Donzi Clear coat/Gel coat issue

[skifastinvt]

Thanks to everyone who replied to my thread last week about the 1995 Sweet 16 that I was thinking about buying. In short, it was a bad case of micro pimples on the red (clear coat/gel coat) at the waterline. I had a variety of replies with a 50/50 response of gel coat osmotic blister to bad paint/clear coat job. Here's an update:
The person that I am buying from has only had the boat for a year and has not painted/clear coated. He states that the orignial owner said it was 100% original.
I called Donzi to inquire if the factory did in fact clear coat the boats in 1995. Believe it or not, there is no one currently working at Donzi who was there in 1995! The rep. stated that they are now currently clear coating the boats.
The rep gave me advice to check the clear coat. Try sanding the red surface...if it sands off clear, it's a clear coat issue/failure. If it sands red, it's a gel problem. One of the "old timers" in the shop seems to think it's a gel coat failure. Either way, the rep told me of a memo that Donzi sent to their dealers that said the warranty is void if the boat is kept in water. Go figure..a boat that can't be kept in water!
I'm going to try this test tomorrow before I purchase. If it's just a clear coat/paint issue, I have figured on a $1,500 paint/prep job to do the red stripe and sides in imron (unless you have a suggestion of a better product). It it is in fact a gel coat issue...Im not going to touch it. Do any of you have a last minute way to be sure of the condition??
I have agreed on a purchase price of $7,750.00 for a 95 with less than 160 fresh water hours (v6), excellent interior, and trailer. I figure that this is still a good price even if I have to put a $1,500 paint job on it and it's not original. Do you all agree? Thanks in advance!

[skifastinvt]

Well...I bought the 1995 16 for $7,750.00. It is in fact a peeling clearcoat at the waterline, which seems to be a reasonable fix. Upon close inspection, it seems that the red sides and stripe were in fact painted. The paint job is nearly perfect. The only way my untrained eye can tell it's paint is some of the white caulking on the underside of the rub rail has some red on it. The mystery is...who painted it? If I had a little more info, I would be better prepared to fix it. Both previous owners swear that it has not had work done. Personally, I think someone is fibbing. Can someone confirm that Donzi did not paint the red on the hulls in 1995? Another tip is the logo/sticker and pinstripe is not under the gel, but on the service. I remember reading somewhere that all Donzi graphics are in the gel. Can someone confirm?

Thanks!

Al

[VetteLT193]

The logo is a decal.

In 1995 I think the pin stripes were not gel, I believe they stopped the gel stripes in 1988. However, even the boats that had the pin stripes in Gel have raised pin stripes, meaning, they could easily be mistaken for a decal.

Also, 100% original to one guy can mean different to another. The first owner could have had the boat clear coated and still think it's original. My guess is the first owner had it cleared.

[RickSE]

On my 1996 18C the deck stripe was gel with a black vinal pin stripe and the hull side boot stripes were paint. Painted stripes will have a raised edge where the paint meets the base gel color; you can feel it with your hand. Gel stripes will have no edge and will feel smooth where the stripe edge meets the base gel color.

[mike o]

Hi, black tape on mine , between the red stripe ,white deck and hull..the black tape hides the masking line between the spray jobs. they spray the red stripe. wait till it kicks, pull the masking tape, then spray the white, or the other way around. your problem is somebody forgot or didnt care to wet sand the red paint before they sprayed the clear, and it not sticking and peeling off. I looked for 2 yrs for my 16.. color ,power, ect. where was this boat in nh? . I wouldnt re clear coat the boat.. Id wait and see how the rest ot the paint job holds up.. just my 2 cents,, paints to soft + toooo thin for boats. but their are some new epoxie paints out there these days also, hard stuff but still thin. gelcoat is sprayed 20 -30 mills. theres a guy up here who restores alot of go fast boats, mostly donzi. michael

[VetteLT193]

What I was trying to say is that it's not that uncommon to simply clear over gelcoat. Just because it has clear doesn't mean it was painted.

And my brother and I swear our pin stripes are gel, both were raised from the factory. his is a 1987 22, mine is a 1988 Minx.

When he repainted the boat he knocked the stripe down smooth and painted on the new stripe...

[gcarter]

The earlier boats' pin stripes were gel and applied after it was out of the mold, i.e., they're raised.
Here's an example;
http://www.donzi.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=24035&d=1158278407

The stripe had been painted, so that's why there's two shades of red.

[skifastinvt]

Thanks for the replies everyone! Some of you mentioned that the boot stripe on your donzi is painted, what about of the entire side of the boat is red? Did donzi gel the entire boat in white in 1996 and then paint the second color on the sides, then clear coat? The red on my sides were painted (I can see a bit of red paint on the caulking of the underside of the rub rail). It's a perfect job, with the exception of the failed clear coat. The reason I'm really hunting for an answer is a. so I know how to remove the failed clear without screwing up an excellent red paint job. and b. How to properly maintain the red paint (wash/wax).

Thanks for the guidance on the logo decals and pin stripe. Maybe my boat is more original that I thought.

Mike. I found mine in southern NH. I picked it up for $7,750.00. Where did you find yours?

[Donziweasel]

you still got a pretty good deal. i bought my 1997 16 w/350 and about the same hours for $14,000.00. welcome to the madness!:)