Gelcoat repair or coating

Submitted by daveboling on Thu, 12/07/2006 - 12:42
I have a Scot that has gelcoat cracks on the fore and aft decks. I am too far from the factory to return the boat for repair. What have others used to repair the gelcoat, or what products can be used to re-coat/paint the decks? I have hear of Interlux Brightside mentioned as a deck paint. Does it contain grip materials, and will it seal the deck sufficiently to prevent moisture intrusion? Thanks, dave boling FS3431 dave boling
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Comments

I've used this gel coat repair kit to fix some chips on my boat.

Submitted by Claus on Thu, 12/07/2006 - 14:12.
I've used this gel coat repair kit to fix some chips on my boat. Matching the color is always a bit difficult so on my job you can see the repairs if you look closely. The repairs help up quite well for a couple of years now. Some are under the water line (dark green) and some on the white deck. West Marine has it for $40. Other stores carry these kits, too.

Claus FS5074 Ames, IA

Dave, I actually just finished performing reapairs to the dec

Submitted by Dingy Capt on Tue, 12/12/2006 - 12:35.
Dave, I actually just finished performing reapairs to the deck. I used a Dremmel tool with a cone bit to valley out the cracks, before applying a gelcoat patch. I left a small dome to the repair to allow hand sanding with first 100 grit to get the repair flat with the deck surface followed by 320 grit over the entire deck to "rough" up the gelcoat. Wash the boat with a detergent, and let it completely dry. Pull the boat into a garage or workshop where you can control the amount of dust floating in the air. use a couple of old t-shirts to wipe the surface with a dewaxer (It's also a good idea to change the cloth periodically, otherwise your just smearing around the wax your trying to get off) As soon as your done with the dewaxer, begin painting the first coat. There are alot of options for painting. You can spray, which if done right gives the best finish, but can be easily messed up if not done right and without the right equipment; or, as I did, use the roll and tip method. I used Interlux Brightside for the deck and boot stripe. I bought the paint, high density foam roller and china bristle brush through Jamestown Distributors. I paid my friend with beer to follow behind my initial rolling on the paint with the brush with the lightest possible pressure to "tip" the paint. We repeated the process for three coats, waiting a day between coats. The paint job turned out incredible, and in my opinion looks just as good as if it were sprayed. The paint hardened to a hard shell and provides excellent moisture protection. Ryan Flynn FS 3020

I forgot to mention.

Submitted by Dingy Capt on Tue, 12/12/2006 - 12:43.
I forgot to mention... If you choose to use Brightside, it can be pretty slick. I definitely recomend getting some of the Safety Tread tape that 3M makes. Ryan Flynn FS 3020

Ryan: Thanks for sharing your painting experience.

Submitted by gleninst on Wed, 12/13/2006 - 07:13.
Ryan: Thanks for sharing your painting experience. Just curious--did you thin the Brightside before applying it? If so, how much?

I did not use any thinner with the Brightside.

Submitted by Dingy Capt on Wed, 12/13/2006 - 08:43.
I did not use any thinner with the Brightside. The paint was already the perfect consistancy for sticking to the vertical surfaces, like the back rest part of the seat bench and the boot stripe. Also, straight out of the can, it keep a consistant thickness throughout the paint job. Painting immediately after using the dewaxer, having someone follow behind my rolling with a china bristle brush tipping the paint, and keeping bugs and dust from landing on the paint was the key to getting a glass smooth surface. From what I gathered, thinning Brightside with Interlux 333 is more for if you are planning on using a sprayer. Ryan Flynn FS 3020

Dave; If you have cracks in the gelcoat, make sure you patch

Submitted by Dinghy Capt on Wed, 12/13/2006 - 09:09.
Dave; If you have cracks in the gelcoat, make sure you patch them first. Even though they may only be in the gelcoat, they are a sign of flexing. If you just paint over the top of them the cracks are eventually going to show back up in the paint. FS 3020

Caution about using Brightside.

Submitted by Dave812 on Thu, 12/14/2006 - 15:13.
Caution about using Brightside. It goes on well and looks glossy and nice but does not hold up well, at least not in the Florida sun. A deck painted with it will weather badly in about 2 years.

Dave; What kind of paint do you recommend? I was already planni

Submitted by Dinghy Capt on Fri, 12/15/2006 - 11:48.
Dave; What kind of paint do you recommend? I was already planning on making it a every couple of years routine to strip it and start over, but if there is a paint out there that will delay the inevitable, I'll take it. For right now, the boat is garage kept. Eventually, I would like to keep it out at DIYC so I don't have to keep stepping down the mast everytime I want to use it. By the way, I'm finishing up rebuilding the centerboard. I've gone through a quart and a half of epoxy microballon filler, and four hours of sanding it to shape, but I still need to paint it. Is there a bottom paint that will keep a good hard racing shell to it? As soon as I have this boat done, I plan on getting out to some fleet races that I keep missing because my boat was in such dire need of TLC. Ryan Flynn FS 3020

Dave, I have repainted my CB every 5-8 years with Petit Poly Epo

Submitted by jfssail on Fri, 12/15/2006 - 17:51.
Dave, I have repainted my CB every 5-8 years with Petit Poly Epoxy. It sands well and holds up great. I have used it for over 20 years on my CB. This was a two -part polyurethane. Whether the one part PolyPoxy available now holds up as well, I can't say, but probably worth a try. Jack F. Stewart FS1342 Atwood Lake, OH