Restoring Gelcoat where stripes are removed.

[MammaZen]

Helo fellow boaters!

I am new to iboats and this my first post. I have read some excellent suggestions and wish to say thanks in advance as I start my project. My wife (MammaZen) and I bought a 1993 Monterey 265 last year (profile pic) and enjoyed a great first season. This year I have decided to remove some of the vinyl striping and restore the Gelcoat.

After removing the waterline stripe, I now see what I'm in for. Any suggestions on how to best proceed to try and uniform the gelcoat between what was exposed and the finish under the stripe would be appreciated. I have started with the scotch bright and comet - not enough - then the sanding pads, starting with medium - still not quite enough - the stipe line is still visible. I will post some pics today and throughout the project and any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Restoring Gelcoat where stripes are removed.

Welcome to iboats.

Hmmm a 16 year old boat is probably faded. That is a big task. Clean it up and see what a season in the sun does to it. You might be fighting an impossible battle. It will only be noticed by you.

Clean it and go boating!!

 

[MammaZen]

Re: Restoring Gelcoat where stripes are removed.

Welcome to iboats.

Hmmm a 16 year old boat is probably faded. That is a big task. Clean it up and see what a season in the sun does to it. You might be fighting an impossible battle. It will only be noticed by you.

Clean it and go boating!!

Thanks Bob for the welcome,

The boat is actually in exeptional condition given it's age and there is no real oxidization on the deck. I don't mind the work, so I'll keep at it. I'm trying to figure out how to upload a pic from last year and I'll post more as I continue.

Well back to it....

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Restoring Gelcoat where stripes are removed.

Pictures? Go to non boating technical section and the top 3 posts are about pictures. Even step by step instructions. If that's the boat in your avatar.... very nice. Where is the stripe? Why not re-do the stripe?

If you are trying to accomplish the buffing by hand....... you will find a variable speed buffer (not an orbital polisher) is the tool.

 

[erikgreen]

Re: Restoring Gelcoat where stripes are removed.

Here's a thought:

When I pulled the stripes off of my boats, I found the gelcoat underneath was a different color. Not due to oxidation, but because the stripe had protected it the gelcoat was in perfect shape and was the boat's original color.

If yours is the same way, you either have to cover it up with another stripe or paint, or gelcoat. I don't know of any way to artificially age gelcoat.

ERik

 

[MammaZen]

Re: Restoring Gelcoat where stripes are removed.

Thanks for the tip Bob, I'll get some pics up later and yes it is the boat in my avatar. I have removed the stripe at the water line and will be removing some smaller ones that are hard to see, the large stripe will stay. I just find that without them the boat looks a little sleeker, when I get some pic's let me know what you think.

 

[MammaZen]

Re: Restoring Gelcoat where stripes are removed.

Here's a thought:

When I pulled the stripes off of my boats, I found the gelcoat underneath was a different color. Not due to oxidation, but because the stripe had protected it the gelcoat was in perfect shape and was the boat's original color.

If yours is the same way, you either have to cover it up with another stripe or paint, or gelcoat. I don't know of any way to artificially age gelcoat.

ERik

Hi Erik,

You're absolutely correct that is the situation, the boat seems to have a yellow tinge above and below, where under the stripe it is very white. I have just finished copletely cleaning her and I feel that after I wet sand, polish and wax it might not be that noticeable so near the water line. I'll post some pic's later.

Well, back at it again!

 

[Mark42]

Re: Restoring Gelcoat where stripes are removed.

There is only one solution: Reverse stripe it. Thats where the old striping is removed exposing the gel coat, and then the rest of the boat is covered with stripes while you wait for the sun to fade out the newly exposed gel.

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Restoring Gelcoat where stripes are removed.

Hello m8s..

I know this is kinda late reply but seems like a common issue for used boat owners.

The way to get that "ghost" out is to sand and buff.

Get yourself a black magic marker and mark your stripe area up .. then wipe with acetone. This will kinda give you a guide. ( Good trick with small preval gel repairs for guide coat sanding )

DA with 600 grit till gone, wetsand a little with 1200 grit and Buff to shine. ( wetsand with 400,600 then 1200 if no DA is available ). Oh..and be sure to mask tape any stripe thats close that will not be removed so you dont burn the edge off.

YD.

 

[danond]

Re: Restoring Gelcoat where stripes are removed.

Sanding only works *sometimes*. It's not good advice if your gelcoat is already thin, as sanding through the fade can mean sanding through the gelcoat. I'm speaking from experience.

Faded gelcoat's best solution is a repaint. If you can remove the fade with sanding and buffing, then you're lucky, but it's not typical!

If repainting is out, I recommend a wet-sand and a buff, then let the sun do the rest. If it's still not where you want it, repaint is the final option.

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Restoring Gelcoat where stripes are removed.

with all due respect dan..

Im only talking about sanding out " ghosts " ..

If the gel is so far buffed out too thin then why would you suggest "repaint" and. with what paint ?..primer.?

your suggestion is wrong m8..Montaray had thick gel .. you will be able to to sand out many scratches and ghost print without a problem...

If in fact you do burn though..do not consider paint..just re-gel ( I dont think you need to do this as Montaray is thick gel.. ) yes some gouges are thick..DO Not paint..

YD.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Restoring Gelcoat where stripes are removed.

To start with its the rest of the hull that needs to be sanded and buffed, don't even touch the stripe yet.



Not sure what the magic marker was for, but don't do it, if you can't see where the stripe is, then your done.

Start in a small less noticeable spot and try buffing, if that doesn't work try sanding with 1000 and then buff, if you can't get it with 1000 try 800. Normally with white there's no need to go with a finer grit than 1000 to get a good gloss, but it can depend on the brand and type of sand paper used plus the type of gel coat.

If you can't get the small area to match then forget trying it on the rest of the boat.

There's no way to tell if the gel coat is thick or thin before you start and it will be different in each area of the boat, but typically there's plenty of gel coat to sand and buff it a few times.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Restoring Gelcoat where stripes are removed.

OMG just replace the stripe!!! faster than sanding.