Anyone know or have an idea of what ppg white is the closest match for the gelcoat on an old 311 Formula. The boat is 1988, planning on painting from the rub rail down to the hardchine white & adding some graphice this winter and want something that is a semi close match to the top, untill i can also paint the top of the boat.

Thanks..

That old of gel will not even be the same as it was when new. Most paint suppliers have new digital color match "cameras", you will need to sample several areas on the deck and have them mix something up.

Just IMO

I do realize that nothing will be a perfect match, but I would like something as close as poss, just incase I dont have enough time to get the deck painted this winter.

If you are considering doing the whole boat dont try and match the faded gel, you would be better off using a clean white that matches the industry standard color. This is probably the biggest mistake i see made on resprays. Even if your deck and sides are slightly brighter then the running surface it is still better then painting the entire boat an off or yellowed color (unless your boat was originally done with a heavily tinted white). I use PPG's 91050 for pretty much all completes, its a very nice clean white that goes with all colors, not overly bright or harsh has a little black and orange in it. I have also used more of this color as a blendable match to more repairs then any other color i have, it is a great match to just about any manufacturer using a bright clean white gel.

Thanks Dave, That is exactally what I was looking for.. I am sure I will need to pick your brain some more thru this project..lol... I have some paint experiance but has all been on cars.. i hace done alot of reading up on alot of your post's trying to get a little more educated on the boat aspect of it..

Dave, not to hijack, but how do you paint a deck of a boat. (Unless you have reaaally long arms. lol)

you hang way way over and hold the hose. A lil tape holding the suit tight to your body... easy

X2. I have a camera and used it to paint some speaker mounts and all my dash panels. They are usually 90% accurate. It you plan on doing it all I agree with Dave, pick one similar to the gel though so the bottom doesn't look too much off.

yep . . . pretty much and the tape on your suit is crucial lol. I can gun to the middle of a standard eight foot wide boat no prob and i'm an average size guy. Its the big cats that can be tough. I have enough scafolding to completly surround any boat so getting up and around is no prob. I did an ocean express once that was elevan foot wide and we actually spanned it with a sixteen foot pik (one of those alluminum things they use on construction sites). Walked the pik down the scafold as i made passes back and forth. The most common method though is called "shoot'in from the hip" ya adjust the spray patern down to a round one, crank up the fluid and hose it on. Its also the easiest once you get the hang of it, you can walk a ladder around and do it single handedly without having to lean in to awfully much.

Thanks!!