Hey everyone,
It has been a long time since I have posted here, life has been very busy... In a good way though!
I thought I would share a few photos of my gel-coat restoration that is just finishing up.
The photos below were achieved by wet sanding the hull with 1000 grit paper- then compounded three times, and followed up with two coats of wax. I am simply amazed with the results. I have always been a DIY guy, but after seeing a few boat get transformed by these guys in Pensacola, I knew I had have it professionally done. They also repainted the stripes with awlcraft, and did the bottom paint. They completed the work in 2 weeks.
I expected a big improvement, but truthfully- I am floored.
New lettering going on soon.
My 32 year old baby has been given a new lease on life. I'm even deeper in love now... Totally worth it- and WAY less than an full paint job.
Take a look.
(http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k265/kevinbarbr/IMG_2202_zps1b91b3d4.jpg)
(http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k265/kevinbarbr/IMG_2201_zps4396056e.jpg)
(http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k265/kevinbarbr/IMG_2204_zps45617014.jpg)
Yes- that if the first time I have seen anything reflected in my gelcoat.
Kevin Barber
S/V Pan Dragon
1982 Pearson 367
Pensacola, FL
Looking great Kevin!
I restored the gel coat on FarAway with similar results. Pearson did a great job on these boats. The gel coat holds up really well.
I can't say my gel coat held up very well after 38 years. Since it was beyond repair we had to grind it all off. Clear down to the polyester resin hull. Two thick coats of high solid epoxy primer followed by 4 coats of Awlgrip Epoxy.
(http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l505/banjoband/epoxyfinish.png)
4 years later, this finish has not lost its shine and it's never seen wax. It probably never will. There's no need for it.
A retired fiberglass boat builder I know has an interesting take on what to do with dried out chalky polyester resin gel coat. He gave me a drawn out quasi scientific explanation (blah blah blah) of how polyester resin never stops curing from the outside in.
His technique uses no wax since he will also tell you that wax is only a temporary fix. Instead he washes the polyester gelcoat down with epoxy reducer. Which he claims restores and rejuvenates the gel coat. This transforms the gelcoat chalk to something harder and less porous, then he polishes this to a highs gloss. He does not use wax. He claims this finish will hold up for years after a wax job has evaporated.
Pete sv "Tartanic" hull #6