Roving thru gelcoat

Signs of a well made boat..... in Correct Crafts early fiberglass days they must have thought if some is good more must be great, early boats had terrible gel cracking. Later on they found gel must be kept thin to help avoid that cracking. The later boats cracked just not as bad. As time went on I'm sure they changed their methods to produce even smoother construction to how they have ended up today. Print thru is just the way they were made.

I may be new to this, but when did print through become acceptable?   Most of the boat looks like glass while a hand full of spots look like a bad plaid shirt. I love the look of the classic gelcoat, but I'm looking for a clean finish. Am I wrong here?
   In reading, and again, I'm no expert, I understand print through to be only a visual flaw. In this case, I can feel the inconsistencies with my hand. The roving will most certainly show through a new paint job. I plan on doing the work myself, as this is a budget project. I feel that an original color scheme in paint will pay tribute to this boat ten fold over what I'm looking at right now.
    A fresh gelcoat would be ideal, but way out of my price range. Believe me, I've got over 90 hours in bringing out its original luster, and it ain't working. Just ask my wife. She thought she was getting a shiny new nautique!

Gary S wrote: you talk about print thru not being acceptable but then feel painting it is .

I agree !!! I suggest you seek out and look at other CC's of the era and you will see that the print through is simply the way the hulls were made.

Gary S wrote: It has it's gouges, cracks and print thru's but was brought to that condition with sanding and buffing and a few chip repairs.

Yes, chips and gouges can be gel repaired. Gary's Mustang is a perfect example.

Cmshively wrote: The roving will most certainly show through a new paint job.

If print through shows in a paint job, then the prep was poor.