Paint versus gel

[tmh]

Hopefully I don't have to deal with this issue in the near future but I'm curious from reading restoration postings and have some questions.

Why would someone never regelcoat a boat versus a repaint?

Are small distortions/waves common to a gelcoat finish? Looking down the nose of my 18 the gelcoat is in great shape with shine and no scratches but there are small distortions/waves in the overall surface. It is not as straight and smooth as the panels on a car that have been skim coated, blocked, and sanded.

Doesn't gelcoat have a bit of a different look than paint when it's finished?

Does gelcoat or a quality paint hold up better over time as to shine and oxidation?

Is there a certain number of times, on average, that gelcoat can be resanded and buffed or is that dependent on how bad the oxidation is?

I'm not familiar with how gelcoat is applied. Is it similar to paint, just thicker? Are there multiple coats?
T.M. Hayes

[mattyboy]

alot depends on where it lives and what color it is

I have dealt ( maint. not applied) with red and black paint easy to keep shiney no fade or chalking. i had some blisters on the paint with the red boat but it lived in the water once it was trailered they stopped.

i know of two black boats both live on lifts 20 feet from each other one gel one paint.the painted one gets a washing or a hoses off once in a while. the gel one gets sanded or compounded , buffed , waxed or wiped down with the latest keep your gel shiney stuff every season.


there are other reasons for choice of gel or paint ease of repair, submersion, each has its own pro and cons

[realbold]

IMO when the gel is "dead" better off painting.
Mine has been wet sanded and buffed to where some of the corners are bare. Time to paint.

[Carl C]

Some of the Classics came from the factory painted. Mine was popped from the mold in solid white gel. The yellow stripes and sides were painted.

[silverghost]

WOW~ What a can of Worms that question opens.
Everyone has their own opinion and experience on Gel VS Paint.
Gel has a different look but will eventually fade and oxidize needing lots of work to maintain, if left outside; especially colors like red, black,green, blue etc.
You will be compounding, sanding, and waxing etc. to maintain it constantly.
I know ~
I have a fire engine red gel boat.
Todays paint Imron, Awlgrip, and various automotive paints seem to hold up better; and need far less up-keep~ but cannot have prolonged direct water contact.
They are also damaged far easier than gel with minor scuffs etc.

[BUIZILLA]

have you ever seen anybody re-gel a Corvette?

[silverghost]

Jim: No Corvette ever had gel originally~
All were /are painted~
Both early fiberglass since 1953 & later new plastic body types.

Interesting note:
MFG (Molded Fiberglass Corp.) an early fiberglass boat builder made all of the Corvette body panels from the start in 1953 to 1962 .for Chevrolet.
They also were one of the suppliers for the early singray types until 1967.
They were considered one of the early top experts in high volume production of fiberglass boats.. Mostly tri-hull outboard types in this time-frame.
They had lamnated mahogany male & female die molds which the glass mixture was placed into then the male & female molds were put into a heavy high ton press and squeezed and held under pressure until the fiberglass mixture cured!
A very slow process.
The body panels were then bonded using special jigs together with a special thick filled glass mixture with bonding strips covering over the panel splices .
I believe my 1960 Corvette has over 25 seperate body panels bonded together.
No wonder the car was sold in very small limited numers.
Only 312 or so were sold in 1953.
Chevy once sold special metal body panel repair jigs, with exotic clamps, to their dealer's body shops to make panel repairs.
These original jgs are very rare today!
In the 1970s a local 1958 Corvette owner really did put blue Cooks Buff-back gel on his car. He was a boat builder. It looked great when done & held-up very well. This car made the rounds of Corvette Shows until a new owner took it back to restored NCRS standards with paint about 10 years ago.
Possibly one_of_a-kind? !

[BUIZILLA]

i'm fully aware of that...

it's just an absurdity contrast

[silverghost]

Jim: I figured that you knew this Corvette fact~
Just wanted to let others know who might not be aware that Vettes never had gel finsh.
The old vettes did have a grayish gel on their unfiished body panels.
This was later sanded & primed with a special primer & painted.

