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Old 09-22-2020, 08:45 PM   #9
mvweebles
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City: Saint Petersburg
Vessel Name: Weebles
Vessel Model: 1970 Willard 36 Trawler
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 7,179
Quote:
Originally Posted by garbler View Post
Cross link urethanes like Awlgrip or Imron etc are generally good for ten years max. Alexseal is a less toxic ( non isocyanate ) plastic coating but it’s longevity has yet to be confirmed. Either way dings scratches and abrasion accidents are impossible and or difficult to patch. Imron being the only of these coating systems that can be compounded and blended though results are iffy. In fact most customers are never happy with patches, blending etc. A good Awlgrip job will include roughly 6-8 mils of primer and 6-8 mile of topcoat in the best jobs and more primer and fairing with rougher topsides. Most painters short cut the primer/undercoat.

A decent gel coat Job will be between 16-25 mills or more and can be compounded buffed and waxed for thirty-five to forty years quite easily. Just go out and look at well maintained production FG boats built in the 80’s . Gel coat is a no brainer if you can find a good gel man to spray it, compound it and wax it.
"10 years max" on LPU has not been my experience. Hatteras boats are painted right out of the factory. They look better for longer than gelcoat boats of similar quality and vintage. I've owned my 1970 California built boat since 1998. Even in San Francisco's mild climate the gelcoat was shot beyond buff and wax.

I simply do not agree with this post. All I can say is that when time came to put money down - and gelcoat was same price as paint, I went with paint based strongly on recommendation of Steve D'Antonio who ran the yard at Zimmerman Marine for years before hanging out his own shingle. He is one of the most trusted and respected experts in the industry. He did not hesitate in his strong recommendation for LPU.

Peter
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