coat clear coat?
Great information,,I am just now trying to decide if I want to restore a fiberglass boat I have or not. I am a little experienced working with fiberglass, wood and metal, they painting and coatings have me wondering what direction I should go. As I am not convinced yet if I want to do this project, your videos are very helpful of course you make it all look pretty easy. Thanks, I am sure you will see more comments from me as I have just found your youtube channel and exploring the videos.
I used gelcoat to restore my sailboat's deck. Probably the most stupid idea I ever had ! As you said, hours and hours of sanding because of orange skin from roller and brush marks. Sanding throught. Apply again a new coat that doesn't match 100% the previous one that already started to oxydise. What a pain ! And finally as expensive as awlgrip paint, if not more. Corners are a total nightmare to sand and polish. On the other hand, for the non skid, I used grey gelcoat with glass micro bead sprinckled on top, gelcoat again and PVA. Very happy of the gelcoat non skid. Very easy to apply as there is no sanding involved and it is rock solid. Thaks for the video, I which I had seen it 3 years ago !
Thanks alot! Very crystal clear explanation. Gonna ease my job in my restoration project. Thanks mate!
Thanks, I always get something good from your video's.
Will you make, or have you already made a video about the paint process, including the types and benefits of different paint finishes. Also, what paint is a prep coat, and what comes next. Keep up the great video's ...
Great information as always, Thank you
Thank you lots of my questions answered! Thoroughly, I have a clear choice thank you!
thanks so much for another very helpful video. love your work brother.
Don't worry about the haters, you're helping us alot. Great video, very informative.
He a very nice guy, always explaining, so we newbies get to learn! 😁
Use some of the Ceramic coatings available and make the gel chemically resistant and the shine is raised by several notches. I applied Gyeon Pure and found fantastic results. It's a 2 year coating used on auto paint but had no problems bonding to gel coat.
There are some made for marine gel and would be best. I tried a sample area and then did my whole boat.
I've just started watching your videos and find them really helpful. I built my own flicka sailboat here in the u.k. back in 1993 and I am doing a complete refit on her. I find your painting advice excellent. Being home built, I find parts of the hull aren't perfectly fair, I wonder if you know of any product available here in England that I can use to fair the hull and that is easy to sand? many thanks in advance.
Thanks for your help!!! It's greatly appreciated!!
Your videos save my butt every season. Keep up the great work!
whaler 170 dauntless
whaler revenge 22
mako 21 CC
Thanks fr the information, I learned enough to get going.
Greg Allman "it's not your cross to bare." You are teaching a class. I need to know all the ins and outs of everything. Please continue with the long winded videos. If people want to watch see some guy teach them to do a hack job, let them, it's not you and it' not me. Thank you for all your time
My sentiments entirely!!!
Love to learn more from you, really good knowledges. Please keep going and ignore other negative comments.
Thanks for the information. just bought an old whitehouse witch I'm going to attempt to restore.
I used to build boats and do boat repair in Florida we just built from a 14 foot up to a 18 foot bow rider and I only work with gelcoat but the one color I hated working on was white trying to get white to match was the hardest.
The one repair job I remember the most it was a 27 foot blackfin that had a 20 inch transom and it was on its way out but he had bought two motors that were for 25 inch transom so I had to get that out and raise it up .this was 30 years ago, but they came out with that signature finish paint or you could just roll it on and you could even tell him the boat year and color and they would match it but the funniest part the guy kept asking me am I sure this is gonna work, I told him I was positive. He said good. You’re going out with me. The first time we took it 40 miles offshore and we took wave over the back which one of the callings had a hole in it and we blew a motor. It was damaged during shipping.
I had never been offshore before. I am standing in angle deep border in a boat that I know it does not have an ounce of flotation lol after we got the water out, we could just we couldn’t get up on plane so we trolled the whole way back I was fine once we started catching kingfish .
But he couldn’t be happier with the job.
Unfortunately, when they sold the boat company, I left and went to work for a place. We made Fiberglass parts for the guy that bought. It knew nothing about Fiberglass or boats. And wanted me to do stuff I knew wouldn’t work and he went out of business a year later .
But I really miss working on boats and building something from start to finish instead of just parts
I watched a lot of these videos. I like this guy. I may have missed it but I'm trying to learn for the first time how to do about of these things. I have yet to learn if you can primer a fiberglass body to seal bondo and then use gelcoat. I have an old fiberglass camper I am redoing and the gelcoat is gone on the top along with about of places that were damaged.
Free knowledge. Love your videos! Great work!
Great great stuff, thank you for all your hard fought knowledge!
Good video.
Points I would make is that I've never seen even a great roller and tip off that looks as good as an even average spray job. Especially if it needs to match existing gel coat look
If you spray using high volume low pressure then over spray is less than an inch all around so not too messy.
If your doing a repair on an area where it will meet gel coat a good paint supplier will match gel coat colour and a spray of 2 pack matches the finish great. We have a formula that had damage to hull and as it wasn't easy to gel coat as gel coat ideally needs to be kept out of air when curing we decided to paint and after polishing gel coat and then spraying people of all experience ask if it's all been painted or its all gel coat no one can see difference in finish and it's over an area of about 9 square foot
great video you made me understand better of the two products
Dude, great job Tampa here im restoring a 1981 Amen Plastic boat I had for over 20 years they only made 20 of these boats. already restored the floor now working on the out side. Have sum spider crack im dealing with now. Im doing this by myself. Is it better to due this in sections when I roll it out or have several measured cups ready to activate during this process with extra rollers. 🤔 your doing a great job.. Saving a lot of people money.
For those with a brain, who's not afraid to get dirty and work.
🤘😎🤘
Roll it straight out 🤔 it's a 18'
Andy, nice Video i listen to you for good advice thank you.
HAHA!! I LOVE your videos!!! As soon as you said, "You don't have to hit the dislike button..." I went down and SLAMMED the LIKE button!!! You're great brother!! Learn loads and appreciate everything you share of your expertise.
Great information thanks. I want to redo my entire transom on a sailboat. How should I prep and what paint do i use/? What is tip and brush?
I am just starting into the boat life and I want to learn how to do my own repairs and you've been a huge help with these videos. I have a question and I hope it doesn't sound too dumb but can you
do a layer of gel coat for the durability and then go over with paint for the high gloss?
Thanks for the advice, Dan