new paint

Hi, I'm getting 66Barracuda ready to paint would like to match color red mahogany as close to original as possible, Is there any standard brand that is out there.   Dave66b

Post some pics. That mahogany color comes back with wet sanding.

I can speak also on the regell thing not on my boat but a friend one...labor of preping the paint job was a lot, sand, compound to set a smooth surface..more sand..and then paint..was nice..but a month later...my boat was docked next to his..my ss rubrail slightly touched the painted area..and left some nice scratches..
My point is its almost the same labour to prep the area for paint or gel i know gel is more expensive..but its much much stronger...that in the end it pays itself..

I'm another re gel and no paint person!! What prep have you done so far?

Im not sure it considered a common problem for "old" boats, but the first few years of the glass boats (starting in '61) seem to have had some cracking issues. I think they perfected the materials and techniques by the late 60's though, as my '71 is crack free.

Regardless of how you decide to refinish (paint vs. gel), the cracks need to be ground out and refilled OR all of the gel needs to come off. Otherwise, the cracks will transfer through the new finish. Its a very prep-intensive job either way- so I would highly recommend the gel, as its a superior finish.

Is this your boat?

Unless you are going to have a show boat, I would just buff the deck and call it a day. My stance on this is as long as it's got some shine to it I think the cracks are part of those older boat's character. As long as there is no structural issues I would leave it and spend $ on gas and having a good time with family and friends in the boat.

Now in my case, a tree had fallen on the deck of my Skier which ended up completely smashing the gel, and more importantly, the glass. I had to remove most of the gel to repair the glass.

After seeing Gary Blackburn's 'Cuda at the 09 GL reunion I think I'll go with Paint. Reason being, this boat won't get a lot of use since we have 2 others. I've only got about 500 bucks into the boat and it runs so as long as it looks decent I'll be happy. It is my first boat so I plan on keeping it forever so it'll get a proper restoration some day in the far away future.

Dave66b, that's a nice looking boat. I'd start with wet sanding and see how you like it. It doesn't hurt to try to restore the gel before commit to painting or re gel. The hull looks like it has a good shine.

There's a guy in Portland who's also a member here that paints boats. I've seen 2 of his Correct Crafts and they are beautiful. He uses Awlgrip. As good as it looks, it's expensive and for the money I'd go gel coat.

Tim, the Classic from FLA that's for sale in the Diaries was re gelled. He desribes how it was done in the listing.

acme gel remover . the coyote used it after the gel gun back fired

Dave,
I'm with the other guys...try wet sanding and buffing. (btw, you only want to sand enough to remove the oxidation). What/how to finish the hull depends what you want to do with it? Unless you are trying to take trophys home from boat shows, you might be surprised at the results.

My 64 has a LOT of cracks in the deck. The guy I bought it from called it a "20 footer"    After wet sanding and buffing, I'd call it a "5 footer". One thing to my advantage is the fact its white. Your dark tends to show the cracks a bit more, but still worth a try.

BTW, what is your hull ID number? I wonder if your boat was built in 65?

Steve, you ever see him on the site? Never came across that listing before, he's not too terribly far away from us. Pretty close to Alicia's folks.

Boat has no original hull ID previous owner had it registered as a 66 barracuda. What makes you think its a 1965?

65 cuda ... no vents in bow...



66 (and newer) cuda ... with vents in bow...

There are a lot of other boats that have one thing or another that doesnt quite add up for the year its titled as.. there are a lot of times the boat"s build date and title date are off by a year or two, especially in the 60's.

Dave- Did you ever decide on wetsanding or regeling?