I have a few chips in the clearcoat of my boat the biggest is about the size of a baseball. Paint shops say I need to reclear the whole boat

The clearcoat chips on the boat can be filled-repaired. You def. dont need to reclear the whole boat. I spot in paint/ clear a lot. You will need to do your research and find out what kind of clear was used on the boat. Different manf. use different products. Some may think clear is clear, but some are honestly "clear" others have a yellow tint.

If you take your time prepping and wet sanding it can be repaired without spending way more time and $ to redo the entire boat.

GrassHopper

Thank you for the info. Is this a repair I can do or should I find a painter, If its broke I can fix it but I've never painted before

Clear can be spotted in very easy. If you have a spot the size of a baseball, there may be other issues. Is the clear peeling? If so, the complete boat may need to be stripped and repainted. Is that what the shop is talking about? Jeff Wurl

If you are handy you should be able to repair it yourself. 1st thing to consider is if the paint that is exposed is damaged or failing, which would lead to further paint repair/blending.
It is easy to spot in clear / repair if the paint is still good beneath.
You need to post some pics to see exactly what you are dealing with. Will be a lot easier to see and let you know the best method for self repair or if you need to use a painter.

Grasshopper

I'll pull the boat out & take some pics. It will be next week though, the shops that gave estimates did not say or include any paint damage or problem in their estimates. If no paint damage I will probably do the repair myself,YAY another skill to learn. I should get something to practice on before I attempt this though huh? Thanks again for the help

nuttin 2 it Randy

you will almost for certain have to blend the color first and then blend the clear, in hopes of a undetectible repair. the reason i say this is you will be sanding the repair area including the color and that usually distorts the color especially with metalics.

later

is the surface shiney under the chip? The reason i ask is a chip the size of a baseball sounds a little more like delam of the clearcoat and if thats the case the clear will need to be taken back to where ever proper adheasion starts. Clear blending is tricky but certainly possible with the right technique.

I think "Later and Glassdave" Hit it on the nose. There is usally an issue that started this event. Softball size sounds like a delam issue. you will not stop it unless stripped. unless your boat is wearing a clear coat that the UV protection has broke down causing the delam. re-clearing entire boat creating a new UV layer.

Little chips you can brush some catilized clear into the spots to build up the thickness scuffing each layer"if dried" till the spot is a little high then wet sand 1000 grit follow up with 1500 and buff. alot more to a great blend job.

Call if you would like any more info I own a collision company.
First Impressions Collision. 1-614-274-5555

"not trying to sell anything Just help"