Restoring the gelcoat ??

Maine Sail · Post by **Maine Sail** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 12:06 pm

Hi Guys,

One of my projects this spring is to restore the inside of my anchor locker. I'm not a believer of storing my anchor on the roller because it can chew through a mooring pendant in short order in a storm so it resides in my anchor locker.

Because of this I want to use gelcoat and not paint for durability reasons. I've yet to find a paint that will hold up in an anchor locker and yes I have tried two part paints.

So my question is this. After preparation can I just add "waxsol" to my gelcoat and roll it on? I've seen them do this at Morris, General Marine, Eastern Boats and Sabre but I don't know what the secret is..??

I don't need a "show boat" finish just one that is somewhat smooth, clean and durable. I'd prefer to use gelcoat but was thinking and wondering would Interprotect 2000E, in white, work for this?

So any advice on rolling gelcoat would be great!

Quetzalsailor · Post by **Quetzalsailor** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 4:59 pm

You can now buy the 'resurface'/repair type of gelcoat at West Marine as well as the air inhibited type for use in the mould. You can use the air inhibited type for resurfacing if you spray any of several light coatings: mould release, glycol, etc.

Please don't rub it in when I confess that I used the wrong type of gelcoat, spilled the catalyst, and applied the undercatalyzed mix over epoxy resin. It never hardened and it lasted about a week before sheeting off. Three errors for the price of one.

stone · Post by **stone** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 6:25 pm

I think the gelcoat would be a great idea . I would roll two coats (3/8th nap roller cover) the first without any wax ,then the second with wax added. I usually add the same amount of wax as I do hardener.

Capn_Tom · Post by **Capn_Tom** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 6:51 pm

I don't think you would see any better finish longevity out of the 2003 than with paint. It is basically just a 2 part epoxy paint.

Maine Sail · Post by **Maine Sail** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 11:08 pm

If I roll the first coat minus wax how long do I let it kick before rolling on a second waxed coat?

CharlieJ · Post by **CharlieJ** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 2:16 am

till it's tacky but not sticky. If it is layup resin it will feel slightly tacky when it's ready. Before that it'll be sticky- your finger will stick.

Chris Campbell · Post by **Chris Campbell** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 12:33 pm

I realize this isn't marine - but what about one of those liquid pickup truck bed liner products? I haven't used any of them, but have a friend who did the back of his truck when it was new, and it's held up to pretty regular use for more than 5 years now.

Here's an example, this one even boasts about a salty environment:
http://www.chirienterprise.com/WhataLin ... Liner.html