'73 restore, gel coat removal

So far I have removed all of the paint from one hull. This was done with a belt sander w/ 80 grit, then I went with an orbital w/ 40 grit, 80 grit, 150 grit then 220 grit. She looks good with white hulls and a yellow deck , and is as smooth as a baby's @$$. I will however go over with a 320 wet sand before it's done. My question is... Do I need to remove any more gel coat ? I have sanded down to the glass in some areas, not bigger than a 50 cent piece and not more than 2-3 % of the total area. So do I need to take any more weight off , or is it better to leave some material there?

Are you shooting new gelcoat on it? I'm re-doing a '73 as well. I have been using DA sanders and orbitals and its long work. I'm going to move to the belt sander next to get the job done then come back and clean up with the DA.

If your putting new gelcoat on i think your as far as you need to go. I'm assuming your not trying to create a race rod since its a '73 and like me its more of a toy. The little bit of weight from existing gelcoat is insignificant compared to the weight from just being an older boat. I wouldn't worry about it.

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'73 hobie 16 restored 2011
'00 Seaswirl fishin boat

Reelknotty, I don't think I could get her tight enough to be a racer, but... What is your original colors ? And you're not kidding about the time factor.... I went at her with the DA first for about two minutes, this was long enough to let me see what I was working with and made the determination that I should use the belt sander to scuff and/or remove the auto paint down to the gel. I spent 20-25 minutes with the belt sander, then three hours with the DA, using progressivly finer paper. But most of that time was w/ 40 grit . This time is per side... Inside, outside, and deck. And I have only completed one hull so far. Oh, I am going to use a two stage paint from PPG or Interlux.. I know,I know, My bottom will suffer.

So, this question might be a good one for MMiller, How much does the gel coat weigh on a 16 from the factory. because I have swept up about three pounds off of on hull and put it in the trash!!!!!!!!!!?

My original was blue but its going to be white after i re-gel. I have had power boats for years but this is my first blow boat so its all about afternoon fun with the family since I have a bunch to learn before i could concider racing. When that time comes I can convince the wifey to buy a new one.

If you think about it.... you might use a gallon of gel coat and a gallon of additives to cover both hulls. Water weighs 8 lbs per gallon. I assume Gel coat is heavier than water so lets go 10 lbs per gallon. Since it works off chemical reaction we don't need to figure in any evaporation loss so at most your looking at 20 lbs for the boat or 10 lbs per hull. That seems right in my logic. Pretty much a non issue for a pleasure boat if you ask me.

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'73 hobie 16 restored 2011
'00 Seaswirl fishin boat

I'm also restoring an older H16, and I'm trying to decide between the potential topcoats...

I don't have a sprayer or room to spray gelcoat, and it looks like you cannot successfully roll it on (has anyone done this successfully?). So I'm considering Interlux (I've used this on a monohull previously), but I'm also now reading about Supermarine Revolution (SM-1000). Has anyone personally used Supermarine?

Sorry, not trying to hijack your conversation - this is closely related to what you're doing.

I'm not Matt, but I would say no more than 7-8 pounds of gel and catalyst per hull, if that.

If it was me (thank goodness its not as I don't have that kind of time) I would just buy a cheap spray gun, and rent the compressor for a day. In the long run the gel coat is far superior to the paint. I have herd of guys doing gel coat with a roller but I can't say how it turned out.

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06 getaway -- always remember, man with both feet in mouth have no leg to stand on.

Roy, thanks for the thought - I hadn't looked into renting a compressor, but I'm sure I could find one, and spray guns are cheap. I have one hull finished, and am about to start the other (it's pretty cold in the garage this time of year, so I won't be patching/fairing the blisters for a little while still).

You can put gell coat on with brushes and rollers just get ready to break out the fileboard and straight-sand it like a surfboard! spraying it on is way faster and it lays even as glass, make sure not to mix it too thick or you'll get a strange orange-peal finish which requires..you guessed it..more sanding! I've seen it put on with brooms (literally!) and sanded to mirror but it takes weeks.
Save the time and spray it, of have it sprayed at a marine repair (they'll be glad to see that you stripped it!)

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Jack

I just posed the question of gel coat vs. paint to the service manager at St. Louis Sail & Paddle (Larry) - apparently there's another option I wasn't thinking of (perhaps everyone else has thought of this, and I was the lone holdout??).

To me, the quest boils down to two thoughts - durability and expense. Since I don't have capability to spray gel coat, having it done would add expense, but the durability would be great. On the other hand, I thought rolling/tipping something like Interlux Brightside was my other option - less expensive, but less durable (but easy to touch-up). Larry says that Brightside won't hold up to beaching the boat, and he recommends using a 2-part epoxy paint that "big boat people" use to completely seal/waterproof their hulls (normally after having blister work done). It's Interlux InterProtect 2000E, and most people don't use this as the final coat (limited color choices). Another advantage to this over gel coat is that it'll stick to the epoxy where I've worked on a small delam area. According to Larry, if the final coat is buffed out with 400 to 600 grit, etc., it'll have a nice shine, and the durability will nearly rival gel coat.

I floated this question at the local West Marine shop, and their reaction was if Larry recommended it, it's gonna work (it's nice to see the respect of professional reputation and judgement across companies).

I've ordered a quart of white - and will let everyone know how it works out. The garage is getting nearly warm enough to do this soon.

If on the other hand, you've tried this and there are problems, please let me know asap.

It's been a long winter, but I made bareable by working on the Cat. I am down to the wet sanding now, I have all my new parts and I am chomping at the bit to get some wind.Oh ya, I still have not picked a color.
How serious is the "dark colors" on the deck and or hulls?

I picked up a "new" mast base. The mast(upper) is a no brainer, remove the old, seal and rivit the new. but the lower only has a small hole in it, do I have to drill and tap that to fit my dolphin striker? Also it is not drilled for rivits, any way to realign the new to get the rivits in the same hols on the cross bar, or do I redrill in a new location???
OK Now I am going to do a search on how to post pics