Painting Gale 25hp Cowl

[chris-p]

Have not seen this one happen before.

I soda blast cowl down to bare fibreglass.

Primed it.

Started spraying the orange, and noticed I can see the outline of the old GALE decal still! Look close at first picture. Strange, did not see it on bare fibreglass, or even on the primed surface.

Degreased it, and also used paint prep on it before priming. Odd it came through.

Also terrible gouges on this fibreglass you can see after the orange was sprayed.

Have to strip this back down and start over, not happy at all with it.

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[wedgie]

The Gale decal and the adhesive protected the fiberglass from the soda, leaving "the shadow." of it. The soda may have pushed traces of the adhesive into the fiberglass, and then it swells up when the paint soaks in to it.

The pitting is where the soda removed the resin in between the fiberglass strands. I would go over it with a bright light , and sand down the remnants of the logo . Then with a skim coat of body filler over the entire hood, sand smooth using really good side lighting . Then, spraying with a high build primer so you can get the fine scratches out before top coat.

[chris-p]

Thanks Wedgie.

I think If I were to restore another Fibreglass Cowl motor, I would strip the paint on the cowl with stripper chemicals, rather than blasting it. A lot of body work to do now!

[Mumbles]

I’ve found the factory paint on the fiberglass hoods is quite durable and doesn’t always need stripping off. Taking it down to the bare fiberglass is just making more work for yourself. Block sanding and filling any scratches should be enough prep for your favorite paint. A sealer coat should be used first if the new paint will attack the old paint.

[chris-p]

I am seeing that now mumbles thanks.

I am just used to taking everything down to bare metal…..I hate seeing the "edge" of where a chip of paint was!

I may rethink my next 60s project.

[chris-p]

I ended up using a Polyester Resin. Helped out a lot. Not perfect, but the owner is happy. I only had a few days to complete the job, so was rushed! Needed full rebuild and cosmetics. Rigged on the boat for the family outing this weekend.

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[chris-p]

Ready for the Water!

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[Steve A W]

Don’t tell my wife but I think I fell in love again ❗
That is beautiful.
Good job.

Steve A W

Member of the MOB chapter.
I live in Northwest Indiana

[frankr]

Truly beautiful.

[wedgie]

Very nice save Chris. Looks awesome !

[Author]

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