Tweet
With the weather warming up here in Canada and the rebuilt GT40 going into the boat next week, I am starting to think about the gelcoat restoration phase of my project.
I've done a lot of searching on CCF, here, and other boat sites in the past week regarding Gelcoat restoration.
I have boiled down my reading to the following questions....
1) Current gelcoat condition is poor. All decals are broken or peeling or already gone. I need to remove everything. I have read about using spray on oven cleaner. I have failed to find how to use it though. Do you just spray it on, wait a few mins and start peeling? What is a good scraper tool that won't damage gel?
2) I'm sure I need to start with wetsanding and not skip directly to cutting compound. But there are wild recommendations across the online world about what grit to start with. I've sort of landed at starting with 800, yet some people go much more aggressive. Thoughts? See pics below for current condition.
3) With so much wetsanding, I'm really interested in doing it with mechanical assistance. I've read its best to use a DA sander in a grid pattern. But for the 3M rubbing compound and polishing phase, everyone says to use a rotary polisher like the Dewalt DPW849. Do I really need to purchas a DA and a rotary? That adds up fast.
4) I'm guessing to do this right, I should remove the rub rail. I really like the teal insert. The rubrail jacket is beat up in some places so I will probably replace it. Can I re-use the original coloured teal insert in the new rubrail?
Thanks guys!
I've done a lot of searching on CCF, here, and other boat sites in the past week regarding Gelcoat restoration.
I have boiled down my reading to the following questions....
1) Current gelcoat condition is poor. All decals are broken or peeling or already gone. I need to remove everything. I have read about using spray on oven cleaner. I have failed to find how to use it though. Do you just spray it on, wait a few mins and start peeling? What is a good scraper tool that won't damage gel?
2) I'm sure I need to start with wetsanding and not skip directly to cutting compound. But there are wild recommendations across the online world about what grit to start with. I've sort of landed at starting with 800, yet some people go much more aggressive. Thoughts? See pics below for current condition.
3) With so much wetsanding, I'm really interested in doing it with mechanical assistance. I've read its best to use a DA sander in a grid pattern. But for the 3M rubbing compound and polishing phase, everyone says to use a rotary polisher like the Dewalt DPW849. Do I really need to purchas a DA and a rotary? That adds up fast.
4) I'm guessing to do this right, I should remove the rub rail. I really like the teal insert. The rubrail jacket is beat up in some places so I will probably replace it. Can I re-use the original coloured teal insert in the new rubrail?
Thanks guys!
Attached Files
Comment