Thread:

Clear Coat, or Gel Coat???

I've never liked the shine (or lack there of) of Gel coat. I perfer Automotive clear anyday. As far as durability goes, there are plenty of well used boats out there with 30+ year paint jobs on them and they still look great. I think towing the boat causes more damage than cruising down the river does.
As far as flexing goes, a lot of the newer colors already have the flex agent in them.
There are plenty of painted 1200 hp K-boats that see more abuse than you average weekend pleasure boat and the paint jobs are still beautifull.......

Originally Posted by Cowboy_Mike

That what happen to my Bahner. I bought it from a woman that let it sit with just an old tarp, the clear is gone, minus a few tinted looking spots. Thats why i posed the question............So I take it paint would only last a few seasons, and GEL would last a lot longer? Which is more affordable, and applyable in my garage/drive way?????
If Gel coat, how hard is it to lay on, and yes, corvettes are painted, especially the old ones that have been restored. I just want to get my boat to be bright, and shine like it should. Thank you all for the info devil

Here's a GREAT_THREAD about re-doing gel. Now, granted, this is a whole restoration. But, the gentleman went the proper route for a boat and did it right with gel.

You might also check with this "Pat's Fiberglass" that did the resto and see what they suggest and why. They seem to know that they are doing and are immersed in it everyday.

Originally Posted by TRG

BEER:30 Is painting a boat with automotive coatings the wrong way to go about painting?
TRG

I am more along the lines of what you said. Either way, it will WORK. I am trying to point out that EACH ONE has their place. On the 60-100 hour per year pleasure boat, I have not seen paint work out well at all. I've had it myself and seen others and it's just not up to that task. Try dragging a tie-off rope across your car or pickup a few times and look at the finish in the sun. You WILL see every single place the rope has been. Put on a pair of trunks and climb up on the fenders of your car or truck a few times and you will see how it doesn't work well.

What do we do with nice paint jobs on nice cars??? Wipe them with a diaper and NEVER touch them with your hands. They are garaged and parked in the shade whenever possible. We sure as HELL don't let water dry on them. Water spots burn into paint almost immediately, whereas it takes significantly more time and dried water to cake onto gel.

Now, as I said, if the boat is a "show" boat that races a handful of times a year - but spends most of it's time under a canopy (in the pits) / or / is a "show" boat that is on the river a few times a year and is constantly wiped down after EACH run, paint will work just fine.

Is it WRONG to paint a boat??? Not necessarily. If it was 100% right, ALL boats would be cracked out of the mold(s) pure white and then painted after assembly.

Is it EASIER to paint a boat??? Absolutely.

My GN boat is done with automotive paint. Fine for a race boat or limited use situation where little Billy isn't crawling over the deck covered in sand.

Gel coat bonds with the fiberglass. It is much more durable against abrasion and impact than automotive paint, and if you do get some damage it can be spotted in and buffed out like new. I have skippered yachts with LPU (linear poly-urethane) hulls that looks the tits, but it is next to impossible to spot in a repair. Auto paint can be spotted in and sanded/buffed, but will not retain the look over the years.

If you're doing the deck with gel coat, buy a case of beer and get a couple of buddies to help you sand it and buff out. You're talking a couple of weekends all in and it will take abuse for years to come. The auto paint can be done in a day, but you'll need to stay after it more than the gel if you want a good look. If you're not too concerned that it's perfect (like me) do the auto paint and be mindful that it's a bit more prone to scratches and call it good.

Truth be told I can gel coat any area faster and with more quality then paint cheaper. Yes it takes a buff every season but you can drop something on it and it bounces off with out one chip. Paint not shiny yes but not durable. A paint flex agent only allows paint to flex not pull and stretch and has a plastic shine as well it will fail over time. Look at bumpers on old z28 cars n such.

Paint or gel some people like what they like. Me I would rather 180 wash mask n shoot, then 180,wash re mask shoot primer,sand and block and rem ask. Then paint and then machine anyway cause well everyone does not have a 50 k booth.......

Long run 300 in materials tops for that deck. Try buying just the base coat and sealer for that? Let alone clear and paper and compounds. With the right material I can lay down gel like several coats of clear. Again no booth both need to be sanded. If paint was the most durable cost effective way to make a boat all production companies would do so. They just have not been smart enough to hire a west coast gel coat artist.....

My .02

Spectrumcolor.com

You will find instruction there as well.
Send me pictures and I will write a plan.

Billy

I have used urethane clear over base color on many auto paint jobs and love the durability and shine. I have just finished gel coating the bottom of my flatty and color sanded and buffed to a gloss,and boy are my arms tired!! I now wonder if gel clear would have been a better choice to get the gloss and durability of the gel, or would urethane clear be more durable than the gel?
My questions... is urethane clear more durable than gel clear?,,,is gel clear a better choice when I gel coat the deck?? I really like the way the gel coat color coat sands,,it does not clog the sand paper the way paint does!! It is really thick so less worry of sanding through,,but clear coat always has given me a better gloss than buffed color coats. So i want to clear over the gel coat IF I don't lose durability!! This is my first experience with gel coat.
I painted this boat with Corlar primer and Imron color over 27 years ago and there were no stress cracks,no peeling etc. That sold me on catalyzed primers and clears.
I was tired of the solid red color, so I'm going white with red stripes. I'm using gel because I WANTED to,,when I decided to paint it in the early 80's I was told I couldn't use gel coat 'cause you can't git that stuff" , "can't be done",etc. Then I said I wanted to use this new stuff "Imron" and was told "it won"t stick,,peel off in sheets" so I bought the Dupont Refinishers book and learned!!