Hi Antonius,
To answer your questions, yes, we're happy with the final look of the trailer. To us it looks close to brand new. The
paint job is not factory perfect, but it's very good and a big improvement over what we had.
I sanded off the old clear coat,
paint, and primer that covered the original gelcoat. This is what Kim Anderson from Dockside Marine said would be necessary since the clear cost was breaking down and did not provide a stable bonding layer. I added some more photos of the peeling clear coat problem to give you a better idea of what we were dealing with.
If you have just gelcoat on your trailer, I'm pretty sure there are marine paints available that can be applied directly to the gelcoat after it has been throughly cleaned. No sanding will be required. I did the 90 hours of sanding because it cut our cost in half. Prep work is more important and time consuming than the actual
paint work. I highly recommend spending the extra money to get a marine paint. It will stand up to the elements much better. Kim suggests I may get 20 years out of this paint job.
We paid about the same as one would pay for a trip to Disney World for a family of four for one week. Yes pricy, but it looks like a new trailer and should look good for years to come. The job included a high-build marine primer to smooth out the imperfections in the sanding marks on the original gelcoat, sanding the high-build primer smooth after application, the white marine paint, the blue painted seam, and all chalking redone (around
windows, and seams.) Since you have your original gelcoat intact, your costs should be lower.
Find a reputable marine paint shop in your area and be prepared for the cost shock. It's more than triple the cost of
painting a car.
Good luck.