# Gelcoat/Fiberglass Re-Furbish ?



## krash (Jan 9, 2007)

How old, faded, and dilapidated is to much to repair ?

I have an old hull, maybe 10-12 years old, its gelcoat/fiberglass hand laid build, and has bee basically sitting out in the full sun upside down in the back-yard rain and shine for 6 years in my posession. It was not been taken care of very well and has spider web like micro-cracks and is very faded.

Actually its a kayak, but please don't dismiss it because it does not have a motor. Its 15'4" long x 30" wide x 8" deep. Was a 2 part build hull and deck just like a boat would be built using polyesther resin.

Would post pix but its white and photos just don't show the lack of TLC damage done by the sun well.

Is it worth the time and effor to DIY restore it.. I'm thinking clean it, serious sanding, prime and roll on paint. I don't have air tools, or even a sander/grinder.

I've seen a few different basic plan on how to do this, even one on this site long ago that I can;t seem to find using the search fields.

Couple questions for them what have done it. I know its probably like a car I'll put in more $$, aggravation, and time than I'll get out of it.

1) Whats better for the job an angle or palm style grinder/sander (inexpensive) ?
2) Would you prime the gelcoat after sanding or just paint ?
3) Any recommendations on a good solid tuff paint than can be rolled on and give similar tuff-ness to original gel-coat.

There must be a simple summary ten step process as a base starting point.


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## yobata (Jul 14, 2015)

krash said:


> How old, faded, and dilapidated is to much to repair ?
> 
> I have an old hull, maybe 10-12 years old, its gelcoat/fiberglass hand laid build, and has bee basically sitting out in the full sun upside down in the back-yard rain and shine for 6 years in my posession. It was not been taken care of very well and has spider web like micro-cracks and is very faded.
> 
> ...


I don't know that I would paint it if its is gel coat. Just sand it and use gel coat again. You can roll on many gel coats. You can get an orbital sander from Harbour Freight for $20


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## Guest (May 8, 2018)

yobata said:


> I don't know that I would paint it if its is gel coat. Just sand it and use gel coat again. You can roll on many gel coats. You can get an orbital sander from Harbour Freight for $20


Yobata has it, if it’s stress cracked just knock it down with some 80 grit on a da and roll on some brushable gel coat. Before sanding make note of where the stress-cracks are and try to reinforce these areas. If the whole boat is stress cracked then I’d look into a paint that has some flex. You can buy flex agent for 2k paints, it’s used on the plastic bumper covers to reduce cracking. Being a kayak, I am assuming it was laid up pretty thin.


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## Guest (May 8, 2018)

Forgot to mention, if you go with paint you’ll want to prime. Also, work the spider cracks in the gel good before priming so they don’t show through the paint.


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## krash (Jan 9, 2007)

Yes it was laid up pretty thin, that was part of the original problem.. it was actually an intentional light build for someone but to flexible for me... 6+ years ago I opened it up and added a layer or 2 of cloth inside the hull to strengthen it.

I'd prefer to roll on a gelcoat rather than paint if I find a good product that can be roll & tipped. 
The oxidation and spider cracks are to much to just wet-sand and/or polish out.

Any suggestions, recommendations, on either an angle or palm style DA sander, and/or paintable gel-coat. I've done some small area gel-coat patching on this hull, and a few others with the gel-coat patch kits from West Marine, but have no way lay it out and vacuum bag seal it so the gel-coat will dry properly.


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## Guest (May 9, 2018)

Add wax additive or duratec to your gelcoat and it will cure hard. If it flexes a lot the new gel will crack again. The harbor freight tools are ok for a one timer, some last longer than expected though. If you wanna buy a sander you can use reliably for a lot of projects then stick to the name brands. As far as rolling and tipping, gel is not going to come out like paint. Your gonna have to put down about 20-25mils thick then wetsand and buff to get a nice finish.


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## yobata (Jul 14, 2015)

I have owned a dual orbital sander from harbour freight for 2+ years now, and for $20 it was well worth it even if it breaks tomorrow... if I was sanding all the time, I'd buy Bosch


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## krash (Jan 9, 2007)

How/When do you make the decision to try polishing compounds vs. sand. fill, and re-gelcoat and/or paint ?


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## Guest (May 11, 2018)

If it is all stressed cracked then no amount of polishing will cure. It will need repaired. If faded, then some wet sanding and buffing usually takes care of it. I will usually test a few spots on a big project to make sure it’s all going to buff out, hate to complete half of boat just to find out the other half is too far gone for a wet sand and buff job.


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