Automotive Paint Over/On Top Of Gel Coat

[mikeg205]

Originally Posted by College Kid

Question for the group:

What are the thoughts on pinstripping?

I am struggling with the patches that run through all three colours of gel coat and how I am going to be able to do that in a patch. (see picture)

My thought was that I could probably do white gel on top and blue on the bottom and meet them in the raspberry colour.

Then hide the where they join under a discrete grey pinstrip.

Good Spot for a cool decal? But if your MC-OCD is above a 6 then three colors of gel coat

[XtwentyNot]

Originally Posted by College Kid

Thanks, it's what I had laying around. When I actually get to the finishing I will be doing it right.

For the life I me I wasn't a fan of the raspberry, felt like it was a little too "90's". But after all this work I really am quite fond of it.

Ha! That's how I felt about my old boat. Sorry about my remark, couldn't help it

I actually switched to 3M, try some!

[College Kid]

A bit of an update,

I was finally able to clean up the garage enough to move the boat off the wall and get to the other side to work on that trouble area.

I have ground out most of the filler/bondo. The patch actually looks pretty good, I don't think I am going to have to do any structural work. Just need to sort out the best way to go about gel coating the different colours.

Also uncovered the patch on the stern corner, I still need to do some more work on uncovering it to know how much damage was done there.

[mikeg205]

I agree with you structural repair... The lack of additional cracking leads me to agree with you. You've done a great job so far!! -

[Lumbergh]

Nice work and perseverance.

Love to see someone go all out, I know I would have bailed and sold the boat a long time ago.

Keep up the pics and updates.

[College Kid]

for Lumbergh:

36-3/4 inches from here to the center hole of the forward mount.

[bsloop]

Hull has had a ROUGH life!

Getting crisp lines while shooting gel is VERY difficult, especially over 4 colors and close together like the pink stripe.
I would try to match the blue and white, leaving the pink as "no mans land" to blend together.
Use a vinyl pin stripe to cover the blend and get rid of the pink. Looks like the interior has been recovered, removing the pink so why keep it outside?
Silver flake would add a pop to the timeless white/blue and match current production trends.

You are a glutton for punishment.
Repaired gel is not the same as factory gel. It is much thinner, having a tendency to chip like paint (that is all it is, thick paint). If you hope to get top dollar for it, sell as soon as you are finished. If you used it for a season or two, the myraid of imperfections will begin to show and sale price will drop significantly.
I still vote, get the surface smooth and wrap it!

[College Kid]

I am not looking to sell it anytime soon, not after all this work. lol

Thanks for the thoughts on the gel not lasting very well, it actually gives me a little more confidence in attempting it myself. I don't figure I am going to get the colour match right the first time so I suspect over the time I own the boat my MCOCD will take over and I'll end up trying to match the colour better is subsequent years.

I like your idea about a silver pin stripe. I had thought black but looking boat and thinking about no having the top raspberry stripe. A silver that matches the the lower hull would look pretty great.

[College Kid]

so after a bit of an upset on the gelcoat colour and a lot of detective work I am back on track.

I was able to get start work a few weeks ago on the blue, It was alot easier than I expected and I think has turned out amazing!!! I am really happy with the progress. I ended up not shooting it but just brushing it on with a small artist paint brush. It took a few coats to be able to build it up to the proper level but with some practice I was able to mix one batch and work with it over a couple of layers.


I should be able to get started on the grey dawn (white), later today or tomorrow.

[SSMoose]

College, I am stunned by your work. You have made me a little jealous that you have the guts to do this. Keep up the good work. Your effort is being rewarded by the gain of skills and pride in workmanship. It keeps looking better each set of pics. There will always be those who will say you are nuts to do all this. Keep your own counsel and you will know when to stop.