"plastic" coating of plywood ?

[Sven]

In the 80s (today ?) a lot of higher quality boats had settee hatches (and seat areas) coated in what looked like fiberglass (without any roving or mat). IOW the surface looked like it was covered with thick white plastic.

I'd like to go through Senta II (née Serendipity) and put on the same coating but I don't know what it is.

West systems with white pigment, LP paint over some smoothing prep ... ?



-Sven

 

[Loren Beach]

Gel Coat

Our Ericson had all the areas of hull under settees and throughout the stern and under the forepeak white gel-coated. Someone with a brush really worked to cover all the FRP surfaces.
I would guess that you are right about this being SOP for high end boats....
Our prior boat, from Hinterhoeller Yachts, had gray gel coat throughout the same surfaces. I have looked through a lot of C&C's over the years and it was the same with them in the 70's and 80's.

I like it a lot better than paint, as you can later bond to the surface easily after grinding it down to the bumps in the surface layer of roving and do not have to remove all of the gel coat in order to get a good bond with epoxy. We have resurfaced some areas of our bilge with white gel coat after doing some cleaning and smoothing up where the factory was a little sloppy. (The smoother the inside hull surface, the less chance of mold getting started later.)

Note: Remember that in order for the gel coat surface to harden, you need to mix in some liquid wax before you brush it on... The wax seals the surface from the air and lets it dry without being tacky. Any plastics supplier, like TAP, can guide you in what to use.

Loren

 

[Sven]

Hi Loren,

Our Ericson had all the areas of hull under settees and throughout the stern and under the forepeak white gel-coated.

So you think is it actually gelcote, not white epoxy or some other magic ?

The result is wonderful so I'd like to use it.

Thanks,


-Sven

 

[Loren Beach]

Yup

Hi Loren,

So you think is it actually gelcote, not white epoxy or some other magic ?

-Sven

Yup. It was a "Polyester Resin World" when your boat was constructed. Even in the 80's only the most expensive boats were made with epoxy.

Loren