Should I paint the boat

I'm up the road in Saratoga if you guys ever need a hand.

Todd
Thanks for the invite. I will call you. Funny how small the world is. You worked with my father at GE. Does Toftegaard ring a bell?

Dr Stevens, I'm no expert I just followed what was done by the ones who are.Thats just one of the great things that Keith has brought together here.If your thinking of trying something just ask,someone has already done it.There are many of us that would not even attempted some of these projects,but the guys here are helpful and encourage you to do your best. I had tried buffing my boat many times,it just would not last.I was told you have to sand it which at first sounds wrong but it worked. Since it was so heavily abused it will never be perfect, but I'm very happy how it turned out.

Yea Pete I have seen sparks fly a few times over the years.Us low voltage techs do respect the Com Ed guys-

Jonny T, sharp boat, good luck with you project.   Gary S, those gel coat restorations photos are amazinng, one can see why all you experts recommend to redo/ sand the gel.

vondy wrote: Festool has a wet sander? I'd love to have some Festool tools, but yeah, they are expensive.

Yes, most of their RO sanders can be used wet or dry. This is the setup I used. festool

They do, I used a festool, but they are not cheap (you could buy a compressor and a DA for the price). Im not sure using an electric sander not meant for that is a good idea. I supposes it could work, wear rubber gloves.

Guys has anyone used any type of electric sander for wet sanding? I know most use a DA but I don't have a compressor large enough to handle that. I thought they made an electric one but I'm probably wrong.

Welcome to the site Johnny,

I like your attitude about wanting to save an old boat. The guys are right about the gel. It will shine like new with a little work.

How can ivory fade?

Wetsand 600 then 3m superduty its azz

Gelcoat is great- you can bring a faded, worn finish back to life using basic hand tools and some elbow grease. If youre shooting for an original restoration (which I would applaud) then definitely dont consider paint.

Not sure if you saw my question- are you planning to use the boat on the Mohawk?

Johnny - is that the one that was at Mohawk Valley Marine? There is/was one there before Irene that was a total wreck inside. I have pics on my phone from it. There was no cover on it and I wonder what Irene did to it. Everything there was underwater, including where that boat was. Although yours looks cleaner than the one I saw, it is the same color scheme.

I would NOT paint it. You should be able to bring that back to life.

I'm in Latham and am currently working on my 84 Nautique. You can see some of what I'm doing here.

Edit: after looking at the link/pics Tim posted, that is obviously not the basket case that I saw at Mohawk Valley Marine.

I agree, paint is a last resort. I think you will be pleasantly surprised with the results of wetsanding and buffing. My boat was really bad when I got and the gel really came back nicely. Just invest in a good power buffer and some aspirin for your shoulder. Cheaper than painting too, if you buy good paint that is.

This is the best picture I have. The gelcoat is pretty faded and it has alot of scratches. What is the down side of painting it?

I am in Scotia, NY. just outside of Albany.