Hi Martin,
3M makes a good polish for cleaning paint and gelcoat. I believe it'scalled 3M20095 but i'll get the exact name for you tomorrow. Meguiers also has some good stuff, you might try #7. Apply it with a rotary buffer not a random orbital buffer. Professional (good) products rely on the heat generated by the machine. Random orbitals generate little if any heat. Just be careful not to burn your finish. If after you buff your paint begins to turn milky within a few hours then there is nothing more you can do and it's time for new paint. By all means use professional materials only. All these products like StarBrite, rubbing or polishing compound, etc. are nothing but "sand paper in a can". They will remove too much material and eventually ruin the finish altogether.
Cheers, Bob Todd Lazybones, C&C 25 MkI Portsmouth, NH

I used fine badger hair brushes being careful to thin the paint very much, I wasn't difficult to work with. If you thin the awlgrip to a very thin consistency, after you brush the paint on it will flow into a beautiful shine.

I just called West Marine, who called Spectrum, who has a "factory matched gelcoat" for 83-88 C&C's (Part no 9035).

Anyone used this before? I would think that it would be somewhat close.
Thanks,
Rich
C&C 30 MkII

I haven't used the Spectrum gelcoats, but have been told by Rob Machlachlan at South Shore Yachts that theirs are factory matched, as promised, and are the preferred source of gelcoat. I will be using some ('94-'95 smoke white) this Spring to do a few small touchups. Of course, intervening years of oxidation, etc. will have resulted in significant color changes on your boat, so re-matching will be necessary.
Ken Hirsch

Hi Carol,
In the "small world" department, I used Endura on my boat yesterday, and spoke to their lab today. I live in Edmonton where the paint is made. It is extremely rugged; I have used it on aircraft, it is used on corp. jets, and I know that it is also used on highway equipment. The finish is beautiful. The fumes are deadly ( I think literally); also the mixing requires great care, as it is slightly too thick to spray and therefore they supply a special thinning agent. Depending on the room temp. and the surface, the amount of thinning agent will vary slightly. The lab is very helpful, even over the phone. Last year I used it to cover some work I did on the deck. I didn`t use the primer but did carefully ruff-up and clean the surface. I took a panel from the boat to their lab and they matched the colour perfectly. They even de-gloss the paint so it has the same dullish lustre of the boat decks. I also had them match-up the boot stripe and the hull colour , to have on hand for touch ups. By the way I got some interesting looks when I took the transum mounted rudder in to have them match the hull and bootstripe. I used several disposable aerosol sprayers ( you add your paint to a jar and go for it ). Also, I used several "dabbers", which are like very large felt pens that you can add paint too, for some small applications. Great product; rots your lungs...take care.

I just painted my 1976 30ft deck with two coats of Endura and am very pleased with the product; no primer was needed over fibreglass or epoxy. I also painted aluminum parts, but needed to prep it first with an Endura primer. Again, I am very pleased, but as the boat has not hit the water since it's 2-month-that-became-10 month refit, I cannot vouch for it's performance under fire. However, I understand that B.C. Hydro did extensive testing of paints for toughness and longevity for structures that they could not access easily for maintenance, and Endura beat the competition hands down.

It is apparently almost exactly like Awlgrip, but much more forgiving in application and if you need to touch up or add etc later. As good (and convenient) as the one part polyurethanes are (eg Interlux Brightside), they are easily outclassed by the two-part types in terms of toughness, longevity and colour retention etc. Endura was recommended to me by several pros working in my boatyard. I plan on using Endura for painting my mast and boom - next time out.

Be warned that it contains isocyenates, which is nasty stuff. The pro's use positive air breathing apparatus if painting a lot, but apparently it is OK for occasional user in a well ventilated area to use a good quality cartridge type respirator; use organic vapour cartridges, gloves etc. Easy to mix, but be fairly exacting.

The Endura staff in Surrey, B.C., are very helpful and know their stuff, as they should do as it is very costly, but still much cheaper than Awlgrip. They will tint it and give you the right de-glossing as needed. It seems a very thin paint in application, but this is misleading as it covers really well and covers a lot of surface. While I sprayed most of mine, it went on really well by brush as well. I used good quality, dense foam brushes and the smear technique, and there were almost no streaks of sags at all. The thinner they give you is different for spraying as for brushing, the latter being so that it sets up much more slowly. If you do the job before the summer temps, it gives you a bit more time to do a nice job. Recoat as soon as the first coat is tack free, but within 20 hours, or you have to sand.

They seem really pleased to take a rookie and guide you through; they were very patient with me, but it will really test them be able to handle someone from Victoria! Talk to Vinny, the manager, at 1-800-667-8224. I would use Endura again in a second.

Yeah, just went through the keelbolt tango also. I now have 2" by 4" by 5/16" plates and have used coupling nuts that cover and protect all the remaining thread. Glad that you chose to not remove all the nuts at the same time with the boat in the water!
Best wishes,
Richard Britton

New rudder from C&C was Interprotect-2000 coated by C&C from factory upon my request. At end of first year it blistered (apparently the Interprotect captured some gelcoat solvent and it ate its way inward). Sandblasted, dried over winter and put on seven coats of West epoxy and then coated with VC17.Seems OK to this day and new owner reports no moisture problems. On current CC30: reported high moisture content and signs of 'rusty' moisture weeping out when purchased. Last year I removed rudder to home, removed all gelcoat. Nice thing is you can see the stainless web inside and it is clean and shiny all round. Hm mmm. Drilled holes and the rudder dripped brown water all winter long. Every time I moved it out came another half cup or so. On hot sunny days it would bubble out. Because no gelcoat you can also see where the solid glass is and where the filler foam voids are (and they aren't all connected). Drill to hit the voids otherwise you are wasting your time. And don't break drill bits in there!! In spring did usual sanding, fairing, filling holes and then coated with five coats of West epoxy then five of Interprotect 2000 (I was doing whole boat anyway) and then VC17. Also made quarter inch V-channel around rudder-to-stock joint and sealed it with Sika-flex. This is often claimed to be the point of water ingress due to sitting 4-5 inch below water. How does this happen? Possibly water pressure at 5 inch depth. More likely a constant 'pumping' cycle --rudder heats up (in air before launch or on hot days) and pushes air out of minute cracks at rudder stock and elsewhere, then cools (in overnight coolerwater) so sucks water in. Water sinks to bottom of rudder, air rises to top, cycle repeates next day and rudder fills with water. CC 29-1 with rudder stock above water seems less prone to this if crack is only at rudder stock.I already know a weak spot has 'blown' in this cycle and will need attention this fall.Now all this is in fresh water. The cost of the 27 rudder was approx $2500CAN in 1993 plus $2000CAN for remove and replace. My yard will cut open a rudder, remove foam, rebuild with solid glass for $15-1700CAN - that was quote for my 27 and is also price based on a 32 they are doing right now. Removing and installing is no big deal on a 27 or a 30 if you do it yourself.