Refinishing Vitracore Panels

Jacob

New Member
Sep 30, 2007
228
Vancouver Island
Boat Info
1998 Bayliner 4788 (sold).
1999 Sea Ray 480 DB (sold)
2005 Grady-White Marlin 300
Engines
Yamaha F250's
Our factory salon table was fabricated with a vitracore top and solid cherry bull nose edges. The table developed several cracks in the acrylic finish but the faux wood grain underneath was still ok. I contacted John Devolites at Restoration Marine regarding suitable sheets of "Nuvacore" and he quoted a price which, when combined with shipping, was sufficiently high to give me pause. I asked him about refinishing the surface with two part epoxy and he saw no reason why it shouldn't work. "If it didn't work, I was only out the cost of the epoxy". Good advice, so I decided to give it a try.

I sanded the entire surface and edges with 220 grit until the two cracks in the existing surface were almost flat to the touch. I didn't want to take too much material away for fear of penetrating down to the faux wood grain.

I applied at least a 2 mil coat of Rustoleum Stoneffects 2-part clear epoxy to the top and a somewhat thinner coat to the bullnose edge. I used half a $50 kit which is supposed to cover 32 sq ft. It is amazing how well this material flattens out. The two cracks can't be seen in the gloss surface but do appear as a thin dark line which is easily mistaken for wood grain. Here is the result:

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It will be interesting to see if any further cracks appear in the original finish. I`m hoping the new epoxy will prevent this from happening. It seems to have developed a good bond with the old surface.

You have to be impressed by a guy like John, who gives honest advice knowing that a lost sale is likely to result. I have made purchases from Restoration Marine in the past, and certainly wouldn't hesitate to give them business in the future.

Jacob
 
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I have a couple of deep gouges in my table, one that is 3/8" wide by 3" long
 
That looks amazing. I love projects that are inexpensive, involve a little elbow grease, and yield superb results.
 
I have a couple of deep gouges in my table, one that is 3/8" wide by 3" long

If the faux wood grain is not damaged, you likely can repair it. I would fill the gouge with epoxy and after it has cured, sand it even with the rest of the surface. Then I would sand the entire table surface and apply epoxy to the whole table.
 
Jacob, the table does look great!!! Thanks for sharing with us... Gives me some ideas for other projects!:grin:
 

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