Paint Manual - Dove-Medows Marine Coatings Ltd

Painting glassfibre
Glassfibre, or GRP (glass reinforced plastic), is a polyester
resin strengthened by glass fibres, making a high strength,
low weight material which requires little maintenance.
Painting glassfibre
The outer shell of the glassfibre has a
layer of gelcoat. New gelcoat contains
large residues of wax and mouldrelease
agents that must be removed
before painting. Use Pre-Clean or
Degreaser to remove mould release
agents used in the construction of the
vessel.
Repainting glassfibre
Over time gelcoat becomes old
and weathered. This will cause the
cosmetic appearance to deteriorate,
and eventually it will need painting to
protect the surface. Generally the deck
and coach roof will deteriorate sooner
than the topsides.
The extent of the degradation depends
on many factors:
• colour and pigment of the gelcoat,
• if the gelcoat has been maintained,
• condition of where the vessel is
kept e.g. strong UV light,
• mechanical damage,
• weathering, etc.
Key Advice:
Old gelcoat will probabily still bear
residues of wax and mould-release
agents and it will be necessary to
carry out a degreasing procedure.
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General painting advice