Rhino Lining

[Joshawa]

I have a buddy who is restoring a Ranger from the late 80's and he is toying with the idea of rhino lining the inside of the boat. He still plans on replacing all the carpet where it originally was, it will just be RLined in the inside where it was originally painted. He figures that it will be more durable, and easy to repair.

Has anyone done anything like this, seen it done or have any input on the whole situation?

[BassBUFF]

It will add weight to the already heavy hull. I don't see where it could hurt otherwise. Jon boat guys have been doing it for years.

[Joshawa]

I didn't even think about the weight aspect. We just don't know if the Rhino Lining will "bite" enough to go right over the gelcoat. If we gotta hand sand out all the inside corners and everything we are just going to paint it with the rest of the hull.

[Basscat7]

I didn't even think about the weight aspect. We just don't know if the Rhino Lining will "bite" enough to go right over the gelcoat. If we gotta hand sand out all the inside corners and everything we are just going to paint it with the rest of the hull.

Weight wise won't be any difference that the original carpet/glue was.....unless it is sprayed  1/2" thick.
As far as sanding, You will need to do the same amount of Prep sanding  if you are going to " paint " the gel coat.  Bedliner or paint  will not adhere to  gel coat unless it is prepper really good.  Take shortcuts and you will have either peeling on the boat in a years time.
Anything applied to the original gelcoat surface will need to have  the surface sanded with at least 800 grit paper to give it a chance to bond.  The original Gel will need to be cleaned really well to make sure any contaminants/oils/silicones ( found in a lot of cheap waxes ) are removed from the pores of the gelcoat.  If not, these contaminants can migrate out when the  new bedliner or paint is being applied and cause the new surface to  be flawed.
Gel should be cleaned, wiped down with a solvent like Acetone, or  an ammonia based widow cleaner to remove any oils . Then sanded. Inferior prep work is the cause of 90 % of the problems with  ' painting " on gelcoat.

[Joshawa]

Weight wise won't be any difference that the original carpet/glue was.....unless it is sprayed  1/2" thick.
As far as sanding, You will need to do the same amount of Prep sanding  if you are going to " paint " the gel coat.  Bedliner or paint  will not adhere to  gel coat unless it is prepper really good.  Take shortcuts and you will have either peeling on the boat in a years time.
Anything applied to the original gelcoat surface will need to have  the surface sanded with at least 800 grit paper to give it a chance to bond.  The original Gel will need to be cleaned really well to make sure any contaminants/oils/silicones ( found in a lot of cheap waxes ) are removed from the pores of the gelcoat.  If not, these contaminants can migrate out when the  new bedliner or paint is being applied and cause the new surface to  be flawed.
Gel should be cleaned, wiped down with a solvent like Acetone, or  an ammonia based widow cleaner to remove any oils . Then sanded. Inferior prep work is the cause of 90 % of the problems with  ' painting " on gelcoat.

Thanks you, that's exactly what I was looking for. We did not want to do it if it was just going to peel off down the road anyway. I guess its back on our hands and knees getting those corners .

[optaylor823]

I have heard all the stories about the added weight on spray in linears and I am here to tell you that you will never know the weight diffrence if it is done right. I just had my boat done in Line-X and the guy that sprayed it knew I was worried about the weight, so he took the time to see how much weight he was adding and said he only added 65lbs to my boat. It is 16' long and about 87" across. I did do all the prep work and it was hard work, but worth it. Here is some pics so you can see how thick it was sprayed.If you look at the side where the color change is you can see the thickness.

[wvbassangler]

I have heard all the stories about the added weight on spray in linears and I am here to tell you that you will never know the weight diffrence if it is done right. I just had my boat done in Line-X and the guy that sprayed it knew I was worried about the weight, so he took the time to see how much weight he was adding and said he only added 65lbs to my boat. It is 16' long and about 87" across. I did do all the prep work and it was hard work, but worth it. Here is some pics so you can see how thick it was sprayed.If you look at the side where the color change is you can see the thickness.

We all know now what you been catching all the hawgs on  Nice looking boat great idea