Gel coat or AwlGrip

Lurch · #1 03-24-2003, 05:07 PM

I just purchased a 18' seacraft it is in good shape but it is badly faded by the sun. I would like to re-finish it but shhould I have it gelcoated again or just paint it with awlgrip?

Wich would be easier? I have not gel coated anything before.

Thanks,
Ken(Lurch) [img]images/icons/confused.gif[/img]

Eric McNiff · #2 03-24-2003, 06:24 PM

Ken,

I just had the same question with my '77. I decided to gel coat it. I had a local shop spray it on. That is the easy part....now I have to wet sand the whole hull.

Here is what I have heard:
* Gel coat is more durable than Awlgrip - just what I heard.
* Gel coat takes longer to gloss up - meaning you have to wet sand down to 1200 grit (starting with 600 grit) which takes some time. Then you have to compound it, then buff it. It will probably take me 40 hours to get it to look good.
* Awlgrip does not require as much "post spray" work to get a nice glossy finish

The main reason I gel coated was because I wanted a real durable finish that didn't fade out and or scratch as fast. I'm sure that there will be varying opinions on this, but I just felt more comfortable with gelcoat. Plus, it is easy to repair. If you have the time, I would go with a gel coat. If you want quick results that might not look as good in 5 years, go with Awlgrip.

Lurch · #3 03-24-2003, 06:52 PM

if you dont mind me asking....how much did it cost

abl1111 · #4 03-24-2003, 07:50 PM

Go w/ gelcoat; or imron if you want to gp w/ paint. I awlgripped a sailboat myself - she came out GREAT ! I mean perfect gloss and just the way you would want it to look. However, someone scratched the side while anchored and the shortcoming of awlgrip is that you cannot just patch the scratch - you must paint the whole side to get it to blend right.

With imron, it is slightly less durable than awlgrip but CAN BE sprayed/repaired in the damaged area only and blended to look right without having to do the whole side. If it is a boat you want to keep for awhile - gelcoat it. The prep work ( sanding )is the same no matter which way you go. The gelcoat will require a lot of wet sanding and polishing to get it shiny after initial spray, but it is easily repaired and looks great when done.

I know a guy who sprayed his hull w/ gelcoat and some sort of laquer mix and it laid on beautifully. He said it was similar to what they spray on a mold for a new boat...

Finster · #5 03-24-2003, 07:55 PM

I would have to dissagree with Eric_M on the durability of algrip. I've found that algrip, interspray 800 and imron are much more durable than gelcoat. I've dealt with all and the only thing thats nice about gelcoat is, it's easy, but also high maintance.

Eric McNiff · #6 03-26-2003, 01:10 AM

Lurch - It only cost me $600 to have the guy spray it, that included the cost of the gel coat. He gave me a deal on the gel coat as it was getting old and he wanted to get rid of it. I dit the prep (basically just sanded with 120 grit and wiped down with Acetone), and I will do all the post spray wet sanding and polishing. Took him about a day.

The additive that ABL is talking about is Duratec. It adds gloss to the gel coat making it easier to get a nice finish. Whoever sprays it for you will probably already know about this stuff. You can read about it at:

http://www.minicraft.com/Retail/duratec.htm