Production fiberglass boats are built outside in. That is gelcoat is sprayed against a polished and prepped mold.
Then supporting layers of resin (polyester, vinyl ester, or epoxy) mixed with structural glass fiber reinforcements are applied
over this to build the up desired thickness and strength. The boat hull is then removed from the mold with the
resulting gelcoat as smooth and polished as the original mold surface.
Gelcoat provides the color for a fiberglass boat and adds a UV barrier as well as weather resistance. Gelcoat is
applied very thick as compared to paint products with thickness running from 20 to 40 mil. Compare this to most paints
with a finish film thickness of 6 mil. Gelcoat is a catalayzed anerobic curing product meaning that it will fully cure
when sealed away from air, such as against a mold surface. When fully cured, gelcoat acheives a very high surface hardness
and water and chemical resistance.
Maintaining gelcoat is best done by keeping it clean and limiting sun exposure. We recommend that boaters that
trailer their boat carry a spray bottle with a mix of 1/4 cup of white vinegar and a few drops of liquid hand washing detergent.
Immediately after taking your boat out of the water take few minutes and spray the boat hull down with this solution and then
wipe off the boat hull with a clean towel. This solution will remove most of the water scum and dirt as well as most
of the water spots that might develop.
We do recommend waxing gelcoat once a year. This should be done after thouroughly washing down the boat.
An application of pure carnuba wax will help to fill the microscopic pinholes that natuarally occur in gelcoat and the wax
will make it harder for dirt and waterspots to cling to the boat.
Bye the way, we often hear the term "It is just white" and we have to explain that there are about 1500 shades of
white gelcoats.
