The previous owner of the G-Cat I am currently sailing did a crappy job of glassing the keels. It looked like icing on a cake. In his favor he used an ample amount of what appears to be decent quality glass and resin. I had to fair 3 to 4 inches up from the bottom of the hulls and in order to get them smooth a lot of the gelcoat was removed. It looks awful, but I don't care too much about cosmetic issues. A friend told me I can't leave it like that, the UV rays will weaken it. Should I be concerned? I park the boat in the shade. I've replaced the tramps and the sails with new and just those two items has put my overall investment to over 4K. Probably more than I can ever sell the boat for. Should I compromise and just brush the gelcoat on? Is there something else? The former owner went up a good four inches in places on the hulls but I don't drag the boat over the sand that much so the wear would be confined more the bottom of the keels. I hope you guys with experience with this tell me it's OK just to leave it.
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Bill Townsend
G-Cat 5.0
Sarasota
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Gelcoat
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- Rank: Mate
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Posted: Apr 11, 2020 - 11:25 AM
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- Rank: Mate
- Registered: Jun 30, 2018
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Posted: Apr 11, 2020 - 09:21 PM
Not sure, but I think worse than UV, without gel coat, the fiberglass exposed might absorb water quickly and cause it to blister. I'd certainly coat it with something waterproof, but having my druthers, protect your investment with gelcoat. BTW, these aren't an investment-except in fun. However, keeping them up properly reduces your loss over the years and leaves you some residual value at least.
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Chuck C
NACRA 500 Mk2
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Posted: Apr 11, 2020 - 11:54 PM
just like a car, the paint or gelcoat is your protective layer, covered with wax or similar to protect shine and seal up the gelcoat pores
without a top coat your epoxy is much more exposed to UV, moisture and less physical barrier to protect from impact, puncture and scratches
Epoxy does not hold up to UV
epoxy without additives is prone to moisture issues, and even with additives still requires a top coat of paint or gelcoat
Gelcoat doesn't brush too well. they do sell "brushable" gelcoat but i am not sure how well that works
you are much better off finding someone to spray it but it is not a requirement
if you try to spread it by hand you will end up with lots of peaks and valleys that will need sanding to get flat and true. it is very easy to over sand shape off the hulls too.
How about reaching out to the guys at the tackle shack to see if they can clean up your bottom job or recommend someone?
Edited by MN3 on Apr 12, 2020 - 12:03 AM. -
- Rank: Mate
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- Posts: 139
Posted: Apr 12, 2020 - 08:40 AM
Spraying will give you the best results. Buy a cheap $15 CENTRAL PNEUMATIC 20 Oz. HVLP Gravity Feed Air Spray Gun from Harbor Freight. Thoroughly sand the area to be repaired with 220 grit sandpaper. Blend and mix completely equal parts of Duratec Polyester Clear Hi-Gloss Additive and the gel coat required for the repair. Only catalyze the amount of gelcoat with 2% with MEKP catalyst. Spray pressures should be 35 to 50 psi. Spray the entire surface to be repaired with a fine mist coat and wait 2 minutes for the solvents to flash off. Follow with light wet coats, overlapping the surrounding area to ensure complete coverage. Lightly sand the repair area with 320 to 800 grit sandpaper, either wet or dry, then use Polishing Compound and buff to the desired finish ensuring that the newly gel-coated area is blended with the surrounding gel coat surface. Wax repair area with wax of your choice.
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Kenny Boudreaux
2010 C2 F18 USA 323
Goodall Design "Southern Area Rep"
Owner of Sailboxes.com
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- Rank: Mate
- Registered: Nov 16, 2002
- Last visit: Jul 04, 2020
- Posts: 139
Posted: Apr 12, 2020 - 08:42 AM
Spraying will give you the best results. Buy a cheap $15 CENTRAL PNEUMATIC 20 Oz. HVLP Gravity Feed Air Spray Gun from Harbor Freight. Thoroughly sand the area to be repaired with 220 grit sandpaper. Blend and mix completely equal parts of Duratec Polyester Clear Hi-Gloss Additive and the gel coat required for the repair. Only catalyze the amount of gelcoat with 2% with MEKP catalyst. Spray pressures should be 35 to 50 psi. Spray the entire surface to be repaired with a fine mist coat and wait 2 minutes for the solvents to flash off. Follow with light wet coats, overlapping the surrounding area to ensure complete coverage. Lightly sand the repair area with 320 to 800 grit sandpaper, either wet or dry, then use Polishing Compound and buff to the desired finish ensuring that the newly gel-coated area is blended with the surrounding gel coat surface. Wax repair area with wax of your choice.
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Kenny Boudreaux
2010 C2 F18 USA 323
Goodall Design "Southern Area Rep"
Owner of Sailboxes.com
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Posted: Apr 12, 2020 - 10:09 PM
delete please admin
Edited by bradinjax on Apr 12, 2020 - 10:14 PM. -
- Rank: Mate
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- Posts: 156
Posted: Apr 14, 2020 - 12:23 PM
This. This guy gelcoats. Only other piece of advice is to remove the screen from your crappy harbor freight spray gun and consider drilling out the tip. They come factory with 1.4mm. I prefer 2mm so drill out with a 5/64" bit.
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