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Message board > Care & maintenance > Blue Gelcoat

Message 22 of 22
Posted by member Stephen Izatt on Thursday 7 December 2017

Here's an article about the wrapping and gives a cost (although nearly two years ago) and comparisons with two pack.. http://www.pbo.co.uk/expert-advice/vinyl-wrap-your-boats-hull-21623 It's topical with me too as I am thinking of a wrap for the blue stripe around our Mariner. A smaller job which I hope is much less than the hull wrap quoted in the link.

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Message 21 of 22
Posted by member Simon Kidd on Wednesday 6 December 2017

Hi Philip. A high quality two pack sprayed epoxy job with very carefully matched colour would work wonders (Bring her up like new and last well) I've seen a couple and they look very good - but colour matching to the actual gel coat on the boat is essential, but anything less than a really good spray job would probably end up looking worse (usually far worse) than the original gel coat. Less than a perfect job could hit resale too - some buyers just don't like painted boats and I know a couple of small boat traders who won't buy anything obviously painted. I saw someone recently hand paint the blue band on a Bosun - looked a bit rough - "nuff said". Wrapping would be a great idea - not easy though, but well worth looking into - it's a great solution if you can make it work at a decent cost. I know Marie had good results with A Glaze a few years back, it might be worth having a chat with Marie and seeing how it has lasted, I know Marie would be happy to discuss it. Any Dark gel coat can be an issue, almost all of the hulls I see in Dark blue (from all sorts of manufacturers tend to be chalked now) - some of them are under 10 years old - you'll see a lot of moden boats with them - the finishes don't seem to last all that well, unless it's a really high-quality builder and even then I think it's only a matter of time. The older Seaward 23's and the Channel islands 32's and 22's chalk, and I've seen Swift Trawlers and flashy sportscruisers completely dull. The last resort - and something only to be carried out once or so, is a wet and dry treatment and then gradual compound and polish - usually using the best quality 3m type kit. This would take the top layers of gel coat off and then re-finish the newly exposed layer under. Clearly, this is a long job - but probably offers the best chance to revive the existing finish. If it were me, and if really really very bad I'd wear the chalking with pride in the short term and put a little away for a pro wrap, a pro wet and dry job or a proper pro spray, but that's me and as I only have white Hulled Hardys, I'm perhaps not to be Listened to.... Good luck with it! Oh - on a last throught - have you tried polished with a pigmented blue polish?? Not sure it will help in your case, but might make a differece.

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Message 20 of 22
Posted by member Philip Sanderson on Wednesday 6 December 2017

Hi I have considered it. Not sure my boat is grand enough to make it worth me paying someone to do it but I may look into a diy job. Looks a little tricky though.

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Message 19 of 22
Posted by member Stephen Izatt on Wednesday 6 December 2017

Have you considered a vinyl wrap?

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Message 18 of 22
Posted by member Philip Sanderson on Wednesday 6 December 2017

* Hi all, I have just taken the boat out of the water and was considering painting the blue hull bit. I have tried so many ways of polishing and waxing and although I get a reasonable looks it never seems to last anymore than a couple of weeks. Has anyone else given up with the polish / wax option? Regards Phil

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Message 17 of 22
Posted by member Simon Kidd on Sunday 20 August 2017

The Hardy Gelcoat was good quality, it's great when you get that deep shine!! Wonderful job.

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Message 16 of 22
Posted by member Pennyghael on Saturday 19 August 2017

After the blue hull on our Hardy Pennyghael had been professionaly restored ( see Hardy Owner Number 127 ), it was suggested that we useTurtle Wax Colour Magic Colour Enhancing Polish Shades of Dark Blue. This we have done and found it to be very successful. The bottle we purchased in our local car accessory shop had a free Chipstick rather like a lipstick, which has been excellent for filling in scratches. Altogether a very useful tip.

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Message 15 of 22
Posted by member paul stockdale on Tuesday 13 December 2016

Many thanks Simon. Hardy club membership paying off already, have been in contact with J-Star boats and spoken with Simon he has agreed to come and look at the boat after Christmas with the view to making one for me. Great result thanks again Simon. Regards Paul.

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Message 14 of 22
Posted by member Simon Kidd on Tuesday 13 December 2016

Welcome Paul Nice purchase, and a nice boat - I always fancied an HF17 and rigging her with twin 25's for fun!! Anyway, Gelcoat wise, yes, gentle compound - nothing too aggressive - then, once she's shining again, get a good couple of coats of decent wax (cheap wax just washes away) on her (3m or similar I would have thought), Then, if she's kept ashore, I'd suggest giving her a max every few months - that should keep the chalk at bay. Ref the windscreen - Wilson Flyer boats should have a good FRP moulded design (I seem them online sometimes) - I think with a small roof, and another without. If might take a bit of fitting, but is probably one of the better options - it should look the biz when done. see: https://www.facebook.com/wilsonflyerboatsuk/about/ Failing that, Orkney boats might have some moulds and shapes that could be a near fit - so perhaps have a chat with them too. Otherwise, you could go for a bespoke unit - have a word with J-Star boats (add in the forsale section), Mr Papendick who runs the business probably built or worked on your boat when new - so He'll know!! Best Regards Simon. Best Regards Simon.