[gcarter]

If the boat is going to sit in the water for an extended period of time, then gel on the bottom is a good idea as most paints tend to get soft and blister.
Otherwise, paint is far superior.
If you must gel ('cause you're kinda goofy like me) then here's a thread about how to do it (or not do it, 'cause it wasn't a lot of fun):
http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthread.php?t=52810
Now, what ya need to do is try to put yourself in my place, and everytime you think about doing something stupid like this, kick yourself in the a$$!:boggled::frown:

[realbold]

If the boat is going to sit in the water for an extended period of time, then gel on the bottom is a good idea as most paints tend to get soft and blister.
Sooner or later gel will also blister if the boat is left in the water.
Either way you should have the bottom painted.

[Greg Guimond]

Is there any truth to story that says modern paints will adhere better to a fresh white gel'd hull ?

[gcarter]

All gel that you would normally get your hands on would always have pigment in it.
Light colors and the million shades of white have white titanium powder in it.
If there's anything to what you say, it would be because of that.

[gcarter]

Sooner or later gel will also blister if the boat is left in the water.
Either way you should have the bottom painted.

Yep, but it takes longer than the normal boating season.
You're not going to get osmotic blisters in a month or two.

[joseph m. hahnl]

http://www.fotosearch.com/bthumb/ITS/ITS223/itf139020.jpg

[1234rob]

hi guys
i work on boats, i am a boat detailer, robbies reconditioning i have worked on 1000's of boat hulls and decks. paint is nice to look at and maintan but it will bubble if in water to long, gel will fade faster but will take longer to bubble in water somtimes years longer. my 16' 66 donzi was in bad shape so i had it sprade in imeron and baked 6 gal. of paint of white and blue. i do not leve my boat in the water for more then week or two then back on the trailer.
if you would like to know more --robbielumbra14@gmail.com robbie/1234rob

[farmer tx]

Gel & Gel

[Conquistador_del_mar]

For what it is worth, supposedly vinlyester gelcoat when properly applied will prevent water penetration or blistering on the hull bottoms. Otherwise a good barrier coat before antifoul paint is recommended if one is going to leave the boat in the water for extended periods of time. I personally prefer Imron above the waterline or complete hull painting since I trailer my boats and I am used to painting with it - tough stuff with a great gloss. Other brands of polyurethane enamels will work as well as Imron, though. Paints will not oxidize or deteriorate with ultraviolet light like gelcoats - even with the UV inhibitors added to the gelcoats. My two cents, Bill

[VetteLT193]

There are different kinds of 'Paint' out there.

There are a lot of stories of people having problems with 'paint' bubbling. The question is always, what kind of paint?

Awlgrip and Imron are not technically paints, they are polyurethanes and need to be mixed so they will chemically harden. There are different flavors of polyurethanes and even the blend makes a difference. Regular Awlgrip is a true polyurethane with a 1:1 mix ratio. Awlcraft 2000 and Imron I think are 3:1 mix ratios. If sprayed properly there is no better finish than Awlgrip. It is not porous. I'd love to see someone prove to me that it will blister faster than Gel because technically I don't see anything that makes gel > awlgrip for water penetration. It is UV protected and considered a 10 year non-covered fade free finish. For a boat that sits outside covered or not there is nothing better than Awlgrip. If you have a big garage it probably doesn't make a whole lot of difference on what finish you go with. I say this because it seems like everyone that loves Gel also has an inside space to store their boat.

The big benefit of Gel is it can be repaired. Awlgrip can't be blended, sanded, or faired in so you are basically screwed if you hit something hard and you need to fix a spot. You'll have to re-spray an entire 'panel' of the boat (which usually is an entire side). (Awlcraft 2000 and Imron can be repaired)

I never experienced Awlgrip getting soft from sitting in the water, although I never experienced Imron getting soft either (on a factory sprayed Formula that sat on a lift usually but we would take on long trips for a few weeks at a time).

My new Donzi is factory painted with whatever Donzi uses. part of the boat is painted / cleared, part of it is straight white gel. There is no comparison between the two. Even the areas that are clear over white gel simply look better now that the boat is showing its very first signs of age. I'll see if I can get pictures later. It sits outside on the trailer, covered.

Hopefully this info helps. there are a ton of technical details you can get out there, worth reading if you are interested.