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Who has clear coated their Checkmate?

Hi,
I have wet sanded and polished my boat for the last time. Who has clear coated
their checkmate with good results? Looking for info on product used as well
as proper procedures. I have searched the net for days and have found opinions ranging from it wont work to it came out great. But have not found
any any detailed instructions on method and product. The gel is shot so please
don't tell me to try again. Thanks Jon.
 
I have not myself, but have friends who have. And they did look great, but it takes someone who knows what they're doing with gel coat prep. Someone on here should have a recommendation for your area.
 
Mine was cleared, but both the clear and the gel on my boat were shot. I had the factory quote reclearing mine vs regeling and the price wasn't far enough apart to make me reclear the boat. Sounds like clear coating the top hull on dark gel was standard operating procedure for checkmate back in the day (through the 80's).

Did you check Bass BOat Central restoring forum? I just went there and did a quick search...there 15 pages of threads with the word Clear Coat.
 
Clear coated our 81 eluded roughly 15yrs ago. Wet sanded everything with 400 grit, sprayed down 3-4coats of DuPont clear. Wet sanded that down with 800-1000 grit and laid down 3 more coats. Looks fresh from the showroom today. It also spends its down time in a garage. The sun is a killer!!
 
I clear coated my Starflite using the same process miller stated. It turned out awesome!! I couldn't believe how much it made the metal flake pop again. I used DuPont ChromaBase clear. I only kept the boat for two years after clearing it, but it always looked great.
 
Hi,
I have wet sanded and polished my boat for the last time. Who has clear coated
their checkmate with good results? Looking for info on product used as well
as proper procedures. I have searched the net for days and have found opinions ranging from it wont work to it came out great. But have not found
any any detailed instructions on method and product. The gel is shot so please
don't tell me to try again. Thanks Jon.

My friend JOE, at HARBOR COUNTRY MARINE, in New Buffalo, MI is a genius when it comes to repair with gel coat.
If you want, send me a private message and I will send you his details, phone number, and let him know you are going to call. Ive seen him do some amazing things with finish repair. He would be more than happy to answer your questions.

Joe
 
my trimate three was clear coated. we sanded it down and removed the clear as it was peeling and we repainted the boat. to be honest it is not much more to redo the finish and some are amazing easy to use. we used Petite epoxy and followed the directions
 
It all comes down to prep, and the products used.

I've used DuPont Chroma snap clear (couldn't fit in garage). lt's meant for touch up, so I used a slow reducer, and got nice layout, but flashed over pretty quick so bugs and crap wasn't a problem.
Also used PPG Concept clear. Very impressed how durable the Concept was

As with most clears, you can, "color sand" to take out any imperfections, and buff it out to a mirror finish. Seals up the porous gelcoat, so no more buffing 1-2 times a year.

All that said, there are draw backs. Mine were trailered, and were either covered, or in the garage. Never left outside for long periods, or slipped, so I can't say how a dark gelcoat would hold up sitting in the sun. If you do the bottom, can't leave it in the water for more than a few days
 
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