New Gel Coat cost?

[jammer]

Hey all, I have searched a ton and either A. my search skills suck, or B. there are not very many posts on this (unlikely). How much would it cost to have the hull of a 1997 Super Sport re-painted/gel coated to all black? I know the price will vary some, but just an estimate? Also, is this something that can be done as a winter project, or would this definitley need to be left to the pros? I really want a black hull, and possibly the deck too, but definitely cannot afford a new boat.
thanks!
-d.

[Batman]

RE: New Gel Coat cost?

$2k

[Andrew]

RE: New Gel Coat cost?

it can be done as a diy but its gonna take some practice and quite a bit of equipment. you'll probably spend as much on equipment (assuming u don't already have most of the stuff) as you would a new gel coat, but if you pay a pro all u've got is gel coat, if u do it urself then u will always be prepared to do it again if u want.....

go search the www.correctcraftfan.com forums. there is a nice little "trial and error how to" on there and a couple of guys that can help ya out

[shaunvr]

Here is a link to a thread at correctcraftfan where "Skibum" completely stripped and redid his entire boat. Look thru the whole thread, it's 10 pages long with photos.

[ffmedic74]

Regelcoated????? I would say more than 2k. Gelcoat is pretty sticky stuff and I think would be hard to get to have the same properties as the original.

[DanielC]

Gel coat does not self level like paint, and Gel coat does not surface cure. Lots of sanding and polishing will solve the orange peel effect from the lack of self leveling, and there are ways to cause a surface cure, but the amount of sanding and polishing will drive up costs.

[Nates78Ski]

Yeah, Check out SkiBum's thread, he did a beautiful job completely re-gelling his boat.

Nate

[jammer]

I thought people "re-painted" (apparently its gel coat) older boat's hulls all the time? Is this an uncommon practice? Or can you actually just paint over the existing hull?

[Batman]

I recently had a couple places fixed on my boat, but asked the fiberglass man and he said about $2k to fix spots, tape, spray, sand, wax entire boat. Are you sure you want to trial and error with your boat? Gel Coat is not exactly the easiest property to work with!

[jammer]

Can the hull and/or deck be painted instead of gel coated? I am not really sure how the hull is made (gelcoat/paint), or what the difference betwen gel coat and paint is. Also, what about a large black vinyl sticker? I have an uncle that does vinyl and that could be very cheap for me, but want it to last, so I dont know..

[Andrew]

sure, you can paint with no problem. BUT the paint will never last as long or hold up as well as gel coat...... most of your low end ski boats/runabouts are painted, as well as larger yachts and fishing boats. the sticker MAY work if applied correctly, but touchup would be impossible. i'd really like to see u give it a shot though

[darrel409]

If you PAINT black over white I would think its going to look bad in a short time.

[bkhallpass]

Gel coat is a form of fiberglass resin with pigment added to it. In the manufacture of the boat, is is sprayed into the perfectly smooth mold, before the fiberglass is laid into the mold. The gel coat is several millimeters thick which makes it durable. Gelcoat can also be wetsanded to remove surface scratches etc.

As mentioned above, gel coat is not self levelling. If you spray on gel coat after manufacture there will be significant runs, orange peel, etc. It is very labor intensive
to sand the gel to smooth, and thus you could expect significant costs.

Paint is paint. If you put black paint over a white boat, you will see the white everytime you scratch it. You will also significantly devalue your boat if you paint over what is a fairly new boat.

My $.02, this is a bad idea. If you want a black boat, sell yours and buy a black boat. BKH

[jammer]

What about vinyl graphics? Would that be a good idea? I could have a large sheet of black vinyl ran around, is that a good idea? I've never put new vinyl on a boat and am not sure how it holds up

[JAG]

Vinyl only lasts about 5 to 7 years and I would not recommend black.