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  • Dan says:
    August 2, 2012 at 11:21 pm

    So could you use this method of laying up CSM over top of old gelcoat? Or would you have to strip all the old gelcoat off?

    Reply
    • ~Andy says:
      August 2, 2012 at 11:38 pm

      Hi Dan,

      Anytime you’re laying up new material (whether it’s glass, primer, paint, etc) you need to make sure that the surface is intact, securely bonded and not damaged. Otherwise the bond or strength is only as good as it’s weakest link. Providing the surface is sound and in good shape you can apply glass over gelcoat however when in doubt it’s best to take it down to the glass 🙂

      Reply
  • Dan says:
    August 3, 2012 at 2:39 am

    Thanks man!

    Initially, I was planning on just patching and painting however your video got me thinking… One of the things I’ve been concerned about is future cracking given that the gel coat is so old and weathered. The last thing I want to do is put out a ton of work only to have new cracks develop. Your video gave me the idea of topping off all my patch work with a layer of CSM. It seems to me that this would strengthen the overall topside and help prevent future cracking. You can tell me if I’m crazy.

    Here’s some pics of what I’m working on:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/84114734@N02/sets/72157630877413522/with/7701665754/

    Reply
    • ~Andy says:
      August 3, 2012 at 3:10 am

      Well, you’re not crazy 🙂 BUT laying up new glass opens up a whole another level of work.. I think with a little more glass work on the repairs you made you can probably work with what’s there without having to re-coat the entire topside in glass. Just to give some perspective I had roughly 600 hours in the restoration I did on the boat in the video. Granted it was a “show quality” restoration but it was also in much worse condition than what you’re looking at. If it were me I would be meticulous and do the glass repairs (making sure to make the patches larger than the actual area of damage) and either paint or re-gel depending on the equipment avail..

      If there are other areas that have a lot of stress cracks take some pics of those areas, but all in all I think what you have is in pretty decent shape..

      ~Andy

      Reply
  • Pat says:
    October 4, 2015 at 1:56 pm

    I’m redoing a 1964 MFG and the bow has many stress cracks around the chocks and cleat. When I sanded thru the cracks in the gelcoat the fiberglass does not look as thick as it does in your videos. I’m afraid I will sand thru the fiberglass. Would this case be a good one for applying the CSM over the top of the bow? I also have the same situation at the stern and would like to strengthen that as well. I have not removed the deck from the hull for this work so I am working from the top. Thanks Pat

    Reply
    • ~Andy says:
      October 9, 2015 at 9:14 pm

      It really depends. I’d remove a few pieces of hardware to see how thick the current glass truly is. If it’s on the thin side, then applying another couple layers of glass might be to your benefit 🙂

      Reply

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