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Name:	Tall Cotton -	Reply
Subject:	Urethene roof coating
Date:	9/20/2009 8:37:13 PM

We are looking for a replacement roof coating for the gelcoat that has to be replaced every few years as well as having cracking problems. Does anyone have experience with some other coating? This is for houseboats so it has to be tough and easy to clean.

Thanks!!

Name:	houseboat -	Reply
Subject:	Urethene roof coating
Date:	9/20/2009 10:38:57 PM

My houseboat roof was originally coated with Gelcoat, I have applied 2 part polyurethane but it is hard and cracks and flakes off over time. I presently rough sand with a grinder and then apply 2 part epoxy primer (Mopoxy Red Metal Primer by Mobile Paints) and then 2 coats of white 2 part Mopoxy epoxy paint. It does not have a lot of UV protection and will fade out in a year or two but will last about 3 years. Mobile Paints - Adams Avenue in Montgomery.
It cleans well with the proper mix of Jomax and Clorox (temperarily yellows when cleaning), rinse well.

Name:	Tall Cotton -	Reply
Subject:	Urethene roof coating
Date:	9/21/2009 6:55:59 PM

What price range is this paint? Last yeat I used 10 gallons of gelcoat to cover everything except underthe fly bridge. Thatstuff is $50 a gallon and has already cracked in two places where we ground down to wood and re-fiberglassed. My buddy did his at the same time with the same results.

Name:	houseboat -	Reply
Subject:	Urethene roof coating
Date:	9/22/2009 8:46:16 AM

I am not sure why you would use 10 gal. of Gelcoat unless you have a large widebody Summerset or the like. The cracks of course would have to be repaired with fiberglass mat or cloth using regular resin before any gelcoat would be needed to top coat. You can coat the raw fiberglass with the epoxy primer & paint or paint a layer of gelcoat and then cover with epoxy. If the new gelcoat has wax in it it might prevent bonding of the epoxy paint.
The epoxy primer and paint cost about $40 a gallon and will cover about 200 to 300 square ft. If you were closer I would be glad to look at repairing it for you. You can see the paint on Mobile Paint webb site.

Name:	Tall Cotton -	Reply
Subject:	Urethene roof coating
Date:	9/22/2009 5:18:47 PM

HB,
It's a 16x66 Sumerset. We did repair with mat and resin, sanded and then rolled the gelcoat. This was done in October last year and the cracks were back in two spots by June. We patched several places but only two came back. These are easily visible, not just a hairline crack that generally eventually appears in gelcoat. Our guess is that when we're going down the lake and run into wakes the boat torques or racks and the twisting puts stress where the plywood is joined together. Fortunately one of mine is under the party top which is solid and little or no water gets to it. The other is more of an immediate issue. I will repair them again and patch the gelcaot over those spots for now. Thanks for the info!

TC

Name:	houseboat -	Reply
Subject:	Urethene roof coating
Date:	9/23/2009 2:01:10 PM

In my last reply I wondered if it was just small gelcoat cracks or the roof structure was actually pulling the glass apart. You might consider covering the area with roven instead of mat, overlapping the crack by a foot or more on each side for the first layer, preferably over existing fiberglass with gelcoat removed.Use 24 grit for roughness over existing glass. You could cover the roven with mat to match the existing texture.
Just some suggestions, hope it goes well.
I recently had to replace the drip ledge around a 32 ft. houseboat on Lay Lake. The existing structure was not strong enough to resist the movement of the wood, especially after a crack was formed and moisture got in the wood.

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