Gel Coat/clear coat question?

[corey331]

Ok, so I just bought my starflite about a month ago. When I got it I knew the finish on a couple of small spots on the nose and a couple of other places on the top half of the boat needed some attention. Its not bad, but just needs work to be really really nice. Well upon further inspection, one of the previous owners has sprayed clearcoat over the factory gel coat from the rub rail up!! I'm guessing they didn't do the correct prep work, because I have been picking flakes of clear off the nose. And one of the small places I picked it off, I hit the gel that was underneath with a little polish and the shine came right back!! Now, here is my question. How do I go about getting the clear off WITHOUT hurting the gel underneath? I know I am going to have to do some wet sanding and buffing when I get it off, but I just don't know the best way to get the clear off. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

Corey

 

[keith4216]

I did auto painting for years and the only way we would get clear off is sanding or chemical stripper. There may be products now a days that I don't know of but to not hurt the gel my only guess would be wet sand carefully. Wet sand just enough to get the clear off then buff it out. The loose clear you can use a air hose with a blow gun and blow off loose clear.

 

[Kary]

What I have found on several I have done is that one spot may be nice, however, the reason they cleared it is that there were some dry spots. When you hit those with wetsand, you will hit flake and it will be silver instead of color where you have sanded flake. Chemical strippers will soften the already weak gelcoat. Wetsanding will hit the flake.
Since you will hit flake if bad regardless, I would use a DA with 320 wet on it. If you get all the clear off without cutting into any flake, buff with orange 3M and wax.....done.
If you hit some flake it will be blotchy and will need redone properly.

 

[corey331]

Thanks guys. I kinda figured I would have to sand it...oh well, should be a nice winter project. Also, if I do sand through the clear and hit plake, what do I do next? how do I fix that? Thanks again!!

 

[keith4216]

If you hit flake it will be rough when you rub your hand along it. I've never had flake but i would suggest you spray a clear coat on it so it dosn't rust. Just something out of a can to seal it temporaly if its going to sit for a while. Then guessing on what your dealing with I would go ahead sand down the top half or what ever is needed and have the boat shot with a fresh clear coat.

 

[Kary]

If you hit the flake, it will be silver as it is made of aluminum. No way to turn it back to the color unless you cover with the same color flakes, it will be noticed.
The flakes won't rust, but you will have to spray over it or regel

 

[Jetmate]

DO NOT use stripper to get the clear paint off !!!!!!!! Stripper WILL eat into and destroy your gel coat. Sanding will scratch the gel when you get down to that layer.

I would try lacquer thinner. Do a small test spot first. Wet a rag with thinner and see if it softens the paint. If it does, work that spot back to a shine to test the process for the whole boat. You will probably need to leave the thinner rag on for a few minutes. Keep checking and don't walk away, it could dull the Gel Coat if left on to long.

This is a tedious process and can take a long time, but it would be about the safest. As I said before paint stripper will eat into and soften the gel coat if left on a few seconds to long and then it's paint job time.

You could also reclear the surface a second time, and I can point you in that direction if you want. Just let me know. I have both cleared and painted boats before with good results.

Good luck on your project
"Jet"

My ride I painted;
http://checkmate-boats.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14018

 

[keith4216]

If you hit the flake, it will be silver as it is made of aluminum. No way to turn it back to the color unless you cover with the same color flakes, it will be noticed.
The flakes won't rust, but you will have to spray over it or regel

`The flakes will rust if there metal. Any and or your probillay going to be sanding and reclearing

 

[corey331]

Thanks everybody. I think I am just going to sand and re-clear. One of my best friends is a big auto body guy and has done a lot of high end old cars. Looks like he is going to get a crack at doing his first boat this winter! Thanks again!!

 

[Lawson'sLanding]

Not trying to hyjack your thread but hoping to add to it. I am facing the same dilema. As winter approaches I am planning some resto on my new to me 1988 Enticer. The clear has been peeling alot and getting worse every weekend. Under the clear, the finish is rough but shines as well as the rest. Is it too far gone? Mine appears to be all above the rubrail as well. I can scrape it off with my thumbnails so I was going to see what a pressure washer will remove. I was going to start my own post until I read yours.

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[Kary]

`The flakes will rust if there metal. Any and or your probillay going to be sanding and reclearing

I have NEVER seen ANY metal flakes-they are aluminum or acrylic
boat flakes will not rust. Oxidation would be a storage issue (shelf life)

If you want to know the way to do it right?
Sand it down with 80 grit-or sandblast it lightly and have it regelcoated
If you clear it and do not put it in the garage under cover, it will peel again. Gel and paint are not the same material. When UV or sunlight hits the gel, it boils the paint off over time.

I know there are a LOT of people that paint their boats. 10 years later, I get them all dulled out-again. To restore them, I have to do them right. Clearcoat paint is a temporary fix. I know manufacturers use Imron for graphics, but none of them are below the waterline. There is no paint manufactured to be applied below the waterline. Awlgrip is a bottom coat as is anything you will get from West Marine or otherwise. I have made the phone calls and talked to all the reps and inquired about products. Nothing beats good old gelcoat. It makes no difference how good you prep the surface for paint, it will lift again.

Somebody complained that there was not enough information here on this site. There is oodles of info, just has to be in the right spots. It is hard to see some hard work put into somethin just to have it go bad again. Waste of time and money.

Not tryin to rant, just tryin to steer you in the right direction
I hope this helps a bit....

 

[keith4216]

Aluminum is a metal. Aluminum does rust but its not called rust as we know it to be. Its called oxidation. Only ferric metals technically rust as we think of rust. When aluminum oxides it turns white and losses its shine. This it what will happen to your flake left exposed. I do agree regeling is best but its all in how much you want to get into.

 

[wca_tim]

I had some areas where it was into the flake.. I sanded the whole thing with 320 on a da... to get the majority of yellowedand porous gel off, and in the places where the flake was damaged either before or a couple places by me, I carefullyu filed in with HOK polyester flake in the same size and color using intercoat clear... and then used an air brush with intercoat clear diluted base color to match the fade... then shot the whole thing in clear coat. you can see a couple places where I did it if you look close, but as I got practice they got better and overall it looks awesome.

Just my experience...

 

[corey331]

Well I took it to the car wash and you would be amazed out how much clear coat I got off with the high pressure rinse!! Saved me a TON of sanding time!! I'm gonna wet sand the rest of the clear off and re shoot it with a few fresh coats. I know its not the "best" way to fix it, but it will work for now. In a few years when this starts happening again, I will probably just sand it all dowm and repaint the whole boat.