fiberglass chipping/spidering

[romansealion]

I have a fiberglass bass boat that the gelcoat is chipping/spidering. Not too bad however I'm familiar with painting cars and figured I would give my boat a new look. Need to know from sanding paper to final coat from someone knowledgeable how to go about this process. Thanks, pics will follow! :D

[RThompson]

Hi Romansealion,

In the first instance a lot depends how bad it is and why the gelcoat has cracked.
Reasons could be:
impact damage, flexing, thick gelcoat, point loading , ... ...
if the cracking is due to an underlying laminate problem (ie the FRP is cracked)then you will have to fix the laminate first or your shiny new paint job will crack as well.
If the cause of the spidering is obvious - like an abrupt and/or sharp change in shape, or some other kind of point loading - then you should try and solve that problem first. Maybe beef up the laminate in that area.

As far as actual painting methods/materials is concerned I would suggest speaking to your local marine paint man.

Good luck,
Rob

[zember311]

some pointers might be,

wet sna dyour hull with 800 grit, 800 is a good for enamel paints,

this wet sanding will get ride of any oxidization, inprefection and waxes on the gelcoat surface.

grind out those stress cracks and chips down to the fiberglass, fill them with filler and sand them smooth.( this will ensure the cracks do not continue after you paint the hull.) if you want, you can apply a thin coat of resin over the putty patch and sand wmooth to ensure water seeal bond.

enamel paint will stick to this preped surface, then apply your clear coat if you choose, sand/.buff.

The prep is going to be you biggest time investment.,

if you don't do that and there are cracks, loose gelcoat and missed waxed areas, the stress of the hull and twisting action in use could cause these poor bonded areas of paint to lift form the gelcoat.