Chapter 3>Painting The Transom: Working with Gelcoat

Step 3-Painting the Transom:

Before Applying Gelcoat

After looking at at least six videos on YouTube I finally ordered and received the Total Boat Gelcoat, and blue tape. I also found I had a nice brush that I thought had been ruined but to my surprise, I used Acetone on it and it brought back it’s

flexibility!

There wasn’t much to the whole thing. I purposely overestimated the area to be 14 square feet, the quart size can of Gelcoat does 25 square feet. Where I totally messed up was adding the catalyst. I was supposed to be 7 drops per OUNCE!  I used 7 drops on the entire ½ pint. When I went to apply it, it came down as if I was adding water. I then somehow figured I had to put 40 drops to what was left, I figured I had about 7 ounces. The mixture hardened within a couple of minutes and regardless I splattered it on! The result is not pretty but I learned from this and I gave it a bit of sanding. It is not as nice as I would have liked it, I look like the “Marielito boats” that I see around but it will do, or will it? Like I wrote, I seemed to have gotten the bug and I want to see the boat as close to perfect as I can make it.

 

After Gelcoat

Although the results of the Gelcoat were far from what I would have wanted, I felt I learned enough and went ahead with the new Dremel and cut into a couple of spider web cracks and drill holes on the gunnel. In order to fix spider web cracks you are supposed to cut into them, make them wider, and expose the fiberglass. This way the Gelcoat will have something to adhere to. You also need to turn the Gelcoat into a paste and I received the silica hardener today. I will be testing filling up the cracks tomorrow. I learned that spider cracks are the result of the fiberglass flexing and the Gelcoat not...No more bouncing the boat off waves! I feel that if the Gelcoat is not flexible, why use it as a filler? There is another product that I am interested in trying once I dominate applying Gelcoat and it’s called Total Boat Thixo Flexible Epoxy Adhesive. It takes numerous steps to apply but I might try it in the future.