Sounds like you are confusing 2 different gelcoat treatments. What you described would be a reasonable choice for rejuvenating original gelcoat to a factory shine. Best likelihood of success is the hull sides - the freeboard above the water and below the rub rail. Typically you would NOT do that process to remove a failing top coat. Certainly not with the hopes of saving or restoring the gel coat below. That's not to say it is impossible but it is a lot of work especially if you are already planning on a top coat of something else. Besides that top coat was probably applied after a 100 or 80 grit sanding so you would be working to not just remove the failed non-skid but also sand out the 100 grit scratches without removing the full thickness of original gelcoat - again just to paint over it.
It sounds like kiwi grip would be a good option for your project. The surface prep is to simply remove loose paint and clean thoroughly. They recommend sanding with 100 grit (IIRC) but I have had plenty of success just applying it to the clean gelcoat. You mask off, trowel it on with a 1/16 V-groove, then roll the desired texture with the included roller. Promptly remove the mask and clean up with water. It is very user friendly and covers lots of defects. Happy to answer any other questions about it. Josh Muckley S/V Sea Hawk 1989 C&C 37+ Solomons, MD On Wed, Jul 14, 2021, 11:11 SV Mary Me via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: > A previous owner painted some kind of anti-skid on most of the topsides, > and in some places it's flaking off. All it's actually done is give mildew > a solid grip to grow so I have to pressure wash every few months. > > I've got no experience with gelcoat and fibreglass, but from what I have > been able to put together, I can try and scrape the coating and residue > off, then use progressively higher grit hand sanding, finishing with a > buffing wheel to get the surface as smooth as can be done. > > I have a number of small cracks and spiderwebbing that I'll need to > address at the same time. It's going to have to be painted once > everything is done. > > Thoughts on removing the coating and smoothing the surface for painting? > Thanks. > > s/v Mary Me > 1975 C&C 24 > Alva, Florida USA > > Sent with ProtonMail <https://protonmail.com/> Secure Email. > > Thanks to all of the subscribers that contributed to the list to help with > the costs involved. If you want to show your support to the list - use > PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray Thanks > - Stu
Thanks to all of the subscribers that contributed to the list to help with the costs involved. If you want to show your support to the list - use PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray Thanks - Stu
