refinish

[[email protected]]

Hello
My gelcoat start to show it's age. When is it appropriate to refinish; early or
wait when it is really bad?
Thank you
Gilles

[Mike C]

On Sep 21, 5:30*pm, wrote:
> Hello
> My gelcoat start to show it's age. When is it appropriate to refinish; early or
> wait when it is really bad?
> Thank you
> Gilles

Here is one option maybe.

I have a friend with an ASW20 that was looking pretty bad. After a
thorough sanding, buffing and applications of WX Block, it is looking
pretty good and will stay that way for a number of years. Eventually
something will have to be done but it is looking nice and shiny, and
is performing well for now. The gelcoat is still thick enough to
protect the glass from UV.

[[email protected]]

On Friday, September 21, 2012 8:54:47 PM UTC-5, Mike C wrote:
> On Sep 21, 5:30*pm, wrote:
>
> > Hello
>
> > My gelcoat start to show it's age. When is it appropriate to refinish; early or
>
> > wait when it is really bad?
>
> > Thank you
>
> > Gilles
>
>
>
> Here is one option maybe.
>
>
>
> I have a friend with an ASW20 that was looking pretty bad. After a
>
> thorough sanding, buffing and applications of WX Block, it is looking
>
> pretty good and will stay that way for a number of years. Eventually
>
> something will have to be done but it is looking nice and shiny, and
>
> is performing well for now. The gelcoat is still thick enough to
>
> protect the glass from UV.

Do as Mike is suggesting, then apply car-wrap to the most crazed-up portions:
http://soaringcafe.com/2012/09/whats-your-pleasure-turkey-fajita-or-glider-wrap/
I will be testing 3M high-gloss film on the winglets of my LS8 soon and see how it holds up.

[[email protected]]

On Friday, September 21, 2012 7:30:03 PM UTC-4, wrote:
> Hello
>
> My gelcoat start to show it's age. When is it appropriate to refinish; early or
>
> wait when it is really bad?
>
> Thank you
>
> Gilles

if there is no crazing: polish hard with machine (be careful, if you've never used a polishing wheel before, get some advice from someone with experience). Then wax throughly. do this each winter. if the glider has a dull appearance, this will bring it back to its original luster.

If it is crazing, (in Spots) sand crazed area with 800 grit. follow with passes of 1000 and 1500 then polish. use a soft block once you are in 1000 & 1500

if it's crazing overall, follow same procedure as above (this is labor intensive) unless the crazing is really deep or pronounced. if that's the case have it refinished before it propogates into the glass below.

[Papa3[_2_]]

On Friday, September 28, 2012 1:12:37 PM UTC-4, (unknown) wr

People who've done a lot of refinishes will probably tell you that if you let it get too bad, the crazing does print down into the glass. Looking at it under magnifcation, it's clear that the epoxy has started to discolor and even chip out of the glass matrix, but I haven't yet heard anyone claim that it is a major structural issue. However, having led a refinish project on a very badly crazed Grob Twin this past winter, I can say for sure that deep crazing makes the refinish work that much harder, as the imperfections show through in the refinish. If the gelcoat is really starting to peel back and some bits are starting to flake off entirely, it's time to bite the bullet.