Painting a beautiful 50 post

A gelcoat app? Interesting, never heard of it. Made me go digging... Found this https://www.bertram31.com/proj/tips/re-gelcoating.htm

The tricky part is that your hull is the wrong side of a mold..... so it has to be applied to the hull, in several layers one at a time, and then faired and brought to a shine..... We're talking lots of labor.

Paint is also not cheap if you have it done right.... in a booth by dudes wearing breathing apparatus. Friend was quoted $35K for a 37 footer 10 years ago.

It is amazing what a skilled roll and tip team can do for a lot less.

I never had to repaint or re-gelcoat any of my boats (so far), but I did have a few occasions to discuss the alternative with some specialists.
And the overwhelming consensus is for paint, on already built boats.
Actually, there is a tendency to shift towards paint even for new builds, in spite of the fact that, as Oscarvan pointed out, at least with new builds you can spray gelcoat on the right side of the mould.

As an added piece of information I believe Beau's is a Hatt which was painted new out of the factory...

Some people wrap their hulls also.
too early to tell how wraps hold up.

Hatt? Assumed a Post but never realized for sure? Beau, fill us in?

Awlcraft 2000 from Awlgrip. It never requires waxing, just wash with the Awlwash soap. It's easily repairable and holds it's color. I had a hull done in Midnight Blue (almost black) in March 2014. All we've done besides washing it, is wipe the Awlcare on it and wipe it off, once a year. It still looks like new and that's remarkable for a dark blue hull. Alexseal requires regular waxing so that is out as far as for a recommendation from me. Plus every yacht painter is used to spraying and working with Awlcraft.

Check out Boat U.S. , hope you are a member. Not sure if you can google it for free. But anyway they just had a DIY on this exact thing. Gel coat repairs.

I know you can buy gel coat , just like paint. In a can. But there is a process to it, that was not so hard to do.

It's a Post...look at his post..lol

Ah your'e probably right. The amateur in me is showing.

On edit.... It's a Post. So.... gelcoat or paint when new?

Small repairs are "patina".... There's an old adage in the classic car world:.... "It's only original once."

Saw a large wrapped Viking sf last year in Jupiter. It was camo like, believe it is Michael Jordan’s boat. The wrap had started peeling low on the bow.

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Watch this

Actually it would, remember that the wrap is digitally produced and can be whatever you wish. Even a solid Navy Blue if you wish.

One difficulty in making gel coat repairs on an older boat is aging and oxidation affecting the consistency of the color - even on plain white. Over time it’s going to become a different shade of white in literally every square foot. You can mix a batch of gel coat to match where one end of a scratch starts and it may not match at the other end. Even if you can get a perfect match the repair will age differently than the original surface around it and is almost certain to show up as an obvious repair spot eventually. Sometimes more noticeable than the scratch that was there in the first place.

If your buying Gelcot to match, it is best to buy directly from the manufacturer and you will have a better chance of it matching. I've repaired several boats from scratches to big sections even in red which is the worst color to match. The repairs were not noticeable at all on white even 5yrs later. The Red was slightly noticeable but as time went on it faded and matched the original not repaired areas. Gelcot is an art and needs a good fiberglass guy to spray Gelcot, if not done correctly you can have a sticky mess that the only way to fix is wiping it off with acetone which is also used as a reducer to thin the get the gelcoat to spray.

I like the Pitina thought and agree with it.


Beau
After 20 years you have to tell us, is she a keeper?
If so, block, epoxy prime and paint when ready. Sterling or AwlGrip.
Just make sure everybody has learned to handle the ship well around docks before the plunge.

If your even thinking of moving up, do nothing.

In my experience sooner or later gel coat repairs almost always show a different aging and/or discoloration. Including those done during fabrication on the original build.

If your hull has accumulated enough scrapes and scratches in 22 years to bring you to this point I would highly recommend painting it.