2000 186dc champion and the gel-coat on the cap seems to have been sprayed with clear coat. Why would they do this? Because the gel-coat could have been sanded away? Could the gel-coat be fine under the clear coat and they did it as a protector? The cap has some fading areas like its oxidized underneath the clear coat. Would it be worth the money to fix it or to re clear coat it? Its not too bad, but I plan on keeping the boat for a while.

Don't re-apply auto clear coat if that is what someone had done. If I was going to keep it I would get it fixed and go from there.

Why did they do it, because most people don't realize that the gel coat isn't a coating but part of the finish. The don't understand that the gel coat is put on first not last.

you are looking at sanding the whole top cap and removing the clear, Then a complete restore on the gel coat. Its worth restoring I have done a few that have come out great.

Thank you for the info!

Did you do the work your self or have someone you would recommend?

gelcoat is exactly what it says it is, a gel coating, why? to encapsulate the fiberglass and polyester resins, the reason for this is fiberglass and polyester resins are NOT waterproof, that's why these gelcoats are so important on a glass hull inside and out. as far as another surface coating on top of deteriorating gelcoat, something is better than nothing, adhesion is the key here, auto paint is a very wide statement, i'll say surface coats, are made from a variety of things now and if a compatible system is used for a surface coat with the right prep and care will last as long as anything else on the top of that hull

i see. Would the restoration be worth the money to perform on a boat this old? other than that the boat is in good condition.

that's a kinda, to each his own, thang, weather you keep it for a while or not, it will look better and could help resale value later on, the real question you need to answer is what you can live with and what you what to spend, it does appear to be a good hull to work with and keep around for a while. does a glass hull have a life expectancy? i'm sure there's arguments both ways, but what i have seen and worked with, i will say there is and depending on the elements that hull has seen and will see could shorten or prolong that life span, to just throw out a number, 25-30 years and just an opinion

that is a great hull and new gel would be worth it imo, they are not making champs anymore. I may be a bit prejudiced tho.
mine is an 82 184.

I do the work my self. I do free lance work if you are intrested.

Sk911, does the topcoat look something like this?



This is a "clear top coat" on a 2001 or so Skeeter that has become very cloudy and basically yucky looking. This is not oxidation or fading, it is "top coat aging" for a lack of a better phrase.

Here's what our guys were able to do to the top coat on this Skeeter. Work was done last week, Dec.16th-20th. Owners had no hope of the boat being brought back to this level until they saw the boat. There is basically no difference between the unaged topcoat area and the worked on areas.:




The after pictures were taken on a cloudy, dark day so after pictures doesn't show up as good as on a sunny day.

Bottom line, a cloudy topcoat on top of the gelcoat can be cleaned up. It takes time and effort but the topcoat can be made to be as good as new or very close to new with some work.