Advise wanted for maintaining gelcoat that is already FUBAR

Wow, that's some beautiful work on those wings!
I wish I had the time and expertise to do it myself, although others have suggested it's misery...

Thanks for all the comments guys, great information coming out of this thread

On Tuesday, April 7, 2015 at 12:55:37 PM UTC-5, PBA wrote:
Thanks for taking a look.
Pictures are linked below.
The story goes this poor glider sat in a trailer for some years in Texas and it ate the otherwise bulletproof gelcoat.

Per usual the tops of the wings are the worst. Some of the sanding has gotten down to the gray layer that covers the fiberglass. Deep crazing/cracking in the gelcoat covers most of the upper surfaces of the glider.

I have no interest in a refinish at this time.

My ship was built in 1973 and has light crazing on the top wing surfaces and control surfaces, I just wet sand and wax. I believe that the crazing is more of a cosmetic issue more than anything but it makes re sale a little more difficult to someone who does not understand this. I have seen some ships with cracks that run 12 or more inches and look deep, the concern is if reaches the glass below. I refinished the fuselage this winter, next winter maybe the tips and maybe when I reach a 100 I may have a completely refinished sailplane.



Perhaps I should just do nothing, but you can feel the "roughness" of the gelcoat when you run your hand along the wings. I was thinking I could improve this with some fine grit block sanding? What grit and what combination? Perhaps just a rubbing compound with an orbital sander?

I'm looking for advise on the best way to slow the destruction of the gelcoat. I know there is no saving it.

I'm thinking some form of block sanding to level the gelcoast as best I can and then waxing to prevent more moisture ingress?

Some have suggested spray paint to cover the bare spots, others have suggested gel coat patch for that?

Hoping for more discussion than flaming...


LINK TO PHOTOS: http://s35.photobucket.com/user/pba1...0Finish%202015

Todd did an amazing job and that shine is just from wet sanding.

It is a massive amount of work though. 400+ hours on big wings like a Duo and it's not fun work. I had fantasies about doing a lot of the work myself, especially the gelcoat removal, but it would have taken me months just to remove the gelcoat since I have a job and would be limited to weekends or evenings, if I could have found a place to work.

So in the end, I spent the money instead of the time. We also broke the project in two. Wings and horizontal this year, fuselage next year.

Jonathan: I believe the PIK was painted in PU, not gelcoat. But yeah, frustrating to refinish a 15 year old glider. While flexing might be an excuse for the wings developing some stress cracks, the fuselage has the worst crazing on my glider.


On Wednesday, April 8, 2015 at 11:43:13 AM UTC-7, PBA wrote:
Wow, that's some beautiful work on those wings!
I wish I had the time and expertise to do it myself, although others have suggested it's misery...

Thanks for all the comments guys, great information coming out of this thread

On Wednesday, April 8, 2015 at 2:22:01 PM UTC-4, Jonathan St. Cloud wrote:
I am sorry, remind me again why PIK gliders and glass sailboat do not have crazing and cracking problems, yet expensive German gliders do?!

Polyurethane paint
UH

On Wednesday, April 8, 2015 at 12:31:14 PM UTC-7, wrote:
On Tuesday, April 7, 2015 at 12:55:37 PM UTC-5, PBA wrote:
Thanks for taking a look.
Pictures are linked below.
The story goes this poor glider sat in a trailer for some years in Texas and it ate the otherwise bulletproof gelcoat.

Per usual the tops of the wings are the worst. Some of the sanding has gotten down to the gray layer that covers the fiberglass. Deep crazing/cracking in the gelcoat covers most of the upper surfaces of the glider.

I have no interest in a refinish at this time.

My ship was built in 1973 and has light crazing on the top wing surfaces and control surfaces, I just wet sand and wax. I believe that the crazing is more of a cosmetic issue more than anything but it makes re sale a little more difficult to someone who does not understand this. I have seen some ships with cracks that run 12 or more inches and look deep, the concern is if reaches the glass below. I refinished the fuselage this winter, next winter maybe the tips and maybe when I reach a 100 I may have a completely refinished sailplane.



Perhaps I should just do nothing, but you can feel the "roughness" of the gelcoat when you run your hand along the wings. I was thinking I could improve this with some fine grit block sanding? What grit and what combination? Perhaps just a rubbing compound with an orbital sander?

I'm looking for advise on the best way to slow the destruction of the gelcoat. I know there is no saving it.

I'm thinking some form of block sanding to level the gelcoast as best I can and then waxing to prevent more moisture ingress?

Some have suggested spray paint to cover the bare spots, others have suggested gel coat patch for that?

Hoping for more discussion than flaming...


LINK TO PHOTOS: http://s35.photobucket.com/user/pba1...0Finish%202015

I bought my first glider (LS4) when it was already recommended to refinish it. I put 2000 hours on it for almost 10 years, sold it, and since then it had been flying for another 7 years. It had yet to be refinished, only waxed annually and sanded few times. Other than cosmetic and resale value there not seem to be any impact. I think most people refinish their gliders way before it is really necessary.

Ramy