Ok, I didn't intend to come off sounding like a smart ass there.
What I have in mind for one of my projects is not something I came up with alone. Its a mashup of several techniques. This is for a hull where the glass is sound but the gelcoat is past it to the point spot repairs are not going going to cut it and the over all value of the project at the end does not justify a grind down and gelcoat spray.
Basically its like this:
>Pressure wash the bleep out of the hull to blast off all the loose bits and grime. The hull is going to need to dry for week or two, up the the point you seal it, because you don't want to trap water under the coatings to come later. Meanwhile...
>Go over the hull with a pointy object looking for any gelcoat that is loose and encourage its departure.
>Now sand the oxidation, paint, graphics and so on off, ending 80-120 grit finish. Bristle and poly mesh disks are great if you have paint and decals to strip. Be careful here to keep the surface fair, no sanding gouges, do not waste time 'sanding out' cracks gouges and other low spots. Fixing those comes later. You just want a clean, fair, but rough surface for the next part.
>Mix straight epoxy, thinning it a little is an option. Paint the hull with the epoxy using it as a sealer and filler of small cracks. Coloring the epoxy by adding white or black pigments is an option to help prevent the old color from affecting the top coat.
>With an epoxy filler (mix your own or ready to go) fill all the big cracks gouges holes and such left. Sand fair and repeat as needed. Try to fill soon (hours) after the sealing coat since epoxy (and everything else) sticks better to a not completely cured base.
>To ensure the repairs and cracks never telegraph through and give a slick base for the paint without more sand paint sand. Laminate on a layer of light 4-6 oz 'clear coating' glass with epoxy. While the resin is still tacky add coats or resin till the weave is filled. This stuff disappears in both texture and visually when the fine weave is filled with resin.
>Scuff the gloss off the epoxy and paint. You may or may not need to prime based on what your paint requires.
I suppose you could pigment the epoxy and call that good, saving painting for a refinish later. On bottoms that are epoxy coated it is common to use white titanium, graphite (slick), copper (anti fouling), powders in the epoxy.
You wind up with a really tough skin that if scratched can be fixed with a little sanding and touch of paint.
Yea... sometimes you just have to diplomatically say gas and a match is the best solution.
I will grant that laminating even a light and very flexible cloth over this complicated bottom wold be tough. Doable but maybe a wash as far as sand prime sand considering the condition of the finish.
Enough jacking this thread...
M