Gelcoat Re-spray: After 35 years, Hooligan's deck had numerous worn spots in the gelcoat. Took the bold step to respray the gelcoat beginning with the foredeck. Worked with Fiber Glass Coatings (FGCI) to understand gelcoat requirements and ID the application process. I went to 4 paint supply stores and picked up sample white color chips. Then sent best match to FGCI where they made a custom color match. Removed as much deck hardware as reasonable, prepped the surface and taped the area to be sprayed. Applied 2 coats per FGCI instructions and it turned out great. Unfortunately, it was getting into summer and became too hot and wet (rain) to spray more area, as the gelcoat goes "off" in about 15 minutes and needs a min of 24 hours to dry, so switched to painting the deck non-skid.
Deck Non-skid: Used a 1 part polyester topcoat from Jamestown Distributors (TotalBoat Wet Edge in Sand Beige). Applied 2 coats and used new throw-away trim brush and rollers for each coat. Paint dries to touch in a couple of hours and can be recoated in 24 hours. Turned out great, but will have to see how this paint holds up in the Florida sun.
Lessons Learned: As with any project, prep is everything! Get the right cleaning and thinning solutions, application equipment and be prepared for hours of taping.
Steering Pedestal: Had repainted the steering pedestal several years ago, but it
had some cracks and chips that weren't getting any better. Sanded to metal and applied an etching primer, followed by an epoxy white spray (from can). The epoxy paint is about 3 times expensive, but I would expect it to last longer than spray enamel.
Again, prep is everything.
Note: Wasn't able to post photo of the bow locker modifications on my previous post, so have included it here. If anyone wants additional information on any of these projects, contact me at
telindsay@comcast.net