Regelcoating the cockpit deck.

Adeline · Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 3:28 pm Post subject:

I have a can of the deck "paint" that I picked up from Mark Toland or Mark Dunlap years ago. On the lid is printed, "grey gelcoat for floor - 30cc MEK to 1 QT.- add sand for non-skid" - roll on". It is my handwriting of their instructions.

Sea Wolf · Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 3:37 pm Post subject:

Lloyds-

If it uses MEK peroxide...it's polyester.

"It's the MEK Peroxide that's strictly regulated; it's a very strong oxidizer, and is used to set off polyester resins and gel coats."

Joe. Teeth

Cutty Sark · Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 4:49 pm Post subject:

Adeline- Thanks for the tip- My Boat is of that vintage I think, The area up front where the seats are have gelcoat rolled on like Thataway did on the his rebuild. But the cokpit does have sand in the gelcoat , it's funny because I just found this

url]http://www.classicaquasport.com/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1991[/url]

And decided this was how I'm going to go. Now I was hoping the gelcoat from Cdory didn't have the patching aid/wax so I could use it for the first coat, I will do a test tonight and see if it dries tacky or hard.

Thanks

Sark

thataway · Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 6:11 pm Post subject:

Gelcoat comes in cans. (also bottles and plastic drums). Like any polyester it does require MEK peroxide to catalize it. It also needs air occlusion as noted, and certainly wax paper (not real good) Siran wrap (slightly better ) or Mylar film (best) will work. But most common is PVA which is an alcohol/wax mixture which is sprayed or brushed on over the Gel coat (and what I use most of the time, on gel coat which does not have wax it it.) As soon as you put any occlusive material like siran wrap over the gel coat it will affect the finish. Sprayed on Gel or rolled on gel coat does better with either wax in the gel coat or sprayed on with PVA. When done in a mold, the mold is first waxed to allow both occlusion and a perfect smooth finish.

As for a non skid--you have a number of options from the thickened gel coat I described (I agree you need to try it first on a small are to get the right consistancy) thru glass micro beads (the best),, sand, or even walnut shells (which I use on stear treads). Anthing that is too abrasive or sharp can cause damage to skin or clothing. This is why I prefer the micro beads over sand (I wore out the seat of the pants in an expensive set of foul weather gear in less than 2 days on a race to Hawaii, where the boat had just had decks repainted and sand was applied.

Cutty Sark · Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2009 1:32 pm Post subject:

Ok, So I'm done with the deck, and very pleased with the outcome. I went ahead and stuck with the gelcoat,even though I almost got scared off, since everyone shies away from it. I decided to go with a texture that was close to the original sand instead of rolling it on thick so it would stand up, like thataway has done or like it is in the front of the angler. The main reason I chose to go this way was ease of cleaning. The lower profile texture and not so many nooks and crannies will be easier to clean after a hard weekend fishing. I basically just sanded the floor to remove a bunch of the old texture and get to a cleaner surface, after that I washed the floor, then cleaned it with acetone, followed by the first coat of laminating gelcoat, let dry overnight and rolled the second on. It was actually pretty easy, the prep and just getting the color and consistancy were harder than actually applying. Anyway Pics in my album. Maybe I can finally get this boat wet.

Sark

Sark

SGIDave · Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2009 3:01 pm Post subject:

Your gelcoat job looks great, Sark! I can no longer see where you made the 'repairs.'

/david

Levitation · Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2009 9:00 am Post subject:

Gelcoat requires an activator... Activate it with plain old MEK from Home Depot, etc. at 2% ratio to the gelcoat.. I use 8 drops to the ounce, it works for me [shrug]...

denny-o

Sea Wolf · Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2009 12:02 pm Post subject:

Sark-

Great job!

"All's well that ends well...."

Joe, Teeth

Jazzmanic · Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2009 1:25 pm Post subject:

Nice job Sark! I think I'm finally done with my 16 Angler projects. Hope to see you out on the water this year.

Peter
C-Dancer - 2005 22' Cruiser
Barquinho - 1989 16' Angler

Cutty Sark · Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2009 2:32 pm Post subject:

Peter,

I'm sure we'll bump into each other out there. I still have a couple more things to do too but all the major projects are done.

Sark

lloyds · Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2009 2:56 pm Post subject:

Sark, if I understand correctly, you went with the Gelcoat and added the MEK? Did you do something about the air entrainment?

Cutty Sark · Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2009 3:27 pm Post subject:

lloyds.

On the first coat I used laminating gelcoat which will cure to a tacky surface. It will cure hard if you completly cover it with a plastic film or wax. But I wanted it tacky so it would chemically bond with the second coat. I let that dry overnight,then the next day I used the gelcaot Cdory gave me which is a finishing gelcoat(has wax or patching agent mixed in already) and mixed up some more to match, then mixed them together to insure uniform color,after that I mixed a little (less than 8 percent Id guess) acetone in the gelcoat to thin it, so it wouldn't just completely cover the nonskid, and went and rolled it on. As long as you finish with the finishing gelcoat you will get a nice hard cured surface.

Sark

thataway · Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 7:26 pm Post subject:

Looks great! Almost impossible to see any repairs--and looks like "new".
One comment, is to be cautious with thinning with acetone. There are specific thining agents, including styrene.

Cutty Sark · Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 10:07 am Post subject:

Thanks for the comments. I went with acetone, as thats what the finishing gelcoat said to thin it with on the label, up to 15% If I remember right. Seemed to work welll, and cured to a nice hard finish.

Sark