1986 36' Sedan question

[goozaman]

new to the site and possible Hatteras ownership, I am looking at purchasing a 1986 36' Sedan and I have a question about the hull, is it gel coat finish, or Imron paint, or gel coat with Impron painted over it? if its paint, should I expect to have to spend 30K on re-doing anytime soon? right now, it looks fantastic and like new.. its a Michigan boat, stored indoors climate control over winter.
any advice or info much appreciated.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Imron over gel. If taken care of, it will last for many, many more years. Mine looks great after 29 years.

 

[jim rosenthal]

if you have a fresh water boat, stored indoors in the winter, the paint on it is probably just fine. Also, if it is Imron, it can be buffed and will look great again if it is chalky. AwlGrip will not do that. Some of the best older boats I've ever seen came from that area- the season is short, it's fresh water, and they get stored indoors in wintertime. Lucky you.

 

[Maynard Rupp]

Our 1986 convertible is almost the same boat except for the longer cockpit. Our original Imron looks like new. Ours lived in Michigan until 2006 and has been in Miami since. I polish it annually with 3M Finesseit II. The finish looks as good as when the boat was new.

 

[goozaman]

thanks for the advice.. I picked up the boat last weekend and I am making my way around Lake Mi, thru the straits and into Lake Huron. I LOVE IT! so I want to wash the boat with a cleaner, then polish her up to be spotless. A friend told me to try Roll off, and I will look into the 3M Finesseit II for polish (thanks for the advice) also, For the Isinglass, any recommendations? I was told to try Imar from West Marine. again thanks for the advice!

 

[jim rosenthal]

Imar is very good; it's recommended by some makers of isinglass. Try to find out what you have on your boat- is it EZ2CY or Strataglass or whatever? and use what the maker recommends. The wrong cleaner will permanently damage the coating on the isinglass and it can't be repaired.

There was an article recently in Practical Sailor on cleaning and caring for isinglass of various brands. It may be available on their web site. They looked into this at some length- I think the article spans two issues.

Congratulations on becoming a Hatteras owner, and a member of a great group of folks.

 

[goozaman]

thank you very much, I will search for that article. I did some research and found that the Awlwash 73234 and the Awlcare 73240 sealer/polish sounds like a good way to go. I get so many different asnwers. I was told that my boat was done with US PAINT (AWLGRIP) and not IMRON. I get varying opinions on that subject. I guess I make a decision and try different products until I get someothing I like. I am very particular with my toys/investments. Thanks again!