Best finish for an old fiberglass hull

[tomedenton]

Hey All

 

Firstly. I am new to the forum and apologise if i am posting in the wrong place.

 

I have bought an old model coaster. The hull has been painted fairly roughly and can see some of the cloth coming through in some places. 

 

My question is. What could I do to get the finish much smoother without sanding it to much and degrading the integrity of the fibreglass hull?

 

Is there a paint or gelcoat i can apply over the hull to give it a much smoother look?

 

I am fairly new to fibreglass and would love your advice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[russ]

Tom:
Welcome aboard. It would help if you can post a few photos of the model so that some of the more knowledgeable fiberglass modelers can see what you are up against.

 

Russ

[tomedenton]

I'll have to take a few pics when i get home sorry. I only have this low res one

[acrodave]

Before you do anything, try to determine if the resin used in the molding process was Polyester, or Epoxy....

 

Sanding, and smelling is the easiest way to do this.......Polyester has that "classic" fiberglass smell, while Epoxy has a much less pronounced smell.

 

The reason this is important is that polyester will not harden when applied over many, if not most, epoxies used in molding fiberglass.

 

In any case, I would be careful to try a small area of the hull with whatever I was going to coat it with before I did the whole hull.

 

Don't ask me how I know this unless you are immune to bad language!!!!!

 

Dave

[tomedenton]

Thank you all