Keystone cap fading issue

transamz9 wrote:

Veebyes wrote:
The standing joke in the marine industry says that a boat can be any colour, as long as it is white.

That holds true with RVs too. Colour simply does not hold up to the ravages of the sun. Add this to manufacturers who, in an effort to minimise weight & costs, spray very thin gel coats into molds. A new unit may sit, with no maintenance, no wax, in a lot for a year before it is sold. The dealer uses something cheap & easy before sending it out the door then the owner either does not maintain it or also uses something cheap & easy which typically does not last very long before it is chalking again.

The darker it is, the faster it will chalk.

I have to disagree. My 8 year old boat that spends a lot of time in the sun still looks brand new. I think a lot of it is products that are used in the manufacturing and products used in taking care of it.

Not sure what the pic is of. Assume that it is part of a bassboat type that spends very little time in the water & is kept on a trailer where it is often kept in the shade.

Puffy life for a boat.

I have 2 boats. A 14'er & a 32'er. Both are now 19 years old. Both spend their summers, 7 months minimum, in water. Salt water. Tough life.

I'd like to see what the trailer boats, with all of the fancy graphics etc. look like after the saltwater & sun has worked on them for 19 seasons.

Agree very much that gelcoat life on RVs or boats starts with the manufacturer. A good gelcoat takes lots of expensive material. After that it is up to the owner to take care of it.

Sooner or later major refurbishment of the gelcoat will have to be done. As some RV owners are finding out the really thin gelcoats are only last a couple years without a really intensive maintenance schedule.

Back to the OP, a coloured gelcoat is simply a bad idea. Much better to use a marine type epoxy paint or automotive paint.