Restoring Gel...

I have a Taylor that I would like to strip the basecoat/clear from and try to restore the original gel. Is this even a realistic thought???

Have you tried a clay bar on your gel coat yet? I have no idea what condition your gel coat is in, but I would suggest trying a clay bar if your just trying to restore the shine. They come with a spray lubricant, and remove all the crud that builds up on a boats surface. Follow up with a good polish, and then wax. Worked wonders on my Vette, will be trying soon on my boat. Does a great job on a finish in OK shape to start with. My kit was made by Meguiars.

i wouldd try to coloring sanding abd buffing before trying remove the clear thats on there,inless it is really bad! if not color sanding and buffing it out will do wonders, use a 320 wet and dry paper the cut the rough stuff, then go over it all with 600, then a 2000 wet and dry paper, and the buff it out with a compound first, the go over it with a cleaner wax, this will remover all or most scratches, or swirls you might have, then go over it all again with a good polish, mind you ,use a good orbital polisher, and good new bonetts, but use a courser one for compound, and cleaner wax, you will really be amazed who well it will look afterwards,,,,i have done many that way and all have come out looking new!!!!!!!!!just a thought, and alot less work then removing the clear thats on there now

I have a Taylor that I would like to strip the basecoat/clear from and try to restore the original gel. Is this even a realistic thought???
I redid the hull of Lowrider last winter, it's feasable, but it's done this way.
You don't have to sand down to the glass, you just sand down & repair damages/imperfections.
IF the base coat needs re-done, spray, aprox .015" thick layer (same for others).
Any glitter is sprayed over that in clear layer, then clear layers sprayed over the top (about 4)
Then the sanding comes, followed by polishing, it's a TON of work.
I'd sand the current finish with 1,000 grit, 1,500 grit, then 2,000 grit, to see how it cleans up, then rubbing & polishing compounds.
That clear layer is likely .050" to .060" thick.
If you want more details on my job (unfortunately, i didn't take pix, dig camera was MIA last winter, since found) PM me.

Well, the boat is black with some ugly green and yellow stripes now. The original gel underneath is gray with black scallops. I would like to try and take the current paint off and try to get back to the gray.

Well if you love sand, then the job is for you. You may find something underneath the paint that you don't like. Its very common to paint a boat after repairing some damage.
To give you some idea how much work this is going to take. I have been sanding off the old paint on my boat. I have several hundred hours in just that. Granted I had to go thru several level and generations of paint.

Is the paint flaking off at all? If the prep job wasnt the best you might be able to use something to scrape the gel coat off. If your boat isn't very old you can usually use a paint stripper. I have sanded paint off before and it is usually cheaper to just paint over the existing paint.
www.bowkersfiberglass.com