Painting Exterior

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Travco Model: 1975 270,1974 220
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Re: Painting Exterior

Unread post by Acesneights » Sun Sep 16, 2018 8:05 pm

The "correct" way to refinish a Travco is to d/a off the gelcoat down to the fiberglas and either respray with gelcoat or just paint it like a vette. That said....I did it once....Never again. What a horrible job and honestly these things are not worth that level of work. The are not painted for the most part, except for the stripes etc. Funny thing I have noticed over the years is they don't crack where the stripe is painted which always made me wonder if one was painted before it cracked, would it crack ? I think the next one I paint is getting Oilive Drab/camo...lol Flat hides alot.
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1977 Travco 270 Elite\n1974 Travco 220 Parts unit

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Travco Model: 76 270 2+2 & 76 270
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Re: Painting Exterior

Unread post by ontheroad » Sun Sep 16, 2018 8:23 pm

You can paint over the gel coat anytime, as long as its not damaged. I have painted brand new gel coat on new jeep tubs to old gel coat on old boats(worse shape than my Travco) and have never had one delam or peel. The most important thing is to repair any damaged spots and cracks so you have proper adhesion. Preparation is 99% of the job. I just painted my shower. DA'ed with 320 grit, epoxy primed and painted with single stage urethane paint. I can tell you it will hold up the rest of my life.\n
2018-09-12 18.50.21.jpg
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Travco Model: 76 270 2+2 & 76 270
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Re: Painting Exterior

Unread post by ontheroad » Sun Sep 16, 2018 8:25 pm

Acesneights wrote:The "correct" way to refinish a Travco is to d/a off the gelcoat down to the fiberglas and either respray with gelcoat or just paint it like a vette. That said....I did it once....Never again. What a horrible job and honestly these things are not worth that level of work. The are not painted for the most part, except for the stripes etc. Funny thing I have noticed over the years is they don't crack where the stripe is painted which always made me wonder if one was painted before it cracked, would it crack ? I think the next one I paint is getting Oilive Drab/camo...lol Flat hides alot.
\n\nI second that they are not worth the work to remove the gel coat!! That had to take a ton of time!! And a lot of sandpaper!

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Travco Model: 1972 270
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Re: Painting Exterior

Unread post by Kckalden » Mon Sep 17, 2018 7:36 am

Hear are my thoughts on painting fiberglass. My travco has a lot of crazing and flacking gelcoat. There is no way in heck I am stripping it down to the glass. One reason is building up gelcoat and getting it to look good is hard. Your travco was made in a mold and the gelcoat was the first thing separated on the mold. There fore it is smooth. Applying it last and trying to sand it flat on such a larg canvas will be hard. \n\nFor me I am first taking a scraper to the loose gel coat. Then I am sanding it with a orbital sander and 60 grit to knock off more loose gelcoat. Then I am applying a resin, brushing it in multiple directions. The resin is for filling cracks and helping to bond the old gelcoat. Then I am applying a tight coat of bondo. Again in multiple direction to try to fill the cracks. With a tight coat you should be using the existing gelcoat as a height gauge and only filling in cracks and missing gel coat. Then use a body file to sand it to get an even surface throughout. After achieving a smooth surface I am rolling on two part interlude perfection polyurethane paint. It is expensive but is very durable. My stripe will most likely be rustolum.

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Travco Model: 1971 270

Re: Painting Exterior

Unread post by pjsrodshop » Mon Sep 17, 2018 12:32 pm

Did you sand off the gelcoat or paint over it? Primer?[/quote]\n\nmine had an automotive sprayed on paint job from 20 years ago that the cracked gel coat had finally came thru. I took it all off and D/A sanded it to allow a good surface to stick to and used a 4 or 6 inch foam roller. it laid out smooth. I wanted a new looking finish like the rest of us do but had to realize that these are only worth what their worth and to just enjoy it for what it is. my gel coat was cracked up like most of them and it wasn't worth going after the new coach smooth finish. can you still see cracks? yes, do I care? No, its still way cooler than just about anything out there. gets just as good mileage as most newer coaches and runs down the road as fast as I want to go. its been on for a few years now and still looks as good as when I put it on and I've had no issues with peeling or flaking

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Re: Painting Exterior

Unread post by Kckalden » Mon Sep 17, 2018 1:07 pm

I knocked off the loose jell coat but the majority is still on. I used this process on an old Boston whaler dink I restored years ago. It is still holding up.

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