In almost every case, I've removed paint from my fiberglass boats, and
found some serviceable gel coat under the paint.

Typical was the Cal 25. I scraped the paint off the hull easily, the
guy who painted it painted over a nicely waxed hull. (well, he did
prepare about 10% of the surface, but a 600 grit sanding and some
buffing fixed that)

Personally, I've never seen a five year old paint job that didn't look
worse than the boat would have looked if it hadn't been painted.

My opinion, don't paint, remove paint.

Pat wrote:

Hi,
I have an older fiberglass sailboat that has had a bad paint job. I am
currently sanding and repairing the bad spots in preparation for painting.

I would like some input as to what paint to use. I will be applying it with
rollers and brushes. I can't afford to have it done and I'm not a spray guy.
I have been looking at Awl grip but am told it's hard to apply and work
with.
What about polyester? Any help would be appreciated.

It's probably been discussed many times but I'm new to the news group.

Thanks, Pat