This is a basic guide intended to convey the key points for refinishing old Gelcoat on fiberglass boats, <\/b>RV\u2019s, and architectural plastics. <\/b>This process can yield a very fine finish without the need for the spray<\/p>\n
equipment, or the safety and environmental conditions required for spraying. This method can be utilized<\/p>\n
by an amateur painter who is willing to prepare carefully and to practice a little to develop their technique prior to tackling the primary objective.<\/p>\n
For old Gelcoat dewax and clean surface prior to sanding with a<\/p>\n
water based cleaner or a solvent. This very important step must be taken prior to sanding<\/b>. Sanding first<\/p>\n
will drive the wax into the sanding scratches. Water Based Cleaners:<\/b>\u00a0 Use LBI 361 Verikleen<\/b> or MaryKate <\/b><\/p>\n
MKT35 On\/Off Cleaner<\/b>. Be sure to scrub with an abrasive pad (LBI UA77477)<\/b> and rinse thorough with water making sure that the rinse water \u201csheets off\u201d the surface and does not \u201cbead up\u201d as it does on a waxed surface. Solvent Cleaner: <\/b>\u00a0Use LBI 1271 Epoxy Solvent, LBI PL 48-16 Lacquer Thinner or LBI 1272 <\/b><\/p>\n
Denatured Alcohol.<\/b> Have plenty of rags and use the first rag to scrub the surface and soften the wax and another clean rag to remove it before the solvent evaporates.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
For Gelcoat in fair condition (not heavily damaged, just generally dull and faded) sand with 320 grit paper to completely sand the entire surface and remove all gloss. More coarse paper may open porosity (pinholes) in the old Gelcoat which will require more work to fill them.<\/p>\n
For rougher surfaces sand with 80 to 120 grit then fill and fair as necessary with LBI 340 or 940 Fairing <\/b><\/p>\n
Compound or LBI 395 Glazing Putty<\/b> for very small scratches and pinholes.<\/p>\nSTEP 3. PRIMING<\/h3>\n
You may want to apply Duratec primer<\/b> DU-707-061<\/b> by SPRAY OR BRUSH to fill coarse sanded surfaces as it will fill a lot of small imperfections and is very easy to sand. If the surface is pretty good and<\/p>\n
without the occasional deep sanding scratch apply the primer recommended by the manufacturer. This is a good time to practice your ROLL and TIP technique. Evenly roll on the primer in the horizontal direction and follow by tipping or brushing in the vertical direction. A team effort with two people is helpful.<\/p>\n
Completely sand the surface to at least 220 grit (320 grit is better) use your fingertips to feel imperfection as you sand. Touch is often better than sight. When the sanding is completed clean off the sanding dust and gently remove the last dust particles with a tack cloth.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mask as necessary and make sure the area is clean and dust free.<\/p>\n
The temperature of the area and surface to be painted should be 60 degrees F or above. The optimum<\/p>\n
temperature is 70\ufe7e to 78 \ufe7edegrees F. If you have prepared a practice surface now is the time to perfect your<\/p>\n
technique. Use LBI WOR73007, 7\u201d or LBIWOR73009, 9\u201d TIZ Roller and good quality bristle paint brush.<\/b><\/p>\n
Try rolling just the right amount of paint in the horizontal direction followed by tipping with a brush in the vertical<\/p>\n
direction to smooth it out. Too much paint will yield sags and runs. Too little will not yield a smooth glossy finish.<\/p>\n
This \u201cDress Rehearsal\u201d will save you a lot of time and money not to mention a lot of sanding.<\/p>\n
STEP 6. \u201cOPTION\u201d<\/b> SPRAY URETHANE PAINT: <\/b>Spray a light tack coat then follow with a full coat to the<\/p>\n
Required mil thickness per manufacturer\u2019s specs.<\/p>\n
STEP 7. \u201cOPTION\u201d SPRAY GELCOAT WITH: Mix LBI 308 or 307 gelcoat at a 1:1 ratio with <\/b><\/p>\n
DURATEC<\/b> DU-904-001<\/b> HI GLOSS ADDITIVE. <\/b>Spray a light tack coat. then spray additional coats<\/p>\n
10mils+ per manufacturer\u2019s specs.<\/p>\n
GIVE US A CALL. WE ARE ALWAYS READY TO HELP OUR CUSTOMERS WITH THEIR PROJECTS (800)231-6537<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This is a basic guide intended to convey the key points for refinishing old Gelcoat on fiberglass boats, RV\u2019s, and architectural plastics. This process can yield a very fine finish without the need for the spray equipment, or the safety and environmental conditions required for spraying. This method can be utilized by an amateur painter…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33,35],"tags":[41],"post_series":[],"class_list":["post-239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-how-to-projects","category-tech-guides","tag-gelcoats","entry","no-media"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbifiberglass.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbifiberglass.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbifiberglass.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbifiberglass.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbifiberglass.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lbifiberglass.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9687,"href":"https:\/\/lbifiberglass.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239\/revisions\/9687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbifiberglass.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbifiberglass.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbifiberglass.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239"},{"taxonomy":"post_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbifiberglass.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_series?post=239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}