If you did a lot of fiberglass work on your boat and used epoxy resin gel coat does not adhere to most epoxy resin’s very well. If you like the very glossy wet look on your boat expensive two part paint is the way to go. If you keep the boat in the salt water over two to three weeks at a time with no bottom paint gel coat is the way to go. If you want to patch your work 5 -10 years down the road you can paint a fresh coat of paint on and it looks new again. If you use gel coat and want to patch things up in 5-10 years its hard to match up the old with the new. If you spray gel coat you will have to sand with a couple of grits of paper re spray some of the locations you sanded through then rubbing compound then wax and then wax again and again. If you spray your paint you don’t have to sand between coats if you time it correctly and you never have to wax. If you roll and brush you do have to sand between coats. If you talk just price gel coat would be cheaper. If you want to make a 30 year old boat look brand new for a very long time Painting is the way to go. If you want your 30 year boat to look like a 10 year old boat in 3 years from the time you gel coated it but it was cheaper on your budget Gel coat is the way to go.
I am starting to run out of comparisons. Bottom line is They both have good and bad points to them.
The key is what’s best for you and your circumstances.
I had the bottom of my boat gel coated white because it sits on a trailer and the rubbing of the boat on and off a trailer would mess up a top coat paint over time. I painted with roller in tip the inside and outside to the water line with expensive paint. I like the wet look and I only used epoxy resin.
FellowShip
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Just for the Grins
Official Antique Classic SeaCraft Owner