My boat is a lot to me. Need people in the bussiness to guide me. We have 2 body shops in a 50 mile area. 1 is 50/50 on happy customers. Other is worse.
So can the never polished or waxed, white chalky gelcoat be prepped by a body shop of average ability? What automotive brands are good Clear Coats ? How many coats are normal ? I ask so I can tell if the shop people can probably do the job reasonably right.

I have used pure Bleach on the gelcoat to get out hundreds of spider poop stains over the years. Always WELL rinsed so there was never any bleach odor 5 minutes later.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Rich

How big is the boat? (Lets start there)

If you try to just clear coat the boat it will start pealing after a couple of years. Lack of adheision from no color being applied first.
You can use automotive paint either base coat clear coat or a single stage like a 2k or imron they will hold up great.
its a normal process sand and either prime or seal then paint 2 to 3 coats of color.
If you have any cracks they will still be there when your done unless you glass them in paint will not fix any cracks.
I would not worry about the bottem unless it is worn badly then you might want to gel coat that area.
The other thing is you have to see what those shops are used to spraying.

Bought it brand new. 2007 bowrider. 18 1/2' x 8' x 4' high average height.
White interior & outside. I have removed the chalk by hand buffing with clean white towels only. At 74 it is tiring.
There are a LOAD of padded pieces to remove & the SS seam band that has a million screws holding the band on. Lots of manhours to remove stuff including the huge engine hatch.
What kind of options are there ? New paint like Imron ? Or just prep old Gelcoat & clear it ? Docking scuffs. No cracks of fibres any where.
Sits in the water May to October.

What kind of cost ? Full shop prep & paint ? Or I remove everything with screws & set them aside.

Thanks
Rich

I would like to do all the unscrewing & rescrewing because I KNOW factories do strip out holes accidently. I do not want to blame a shop for something they did not do. I have filled stripped holes in old race boat hulls. Can difficult in thin areas. I fill them with hard filler. Then when partly set I run the screw in AFTER I have coated the threads with a THIN coating of oil. Piece of cake then to finish tightening after hardning or if removal is needed later again.

Rich

Rich,,,Sand the boat with 400, use DuPont 222 adhesion promoter, then spray ONLY two coats of clear. Your done!

Do NOT use automotive paint below the water line if you plan on leaving it in the water over 24hrs. It will blister if you do.

Another thing,,,leave the rub rail on the boat. There is no need to take it off. Your getting ready to open up a can of worms. Just tape it up.

Thank you Rick.
I have been reading since I posted. It seems The Polyurethane ?? is more clear & less yellowing ? Less difficult for applying ?? Can be buffed if necessary for up to 30 days. Is less brittle if hit. Are most of those statements true & good for my boat Clear Coat ?


I am not doing sanding or spraying. What brands & type they make, are good combinations ?

Rich

It will be expensive,,but go with the DuPont 222 first then the Imron from Dupont.

Don't worry about yellowing,,,even if it did, you wouldn't notice it.

No matter what paint you put on it its gonna chip,,,even GelCoat chips.

Thanks Rick.

Printed this page out. What recall next spring in NY.

I hope I can find the page next spring.

Rich

If you think about it,,,just call me. www.reelfishhead.com The number is on the site