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Message 13 of 22
Posted by member paul stockdale on Tuesday 13 December 2016

Hi I have just joined H.O.C as I have made my first purchase of a Hardy 17 fishing boat. The boat is in great nick but has been stood up for the last 20 years so the blue gel coat has faded but it sounds like a rubbing compound and a good wax should put this right. This boat has a small cuddy on the front, I would like to put a small windscreen on top of the cuddy to raise the head height so I can add a spray hood anybody got any ideas were I would get one from? Paul

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Message 12 of 22
Posted by member Sparker on Monday 12 December 2016

Simon, thank you for the information and the link to cfsnet. I’ll do some reading then have a trial run mixing at 2% and take it from there. Jack

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Message 11 of 22
Posted by member Simon Kidd on Monday 12 December 2016

Most gelcoats tend to be a 2% mix, though this does depend on temperature, whether thats the same as yours I have no idea. You could try a 2% mix and see how if cures, You'll ideally need 15 degs C temp outside to make it set well. Might be worth having a read up on www.cfsnet.co.uk Cheers Si.

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Message 10 of 22
Posted by member Sparker on Monday 12 December 2016

Does anyone know the weight or volume ratio of hardener to resin for Hardy’s own blue gel coat repair kit? Unfortunately the label on the small bottle of hardener I have is damaged and no longer shows this information.

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Message 9 of 22
Posted by member Stephen Pickthall on Thursday 29 May 2008

Thanks andy , I think that if you try machine polishing with a number 3 cutting compond and then finish with a hand polish using a number 10 cutting compond you will get rid of any oxidisation marks without resorting to the wet and dry method , which in my opinion would be a very extreme measure indeed. This is how I have always polished my current and previous Hardys, and then finishesd them off with a couple of good coats of hard wax, (old fashioned simoniz ) or even a proffessional glaze wax as used in the auto trade . Works a treat , and if done properly will bring back and maintain a 'as new'finish. Steve

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Message 8 of 22
Posted by member Andy Mcmullan on Wednesday 28 May 2008

Steve Congratulations on devising this solution. I got a Gelcoat repair kit off Hardy to fill minor scratches on my Fishing 17. I stopped using it as the repair just made the blemish more visible. Particularly true when the hull faded a bit. I have a gouge in the blue topside band on my Pilot. Instead of filling it I have covered it with a piece of matching blue insulating tape. Is is only detectable if you are looking for it. The bloom is the oxidation that happens on all blue Hardys. Any rubbing compund is ideal for removing it. I have also read that you can use very fine wet and dry (used wet) to get rid of this in particularly bad cases. My own thought is to use the least drastic technique possible and I always get excellent results with rubbing compound. Cheers Andy

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Message 7 of 22
Posted by member Andy Wells on Tuesday 20 May 2008

I've just done the entire hull of our Pilot 20, using an electric mop polisher that I got from ASAP for £20 - best thing I ever bought. It effortlessly removed the oxidisation using cutting compound and then applied a good quality wax polish and now Daisy looks very good. Thoroughly recommnded. Andy

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Message 6 of 22
Posted by member Stephen Pickthall on Tuesday 20 May 2008

Just a thought for some of you . You will find that most batches of gelcoat are often slightly different in colour, even if you get the stuff from Hardy's themselves. Also often with normal fading seen even after polishing , this difference between new and old can be noticeably different on repairs. Recently i overcame this problem by visiting a profeessional paint shop and after leaving them a sizeable deposit , borrowed their Du Pont colour swatches, which incidentally gave me about a choice of 250 shades of blue around the hardy colour. Anyway using the swatches , i matched and then had made up an aerosol of paint, 2 pack profeesional with hardener( B3/B250 ) which has 2 uses.One is I can use it to touch up light surface rubs and it blends in perfectly. Secondly , I have sprayed up my own swatch which i have used to get a local dealer to blend me up some gelcoat to match . A long way around to get a perfect colour match I know , but when you cannot take the boat to the people who are blending the gelcoat, and there is nothing to take off to send , it seemed like a good idea. Just one note of caution , professional made up aerosols with hardener , have to be used in one go as soon as you activate the hardener.of course 2 pack paint can be made up into aerosols without the hardener and I am sure it will be ok for most above waterline useage. Just a thought for some of you if you are as fussy as me and like everything to be perfect. Steve Pickthall

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Message 5 of 22
Posted by member Stephen Pickthall on Tuesday 20 May 2008

Ok Peter ..you've got me ...what exactly is a 'bloom', you haven't got flowers sprouting there have you ??? Best wishes, Steve

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Message 4 of 22
Posted by member Peter Mitchell on Sunday 18 May 2008

Can anyone tell please me how to get rid of the "bloom" on tne blue band (fibreglass) above the rope fender of my bosun.

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Message 3 of 22
Posted by member Hans on Tuesday 20 March 2007

Does anyone know the colour number of the blue gelcoat ?

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Message 2 of 22
Posted by member Carl Spowart on Wednesday 17 January 2007

You can get the gelcoat repair kit from Hardy Marine, I purchased one for my pilot easily in october 06.

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Message 1 of 22
Posted by member Ted Childs on Monday 6 March 2006

Like some other HOC members I have been searching for some time for a gelcoat repair kit which would enable me to undertake minor repairs to the blue hull of my Seawings 234. Hardys long ceased to reply such an item. A fellow member, Graham Green, who works in the paint trade, suggested I approach CFS Fibreglass at United Downs Industrial Park, Redruth, Cornwall, TR16 5HY. I did so and CFS have supplied me with a small tin of their clear gelcoat and a tube of the appropriate pigment. CFS's website is www.cfsnet.co.uk/ They may be contacted at sales@cfsnet.co.uk, Tel: 01209 821028, Fax: 01209 822191.

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