Replaced Floor

[leroy]

I have replaced the floor in my boat and would like to give it the "splatter paint" look. I want to use a gelcoat and then splatter paint over it. I have fiberglassed the entire floor with epoxy resin. I haven't been able to find a low gloss gelcoat so the glare is reduced. Does it exist? If it does can it be brushed on and will it have enough texture for the floor?

[PAR]

Skip the cost, mess, trouble and difficulty of gel coat and move on to the paint. Gel coat works well in molds and for mass production work, not near as so for backyard repairs. It's toxic, difficult to work with, difficult to get good results and cost way to much.

Do yourself a favor and pick one of the few ways to texture paint. It can be repaired easily, costs a bunch less and will not cause your wife to have three headed babies or gills behind the ears of your children.

[Corpus Skipper]

Ditto Par. I just replaced a deck and refinished with Interlux semigloss white, then tinted the same paint gray (to match the hull) and "splattered" with that. Looks awesome, and you'd never know it was paint. Much quicker, easier, CHEAPER!!

[dereksireci]

Agree and disagree.
Gelcoat is more difficult but only if you don't know how to use it. In the hands of a pro it is not a problem, and I think a better solution than paint.
For the splatter try this: Use black gelcoat. Dip a comb in it and blow the gelcoat off the comb onto the part with compressed air. (Practice on something else first.)
As far as toxicity goes, drink some of your paint and then we'll talk, or not.

[PAR]

What are you suggesting, dereksireci? Should he go and buy/rent the equipment, practice for a month maybe two or until he's good enough to put material on his boat with a level of confidence that can be relied on for good results and then squirt some gel coat?

Everything looks easy in the hands of a pro.

An amateur has no business fooling with gel coat. It's an engineered product, requiring application specific shop, tools and equipment.

[JR-Shine]

Forget the gelcoat for another reason, its probably polyester resin. You might have some real troubles getting the gelcoat to stick to the epoxy you have used. Polyester doesn’t bond very well to epoxy.

Paint it with a compatible paint that is relatively easy to use. It will look nicer and be easier.

Joel
Boatbuildercentral.com