First post waste.

A friend of mine is trying to talk me into doing some paint to his 32 fountain and clearing the sides and deck gel. I don’t really want to as that is something a bit bigger then I care to do but I may give it a shot.

I would want to use DBC or HOK for color and PPG 2002 or 2021 Clear. At least that is what I am used to using but our friend can get lower prices on DuPont stuff.

Anybody know DuPont's equivalent product, hot hues line?

For clearing over gel do you just scuff with 400 and then clear? How well would that bond?

I assume for the paint stuff its the normal filler primer/ seal and paint. On 32's they had to do a separate mold after the deck was pulled for the engine vents, these all seem to have small gel crack lines in them. What do I use to fill those?

Last how much clear do you think it would take for the hull sides and deck? 2 gallons spray-able?

Hey Phil . . . . sorry got sidetracked again lol

Your on the right track, 400 would be good but i would also throw down an adhesion promoter like Bulldog or something. One thing to keep in mind the gel can still fade under the clear. I always throw down a coat or two of color just to be safe. I do everything in DBC and 2021 so i cant help with other paint lines.

The filler lines can be problematic on those vents. I do what i can but at the end of the day they relied on a lot of filler from the get go so sometimes theres not much you can do. I notch out and fill with a high density filler like West's 404 and VE resin then do and final tuning with 407 or 410 and VE and topcoat with a couple coats of gel and hope for the best. I also use 3M's premium marine filler for fine tuning.


2 gal sprayable should get ya through it. . . . it a 32 Fountain so your really only shootin a 28 footer . . . . I also seal any primer spots in DP48 (white)

Thanks Dave, I always use the DP mixed as a sealer to.

Spaying a base of white sounds like a good idea, would you use a coat of DP as sealer first?

Last, what was that code you had for a white that wasn't blinding but still white.

I only use DP as a sealer if I need to cover primer/repairs or a full color change. DBC is fine on prepped gel but always always always use an adhesion promoter. I like to keep film build as low as possible on boats. The white I use is PPG # 91050, seems to be a great match for many oem white gels.

if you're asking about shooting clear, over gel.. the typical ... "my gel coat is faded lets clear it to make it shiny" myth... DONT DO IT. JUST DONT. it doesn't work. will last a couple years MAYBE and start coming off every time he washes the boat. if you're talking about sanding the gel, applying a base coat... then clear... you're fine. I used to use DBC and 2021 and it worked fine. a bit thin for my taste. I shoot standox now. never going back to PPG. but if you want to apply clear directly to gel... just... don't... do it lol if my phone wasn't broke id post a video of me blowing off clear with a blow gun from a cleared over gel job that rolled into my shop. I've had to fix 4 boats with flaking clear off gel in the last 18 months or so

Dave ,which ve resin do you like best and what adhesion promoter works well with DBC . I am doing the same kind of project . Thanks

I like bulldog for adhesion promoter.

Adhesion promoters are pretty much all the same, as above I like bulldog as well. I never shoot anything without it. The VE I prefer is Interplastic CoREZYN8121, good stuff.


Phil (Dmax315) dont ya just love fix'in other peoples fuk ups . . . . I have the exact same video on my phone of blowing clear off a Skater, certainly made stripping it easy lol

Thanks Dave for your professional opinion