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Atomic Dam
Groupie Joined: May-20-2020 Location: Texas Status: Offline Points: 89 |
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Posted: May-28-2020 at 11:19am |
I have a 1975 Southwind 20. I am looking to get it cosmetically restored, the decals are all but gone, there are spider cracks in the fiberglass, and I wanted to know if anyone has had a comparable boat that they had painted, that could tell me a ball park on how much something like that would cost? Any input is appreciated.
It has some old screw holes that I would like to get filled, snap mounts that I would like to remove, and some surface cracking of the fiberglass but all minor. No significant or moderately significant damage to repair. Thoughts? |
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Gary S
Grand Poobah Joined: November-30-2006 Location: Illinois Status: Offline Points: 14096 |
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I painted my Florida boat because the gel had gone bad, no way to save it + a PO looked like they painted it with a broom. Painted it my self with Imron, primer and paint alone was close to 1 k. You will never get those cracks out without removing the gel or other major work. Just polish it up put on new decals. It will truly be a 20 footer- stand back 20 feet and enjoy it.
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GottaSki
Grand Poobah Joined: April-21-2005 Location: NE CT Status: Offline Points: 3359 |
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Yeah. avoid paint if you can
learn to do spot the repairs with reinforced filler and matching gelcoat.(its not white, its ivory. a good multi-step wetsanding and HD compounding then polish then topcoat will go very far and look for a long time. Then it can get refreshed with a fraction of the effort. Pait looks great for a museum boat, until it gets used then it only goes one way. |
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"There is nothing, absolutely nothing, half so much worthwhile as messing around with boats...simply messing."
River Rat to Mole |
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Atomic Dam
Groupie Joined: May-20-2020 Location: Texas Status: Offline Points: 89 |
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Do you have a system or product that you would recommend? When you say "then topcpat" are you talking about gelcoat or a clearcoat? |
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8122pbrainard
Grand Poobah Joined: September-14-2006 Location: Three Lakes Wi. Status: Offline Points: 41045 |
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John,
Have you tried wet sanding and buffing? May have and had good results. The gel is thick and can take plenty of sanding. Then unless you are up real close you can't see the spider cracking. There's some great threads with links in the FAQ thread. |
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Atomic Dam
Groupie Joined: May-20-2020 Location: Texas Status: Offline Points: 89 |
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No sir, i havent tried anything. Some cracks are the surface spider cracks, others are between 1/64" and 1/32" wide and just deep enough to see the fiberglass. Looks like just the gel coat cracked enough to see the glass.
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Please support The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
OEF/OIF US Army Combat Veteran '75 Southwind 20 Escort 351W |
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Atomic Dam
Groupie Joined: May-20-2020 Location: Texas Status: Offline Points: 89 |
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Do you know if there is a color code? The only thing that I can find that has the color is the original brochure, but it just describes it as white. I know you are right, because I can visually tell that it is not truly white. Can you look at this link and tell me if the ivory color there is correct? Gel Coat |
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Please support The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
OEF/OIF US Army Combat Veteran '75 Southwind 20 Escort 351W |
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Gary S
Grand Poobah Joined: November-30-2006 Location: Illinois Status: Offline Points: 14096 |
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Much like painting cars the gel has to be matched on site by the person doing the work. Too many variables- sun damage,age, brand of new vs original manufacturer of the gel It's not easy it's more of an art. Good thing about it is it does not change colors as it hardens, so you can mix and get color correct before you add hardener. A number of years ago I had MiniCraft of Florida color match mine,cut out a piece from the deck behind the rear seat. Didn't match when received,close but no cigar. Was able to tint to get it close. No need for fillers if your only repairing gel damage
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FFImarine
Senior Member Joined: June-21-2016 Location: Medina Status: Offline Points: 145 |
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I have painted plenty of boats in my life. The first thing is paint in by no means even close to as strong as gel coat ( one dock bump and it’s scratched ).. imron is a good paint but it’s not made anymore But there are some good option out there like lusid 777 Or lusid 798, for a round about idea on how much it would cost to paint it your gonna be looking at $6-8,000 for an entire top to bottom, bow to stern paint job and that’s with all spider crawling repaired
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Atomic Dam
Groupie Joined: May-20-2020 Location: Texas Status: Offline Points: 89 |
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So upon further review, painting I now know is not what I meant when I didn't realize what I meant. A statement of ignorance. I know that Gelcoat is the only real option. I will get in touch with a local boat shop and see if they have a way for me to identify the gelcoat color. The website that I linked in a previous post has a specific Correctcraft ivory color that I am hoping is the way to go, though very expensive it seems to be the only specific correct craft Ivory that I have been able to find |
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jblocal
Senior Member Joined: September-06-2010 Location: Stuart, Florida Status: Offline Points: 203 |
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I’ve been happy with painting my boat with awlgrip. It doesn’t scratch easy and cleans up very well. Some new boats are painted from factory. It’s all in the prep. That being said if my boat didn’t have a big ugly maroon stripe I prob would have tried to restore gelcoat. They still make Imron it’s owned by Axalta now and the marine version is ms600.
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Gary S
Grand Poobah Joined: November-30-2006 Location: Illinois Status: Offline Points: 14096 |
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Don't know if you saw my post.I have learned a little about gel on my own boat. You are not going to find an off the shelf color to match,YOU have to adjust the color to match. Even the Spectrum "match" for my '95,cloud silver, did not match and they supposedly source the gel from the original manufacturer. Very much like dyes on fabrics, they vary from lot to lot Here are some pictures of a chine repair on mine- the hardest part of the repair is the color match. I used Minicraft of Florida for my gel,bought their color wheel and got the color that was the closest to mine and adjusted from there. I believe Phil used their gel in the restoration of his beautiful boat as well, link Before- bad stuff ground out new gel on- Another view showing tape used to keep gel in place before it hardens- Sanded but not yet polished- |
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Gary S
Grand Poobah Joined: November-30-2006 Location: Illinois Status: Offline Points: 14096 |
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I believe one of the big differences between the two products is that Awlgrip can be blended and repaired. I've never used Awlgrip just Imron but you do need a fresh hood when you use it. Water line up on my 20 footer was 1K in materials in 2014- 2 different colors,primer and activators. Very happy with how it has held up- a very cost effective method of repair for this particular boat for it's use and where it's at. |
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