Boat Builder Central - Builder Forums

Hi guys -

I have always been told that with production boats, the color is in the gelcoat. I have also been told that the hull is built outside to inside with colored gelcoat applied to the form followed by fiberglass and resin. On home built boats, its the opposite or from the inside to outside - wood, epoxy/glass, paint and then clear. My questions are -

1. How much more or less durable are produciton paints/gelcoats than what is available here?
2. Are the clearcoats here essentially a gel coat?
3. Production topcoats seem much thicker than what can be accomplished here, is this true?
4. Is the long term care of the hull color the same for home built as for production boats?

I am skeptic since I have never heard of anyone chipping their paint or requiring touchups unless the hull was hit hard enough for the fiberglass to need repairing. Maybe I have just not been on the water enough.

Tom B.

Tom, I hope some of the more experienced people will chime in here.
Yes, I believe you are right about the gel coat, color is mixed in when prepped. I think most production boats start with a female mold so gel coat, glass, resin, more glass.... See the description in the tutorials on how these boats are built. The primary strength is from the glass. It is a very sound method.
as for your other questions:
1. The key to paint durability is preparation. If every inch is sanded primed painted primed under perfect conditions with no mixing errors and no rain(if like me you do not have a garage) then the paint should be very durable and minimal maintenance.
2. clear coats serve the same general purpose.
3. Those are gel coats not paint and they are frequently thicker but it is a different method.
4. If you take care of it yes, and follow number 1 using high quality products.

Skepticism is healthy, but if you care for the boat you build and did things right to begin with the finish will be tougher and the maitenance is small. Do a search on paints and finishes There is some discussion on the durability of finishes.
Mark

You are correct about the sequence. In production boats, the gelcoat is sprayed first in the mold. Gelcoat is polyester or rarely, vinylester.
Luxury yachts or expensive small boats are painted with LPU's, Linear PolyUrerthane paints.
LPU's are harder and have more gloss than gelcoat.
The same luxury yachts often are first coated with epoxy on the outside to prevent blisters then painted with LPU.

This is similar to our boats: epoxy plus LPU paint if you want.