Roger Long wrote:
9 Coats!

Heat gun and scraper sound good to me.

It actually isn't the varnishing. Since this is trim, it's masking
all the complex edges that drives me nuts. I can't leave the masking
tape on in the sun so it means masking over and over around all those
handrail holes.

I'd rather oil it every couple of weeks.

OTOH, it's going to be hard not to harm the fiberglass with a heat
gun. A moment's inattention...


It's not that bad if you put down a couple of layers of tape first. ;-)

Seriously, I just did it on our boat where a PO had messed up the
varnish somehow. I taped off the area like I was going to sand and then
used the heat gun. The gun wrecks the tape, but it doesn't seem to hurt
the gelcoat. (I'll tell you what it does hurt - skin! Ouch!) I kept the
gun moving and never let anything get too hot. Use a good sharp pull
scraper. The process makes a terrible mess with little cornflakes of
varnish everywhere. You'll still have to sand some to get what you missed.

Of course you know that oil has no UV, mildew, or impact protection. The
paint idea is a good one.

Best of luck!

Cindy

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