Just wanted to ask if anyone has used awlgrip epoxy paint and their opinions of it vs. gelcoat. My boat is getting blue printed now and was on the fence about going full custom on the paint redo. The shop was leaning towards awlgrip instead of the traditional gelcoat. They’ll use either product for the same price so it’s my choice, but I’d never heard of awlgrip until they brought it up.

The boat is a 2004 25’ Outlaw that I’m restromoding so to get the custom color cockpit interior we like it’s a full color change on the boat. It’s a big project so I wanted to use whatever works the best.

My wife and I were thinking of a royal blue color with a more subdued scheme like newer boats, which the paint shop will carry into the cockpit area and engine bay. The vinyl will be the baseball glove looking tan that has the broken in look.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

I have black Imron single stage on the bottom of ours and basecoat / clearcoat on the sides and top, as well as inside the cockpit.

Ayuh,..... I've had fantastic luck using Martin Senour Prism, from my local Napa store,....
When mixed with their anti-graffiti hardener,(QT6599) stains wash themselves off, with the motion of water passin' by,....
The draw-back to using the anti-graffiti hardener, is the time I painted a boot stripe on the hull, I didn't sand it enough, 'n it also washed off with the passin' water,.....

Was not a fan of it ever but now the new modern look and the practicality of a black bottom has grown on me , just a suggestion.

Alexseal is a paint I am familiar with and getting ready to paint my 37 foot trawler tip to bottom here in Florida when the weather cools down. As I’m not allowed to spray in the boatyard I’ve researched rolling and tipping it but now they have an additive that lays out the paint so nice after being rolled you don’t need to touch it.

I looked at a 40 foot boat at the yard that a guy there had recently rolled with Alexseal and it was amazing how nice it came out , you couldn’t tell it from a spray job on any other large boat .

I would still spray if able for convenience but for cockpit and engine room you wouldn’t tell the difference.

Lots of options for paint from single stage paints to base/clear coats. Alexseal, Awlgrip, imron, and total boat are single stage paints and honestly are pretty tough and look good but can be tough to match if repairs are needed in the future. Base/Clear is nice more forgiving for future repairs but dont take much to scratch (in my opinion). Gelcoat will be harder and more durable than base/clear. I am no expert but I have done some DIY painting using imron and total boat and both turned really good. The only con I've heard of with awlgrip was that it was very difficult to blend a repair later on.

Chromabase and Awl-craft clear. Extremely durable, and repairability is fantastic.

No personal experience with it, but from everything I've seen, it sounds like paint is the way to go when doing a full redo... Much easier to color match down the road as it won't fade like gelcoat and less prone to staining. That being said, I was under the impression paint was the way to go because you can get a mirror finishes or close to it pretty easily when doing a DIY approach... gelcoat will typically need a lot of sanding and polishing to get a good finish if sprayed externally. I'm actually surprised they quoted you the same price for both options.

Thats what I was saying. It is alot more work to get gelcoat to a polished finish compared to paint. If they are giving you a polished finish on the gel coat, that is the direction I was going.

It has been a while since I painted a boat, but have done a decent number. IMO A single stage is more durable than base/clear and yes harder to repair.

If under the water line I never found a paint that wouldn't bubble so my vote is gel below the water line.

Water line up - paint for sure. My favorite back in the day was Sherwin Williams Sunfire 4-2-1 single stage. Easy to spray, had a range of thinners (unlike Imron) and not terrible to touch up. Pretty sure they don't make it any more. Maybe this is close https://pages.s-w.com/rs/148-TME-299...alog-AF-NA.pdf

I painted my Cigarette with the Sunfire and it was still shiny 20 plus year later.

I’m with Mark on this one. I’ve painted many boats and anything below the waterline, use gel coat. Over time they all blister.
If you pull it out every time and it doesn’t stay in the water, I’ve heard both Awlgrip and Alexseal work well, I just don’t want to take a chance.