Painting gelcoated decks/cockpits

[MarkMT 68]

I'm curious what the consensus is about dealing with aging gelcoated cockpits and decks. Once the gelcoat is faded and chalky and has all the other cosmetic defects that accumulate from a few decades of wear and tear (a lot of NZ production boats I guess), do people think it's worth painting them?

 

The reason I ask is that someone expressed to me the view that because paint is never as tough as gelcoat and decks and cockpits are inevitably subject to a lot of wear and tear, a new paint job is going to deteriorate faster than the original surface did and it won't be too long before the overall appearance is no better, perhaps worse, than it would have been if you'd just left it alone.

 

I'm guessing others have had to think about this. Is painting over gelcoat common? For those who've taken that route, any regrets? What level of regular maintenance do you find is needed? How long should a painted deck/cockpit be expected to hold up before you start thinking about significant refinishing?

[wheels 543]

If Gelcoat is just Chalky and maybe a few chips, then Cut and Polish it and fill the Chips with Gelcoat repair paste.
If it is beyond that, then Paint with a good quality 2 pot. You should get 15 yrs at the least from a good quality 2 pot. And it's pretty hard wearing.

[jonathan 4]

I am in the process of sanding things back and filling....   I can suggest wyatt machine tools for sandpaper, 50m rolls of paper about $60 they also have velcro backed 25m rolls for $75, cut your own profiles out for detail sanding , buy acetone in BULK.  Autofinish shops sell bul;k and also cloths etc...  I am using 3m dry guide coat to find defects and intend to goto 150grit then 2 rolled coats of Awlgrip 545 primer, before Awlgrip Topcoat sprayed on.  

 

Learn to love sanding, everything takes twice or three times as you first think it will.

 

These flexible long boards are the dogs nuts as well

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/car-parts-accessories/tools-repair-kits/other/auction-1243452190.htm

 

By the time I am finished I reckon the deck paint will cost me 3-4k done myself vs $$$ for a  pro job....

[Island Time 1,252]

OK, another deck painting question then. Glass decks with moulded in "Non Skid" in the gelcoat - how can you prepare for painting, without sanding off the non-skid? Acetone wash???

[Island Time 1,252]

Resisting painting - yep, me too! Gelcoat now approaching 30 years old, the time is here. Maybe I'll get around to it soon, but it means time and effort away from actually sailing

[mattm 98]

My experience is that painting gel coat will put you into a far more regular maintenance shedual than original gel coat. A local racer cruiser painted his decks and cockpit about 2 years ago, the decks still look good in most places, but evry bump in the cockpit causes scratches etc where they wouldn't have with gel coat. Damage appears to come from things like the main sheet blocks on the traveler, winch handles, maybe guests onboard with evil stud / rivet thingies in jeans, what ever. Yes the paint may survive 7 to 10 years of uv, but not mechanical removal, hard wear areas will look tatty much faster than you would want after such expense / hard work.

Painted non skid is often not anywhere near as grippy as the original either, maybe depending on the original pattern. Prep and paint round off the highs and paint fills the lows to make it far less textured overall, maybe an unavoidable consequence to tidying up old gel coat, but to be considered.

[erice 732]

I painted, and the paint does wear

 

but if you try to match the colour to the frp

 

wear spots don't look too bad

[Kevin McCready 83]

A mil is a measurement that equals one-thousandth of an inch, or 0.001 inch. Most human hair is One-thousandth of inch, or 0.001 inch. The most common size in the thickness rating for plastic sheeting is 6 mil. This is 6-thousandths of an inch, or 0.006 inch.