Gelcoat or paint?

[Dylancs]

I removed the teak rubrail from the side of my boat last year to refinish it. I discovered the starboard side had been leaking in several places. I covered the holes for the winter to let it dry out from the inside. After a lot of contemplating I decided that I didn’t want 100 1/4” holes through a cored hull so I filled all the holes with epoxy and am now finally at the point of painting. There will be a 3/4” vinyl stripe that will cover the epoxy filled holes but I have faired them flush as well. It looks as though it was an option from the factory to either get the teak rubrail or have a painted stripe because there is a 3/4” recess.
I’m almost positive the current grey stripe is the original gelcoat but I’d like to find out for sure. I’ve already purchased Interlux 2-part epoxy primer and Epifanes 2-part polyurethane (a darker grey) only to now discover that neither will go over a single part paint if that’s what it is. The port side stripe was in very good condition but the starboard side was very faded and had some scratches in it so this is the other reason I’m painting.
Would a two tone finish from the factory be gelcoat? Actually, there are three colours- grey stripe, off-white hull and a red boot stripe.

[Standbly]

Could very well be gelcoat. My Hinterhoeller has 3 different colors of gelcoat in one mould (hull).

[Tusitala]

You could always just use a different primer that can be applied over 1 part paint. I've used International Interprotect as a base conversion coat under 2 part Epifanes on topsides in the past and it came out great.

[Dylancs]

Looks like it’s the original gelcoat. I soaked a rag in the Interlux fibreglass prep solvent and taped it the the hull under a sandwich bag for a couple of hours and the surface wasn’t affected at all. After speaking with the tech department at Epifanes, I now know I can use the paint directly over the gelcoat without using any undercoat.

[Tusitala]

Excellent, much less work. I find that using high quality automotive fine line masking tape gives a much sharper edge .