Paint vs. Gel

[Rajobigguy]

School me on boat coatings.

What are the advantages/disadvantages of both?? My understanding is that a good polyurethane paint will look better than gel but is it as durable. Why use one over the other and is one better for some apps then the other??

 

[Rajobigguy]

Gelcoater to the white courtesy phone.

 

[farmo83]

Curious about this as well

 

[ka0tyk]

Having painted my boat, I'm constantly worried about scratches. Moving coolers in/out, etc... gelcoat is waaaay more durable.

 

[Apex svt]

^^What he said. Had a boat painted by Mitcher T and it was not forgiving if it got into the dock. Instead of scratching it would almost blister apart it chunks. Had a 1x1in piece on the corner pop off, glued it back on for a temp fix. These were taps on the dock, not hard hits.

 

[PlanB]

Depends on the paint. My Cigarette was painted with Imron, and that stuff was extremely durable.

 

[Skater368]

"Good thing we don't paint our cars"

 

[Rajobigguy]

Depends on the paint. My Cigarette was painted with Imron, and that stuff was extremely durable.

"Good thing we don't paint our cars"

See that's the thing. there are lots of different options with paint. Epoxies or lacquers can be be very hard and brittle but polyurethane can have a pretty tough surface and still be flexible and forgiving.

 

[River Runnin]

School me on boat coatings.

Mine is Bed-Liner material! ..... Schools out!

 

[Gelcoater]

"Good thing we don't paint our cars"

I’ll just leave this here.

 

[MK1MOD0]

Most east coast hi end boats are painted. Must be something to it.

 

[SOCALCRICKETT]

Depends on the paint. My Cigarette was painted with Imron, and that stuff was extremely durable.

My formula is imron and it seems tough as well, plus I like being able to touch it up easily

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[lebel409]

Gel is thick enough that you can sand/buff out most minor scratches. paint is great ( well mostly) for preserving a surface, but not for preserving itself. All the east coast painted boats...are painted on top of gel.

Paint can be more detailed, gel is normally 2-4 colors, Billy B will do you a double rainbow. So on a ocean/fishing/kids/25' plus boat I'd only go with gel, 17' trailer queen, maybe paint.

 

[Skater368]

I’ll just leave this here. View attachment 983447

Always gotta be one, eh?

 

[spectra3279]

I’ll just leave this here. View attachment 983447

What are you doing taking pictures of my truck?

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[FreeBird236]

This will never be settled, but for the boats that most of us can afford to purchase, gelcoat is a far better choice, much more durable.

 

[RichL]

My formula is imron and it seems tough as well, plus I like being able to touch it up easily

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Touching up Imron is something I need to look into.

 

[SOCALCRICKETT]

Touching up Imron is something I need to look into.

From what I'm hearing imron is getting harder to come by, just like anything else I'm sure there is new epa compliant toner that can be used. I'm lucky in that I don't need any touch up but if I hear of something I'll let you know now

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[coolchange]

I’ve painted a couple boats with deltron
( imron). I like it. If you can paint lacquer you can do imron. Hard as eff to color sand if you wait. I would do again if I could get it. Painters say it’s old school and a lot better products out there now.
I used to think you can’t re gel a boat cause I rarely saw one that wasn’t coming apart. But I have seen some lately that are bitchen, we will see.
I just re gelled my bass boat cowls wit the dura tec clear 50/50 and gel coat. Used a 1.4 ( small area) and it sprayed like a urathane. I didn’t wax it and it seems a little softer(good) in sanding. We’ll see when it’s buffed.
Disclaimer coolchange “ not a painter”
Hi jack- I want to clear my glitter boat. Any ideas chime in.

 

[Duramax]

When I had my HTM repainted we used Imron. Hard as nails and held up great. My boy who did it at AZ Pro Fiberglass, Scotty, said it is tough to sand and very toxic. That's my very weak 2 cents.

 

[Gelcoater]

This will never be settled,

Much like the Ford vs Gm debate, lol

 

[RichL]

From what I'm hearing imron is getting harder to come by, just like anything else I'm sure there is new epa compliant toner that can be used. I'm lucky in that I don't need any touch up but if I hear of something I'll let you know now

Sent from my SM-G981U using Tapatalk

Appreciate it. The Formula had some dock rash when I bought it and it's always bugged me.

 

[74 spectra20 v-drive]

These are all painted... Wood Decker mid 90's, Blue Sanger 92'. Blue Spectra 2013, Purple Spectra 2005 or 6. We have a couple others done in the early 80's that still look great. Good clear, keep them clean and out of the weather and paint will last. Also painting a boat is not like painting a car, that is where people get into trouble and end up with the paint flaking off, bad or incorrect prep, metal is different than glass.

