Any Advice For Refurbish of Rib Centre Console

[jdonnell2003]

Hi,

I'm looking for some advice to refresh the rib centre console and jockey seat. They have started to fade quite bad and it's time to refresh. Colour is orange.

Once removed from the rib and stripped down I'm thinking of a light rub down followed by international one up (undercoat) followed by international toplac plus rescue orange as the final finish. Does anyone have any advice / experience of doing it this way ?

I want to keep the smooth look of the console, any advice out there on the best way to achieve a good finish on this one ? Either the method above or any other suggestions/ ideas.

Thankyou in advance.

[fastasfox]

Have you thought about using vinyl?
Here is the picture of mine before and after.
If interested I'm happy to talk you through the process.

[fastasfox]

Sorry having trouble with photo upload

[fastasfox]

Before and after.....hopefully.

[neil.mccrirrick]

Wow that’s some transformation [emoji106]

[Iron Dials]

If the gel coat is basically sound you could try this to cut and wax it.

https://www.3mireland.ie/3M/en_IE/p/d/b40065580/

You need a machine (rotary) polisher to get best results.

Otherwise Fastasafox seems to have it figured out.

[A1an]

I’d try and sand that back to get in past the oxidised layer then polish it back to a shine. It’s not a 5min job.

Alternatively you could key the surface and flow coat it.

[Peter_C]

Wet sanding and polishing once is less work than sanding, gel coating, wet sanding, then polishing. How bad is the gel coat? Got pictures?

[beamishken]

Orange is realy bad for fading & difficult to resurrect, probably worth wet sanding a trial area with something like 800 or 600 grit & see if the colour comes back, if it does work down to 1200 then rotary polish it with something like farecla g3. If a test area comes up then continuing & doing the whole console is likely the best option. If the colour doesnt come up then sanding the entire console with 600 then spraying with a decent two pack paint would be my preferred option. Re gelcoating is very labour intensive to get right after application, it takes a LOT of sanding & polishing to get it back to a nice smooth factory finish & the danger of sanding through is very real

Sent from my SM-G950F using RIB Net mobile app

[jdonnell2003]

Thankyou for the replies. A few good bits of advice.

I'm very impressed with the vinyl wrap. Was it easy to do ?

I'm struggling to upload photos and it keeps saying invalid file type.

[jdonnell2003]

[wgc851]

I'd say stick with plan A; sand, prime, sand again, finish coat
Don't rush the prep and you will get a more than satisfactory finish

[fastasfox]

Originally Posted by wgc851

I'd say stick with plan A; sand, prime, sand again, finish coat
Don't rush the prep and you will get a more than satisfactory finish

Why wouldn't you give vinyl a go?
It's the kind of job you can do on the kitchen table...in the warm and dry......try that with paint. This finish will far exceed the average amature painting skills.
Vinyl products have been around for years now and are really good and they have excellent uv qualities . You should give it a go .....a heat gun sharp craft knife and squeegee is all you need.

[spartacus]

Just my tuppence worth.

Not related to the gelcoat on the console - but the location of the throttle. Ideally you want it higher up next to the steering, especially if the helm is throttling while standing - in a rough sea for example, otherwise there's a genuine risk if you were trolling in gear you could knock it with you're leg or it could catch on a lifejacket harness and before you know it you're going WOT.

[Orwell boy]

I used owatrol colour restorer on my orange 2005 console ,i can only say the results were stunning , a modern product that actually works ! the one i used was not the marine varient but i was told by a painter its the right thing instead of painting modern fibreglass front doors . i cant honestly say whether it will get your severe case sorted but i can guarantee you will be shocked at the results ,not cheap but give it ago ,may save you alot of work !

[jdonnell2003]

Thankyou everyone for the responses. A few options to think about. I will let you know where I get to with a finished product !!