Is a gel coat hull hard to paint?

[MyStar]

Hi all,

I'm thinking of buying a new boat that has a gel coated finish. A friend of mine said that if I paint the hull I'll have a hard time getting the paint to stick to the gel coat; is this really true?

Is gel coat a finish meant to replace paint?

Don

 

[Tom Foley]

Totally false statement . Sand the hull to both level and roughen the surface with 320 - 400 grit paper and Red Scotchbrite pads to get into tight areas . Liberally wipe down hull with acetone to remove any traces of wax from manufacturing . Prime and paint as you would any other surface . My best luck has been in a warm , 80 deg or more ,enviroment . I'm not a pro , but this works very well .Lots of others will chime in to help .

 

[Bill Gibson]

YEP! What Tom said all the way....you will get a beautiful paint job off of gel coat if you prep it properly...and yes gel coat ususally acts as the finish on a glass boat...comes in a variety of colors....its the first material you apply to a mold before you apply the glass...it can be brushed or sprayed on.

 

[M@MRacing]

Or better yet have the hull wrapped, no painting what so ever but if you do paint follow what Tom said.

 

[MyStar]

Thanks for your feedback guys!

My dad always told me, when you hear something, find out if it's true

I have a choice between white or red gel coat finish. If I decide to paint the boat, it will be red. Even though I'll have to put primer on the gel coat first, should I get the white or red one? They say if you want a brighter color back it with white.

Don

 

[Bill Gibson]

Thanks for your feedback guys!

My dad always told me, when you hear something, find out if it's true

I have a choice between white or red gel coat finish. If I decide to paint the boat, it will be red. Even though I'll have to put primer on the gel coat first, should I get the white or red one? They say if you want a brighter color back it with white.

Don

What kind of paint are you using? Some red pigments have a lot of clear in them, so it takes a few coats to keep the lighter colors from bleeding thru.

 

[M@MRacing]

My boat which you see is a wrap job you can get some nice stuff done that way no painting, at your local grafic shop.

 

[moparbarn]

the only thing i would do different than what tom said, is wipe the hull down with acetone or thinner BEFORE your sand it. that way you don't work any wax or release agent into the gel coat with the sandpaper. then wipe again after sanding.

 

[MyStar]

Bill: I haven't gotten that far yet as to what kind of paint I might be using. Are you saying if I prime with a light color I'll have to put more coats of red paint?

M@MRacing: I didn't even now graphic shops offered a "wrap".

Moparbarn: Thanks for the tip!

Don

 

[M@MRacing]

Yes they wrap about anything now just call around to your local grafic shops see who does it, the boat in my picture is a gel coat boat i just lightly sanded it before they laid the wrap on.

 

[vision craft boats]

the only thing i would do different than what tom said, is wipe the hull down with acetone or thinner BEFORE your sand it. that way you don't work any wax or release agent into the gel coat with the sandpaper. then wipe again after sanding.

Yes that is very important to wipe it down first, we always wash it down first with soap and water and then acetone or a thinner, like moparbarn said you will sand the wax down into the gel if you don't do this. Hope this helps. Rich

 

[Bill Gibson]

Bill: I haven't gotten that far yet as to what kind of paint I might be using. Are you saying if I prime with a light color I'll have to put more coats of red paint?

M@MRacing: I didn't even now graphic shops offered a "wrap".

Moparbarn: Thanks for the tip!

Don

Don, It depends on how much pigment is in the color you are using....if its a nitro boat you will need to use a "fuel proof" paint or clearcoat to protect the paint from the nitro....polyurethene or epoxy paints are generally fuelproof....i use Dupont Imron paints for my boats, but there are cheaper paints that you can use that will work. The primer that i use is gray in color and most lighter colored paints will cover it well, but you almost always apply more than one coat of paint regardless of what color you use! Oh and ABSOLUTLY wipe a new glass hull down with acetone before you do anything to it....my bad! Guess im gettin old! :lol:

 

[MyStar]

Hi Bill,

Sorry for not responding sooner. I had a serious personal matter that took all my attention.

Thanks for your input!

Don

 

[misshydro]

Hi Bill,

Sorry for not responding sooner. I had a serious personal matter that took all my attention.

Thanks for your input!

Don

If you doing that Bud red...Put a white base color or sealer on it..Most hull colors are sprayed over white to get that bright and crisp looks to them.. Found that out when I had to spray three Miss Buds hulls.. Did one with red oxied and a gray primmer and both can out one to two shade darker than orginal..third hull I'd sprayed a white base coat and it matched to the T!!!If you cant find the Miss Bud paint code,I had my miss Bud Dupont croma visioned it and came up with a paint formula/code for it...94 KIA BLAZE RED match it to the T..What Tom said is wright on paint prep accept the acidtone..Dont use it.. Use prep sol=AKA tar&wax& grease remover.you can find that at you local paint store or at advance autoparts stores..I do this for a living,painting cars..