 

[motormonkey]

I know paint costs less than gell. I went with gell for durability on my last redo. I've had painted boats that looked amazing.

 

[Sharp Shooter]

DCB in paint.

 

[ToMorrow44]

I think the main benefit of paint is how detailed you can get with it. I mean, go look at @Skater368 build thread, the detail in the paint is incredible. The Gelcoat is much tougher but more difficult to get a lot of detail in, but companies like DCB, Eliminator, Lavey Craft are able to do some pretty cool stuff with gel.

 

[Skater368]

I think the main benefit of paint is how detailed you can get with it. I mean, go look at @Skater368 build thread, the detail in the paint is incredible. The Gelcoat is much tougher but more difficult to get a lot of detail in, but companies like DCB, Eliminator, Lavey Craft are able to do some pretty cool stuff with gel.

 

[Gelcoater]

I think the main benefit of paint is how detailed you can get with it. I mean, go look at @Skater368 build thread, the detail in the paint is incredible. The Gelcoat is much tougher but more difficult to get a lot of detail in, but companies like DCB, Eliminator, Lavey Craft are able to do some pretty cool stuff with gel.

Yep.
So much more detail and depth in paint. The guy at Skater is an artist in the truest sense.
Steve’s boat is like Picasso level, I’d be afraid to launch it, lol.

Also no way to do in the mold gel work on a Skater, it’s built from scratch.

The right minds and hands in the mix and some pretty amazing stuff is possible in gel.
Our pal Grads previous boat the West Coast Fucker is pretty detailed on a from the mold perspective.

 

[ToMorrow44]

Yep.
So much more detail and depth in paint. The guy at Skater is an artist in the truest sense.
Steve’s boat is like Picasso level, I’d be afraid to launch it, lol.

Also no way to do in the mold gel work on a Skater, it’s built from scratch.

The right minds and hands in the mix and some pretty amazing stuff is possible in gel.
Our pal Grads previous boat the West Coast Fucker is pretty detailed on a from the mold perspective.

Wait, Grads owned WCF at one point..!?

 

[DRYHEAT]

Yep.
So much more detail and depth in paint. The guy at Skater is an artist in the truest sense.
Steve’s boat is like Picasso level, I’d be afraid to launch it, lol.

Also no way to do in the mold gel work on a Skater, it’s built from scratch.

The right minds and hands in the mix and some pretty amazing stuff is possible in gel.
Our pal Grads previous boat the West Coast Fucker is pretty detailed on a from the mold perspective.

The question I have for you, are any of the boat shops training/teaching younger guys the artistry of in the mold gelcoat? The stuff you guys do do sure has come a long way in the last 30+ years.

 

[GRADS]

Wait, Grads owned WCF at one point..!?

Yes and the gelcoat was amazing. Lots of ghosting and stuff that doesn't show up in pics.

 

[Dkahnjob]

paint does not hold up well on the parts of the boat that are underwater (below the water line) for a boat that is left in the water for any length of time.
It will blister eventually.

 

[Guest06]

I’ll just leave this here. View attachment 983447

a lot of 2007-2009 boats had/have similar issue. The clear is super cloudy giving same appearance.

 

[Gelcoater]

a lot of 2007-2009 boats had/have similar issue. The clear is super cloudy giving same appearance.

Was about the time Valspar stopped making gelcoat and specifically TX-2 clear.

 

[Gelcoater]

The question I have for you, are any of the boat shops training/teaching younger guys the artistry of in the mold gelcoat? The stuff you guys do do sure has come a long way in the last 30+ years.

I only know of a couple guys coming into it.

 

[ramos45]

paint does not hold up well on the parts of the boat that are underwater (below the water line) for a boat that is left in the water for any length of time.
It will blister eventually.

Unfortunately I know this all too well. I had the aft of my boat repainted when I redid the swim platform. 5 months of being in a slip and the paint at the water line is shit

 

[500bbc]

Bad Ass!

 

[FreeBird236]

Was about the time Valspar stopped making gelcoat and specifically TX-2 clear.

My 08 Eliminator looks great, is this something I would already be experiencing if I have bad clear?

 

[Gelcoater]

My 08 Eliminator looks great, is this something I would already be experiencing if I have bad clear?

Probably.

 

[kurtis500]

Theres really no paint that can compare to the bonding between original gel and the laminating resin. The gelcoat on the mold with non air inhibited bonding is second to none. Secondary bonding of gel sprayed on over gel already cured and crosslinked is not as strong..more comparable to paint. Epoxy bonds way better to cured/crosslinked polyester than polyester does. With that said. if you could bring back the old Imron of 25 years ago you have an awesome product. Todays Imron (Axalta) is not the same.