Help me understand how to repair fiberglass please
I have a 1979 sunfish that's been through it. She leaks badly and needs some work. Thankfully she already had inspection ports installed and sat in a dry garage for the last decade and is thoroughly dried. I weighed her in at 135# which by my understanding is just about perfect for a 70s sunfish hull.
I'm trying to research how to go about it but I'd really like if some of you more experienced folks could proof my understanding...
The boat definitely has some old repairs on it and I'm not sure what was used for them but it's pretty evident they've failed as there are pieces flaking/cracking off and I tested for leaks (by sailing her!). Anyway, in 30 minutes of water time she took on almost 15 cups of water.
Today I took my orbital sander with 80 grit to the hull. I did about half of the bottom, doing the edges and keel by hand. The entire bottom is scratches, gouges, and dings. Some expose the fiberglass, others are aesthetic. I sanded down as many as I could and stopped just short of going all the way through the gel coat on the worst of them. The ones that I couldn't sand out will be addressed another way.
Now I havent removed the two repairs with the failed material yet. They are in awkward places so I plan to use a Dremel to get the old material off and see what I'm working with fully.
I can partially see the damage so I'm expecting that removing the old repairs will expose more fiberglass.
So here's the plan:
Completely sand the bottom with 80 grit to remove as many cosmetic imperfections as possible while simultaneously revealing any other small dings that may show up (I've found a few dime sized repairs doing this so far that failed when I contacted them).
Use a Dremel/hand to remove the failed repair materials in all locations I've found.
Use total boat fairing compound to repair the exposed fiberglass damages and deep gouges, sand to smooth/feather into the hull. Finish sand to 80-120 and wash in prep for gelcoat
Apply 1 or more layers of waxless gelcoat to achieve full coverage. Apply another layer of waxed gelcoat.
So here are my questions...
Does this sound like im on the right track?
Can/should the waxless gelcoat layer be sanded between layers and/or before the waxed layer? The goal is a slippery smooth finish.
Am I more likely to have success in getting that smooth finish by rolling/tipping/sanding or spraying the gelcoat?
I understand how much work this is, that is not a deterrent. This is not my first rodeo in boat restoration but it is my first fiberglass hull.