[jclark003]

I recently painted the hardtop on my 43 Open with Awlgrip and am really pleased with the result. Much easier to clean and looks way better than the old surface that was quickly oxidizing. To be quite honest I have never myself put down Gel coat so can't tell you what you would be up against. I believe gel is probably better to have down when it comes to repairs, something I don't worry too much about with a hardtop.  

In terms of paint colors Tiara came back to me with a custom mix color ( Awlgrip Fresh White) for 1999 and newer boats for the window frames and arch (painted surfaces). Pre-1999 they recommended Awlgrip Oyster White which has a more yellow tint to it and probably closer to your hull color. Not sure about your gel color but if you do go the paint route then a call into Tiara might help you select a good match. Or get an Awlgrip paint card and use that as your baseline. On my 43 the arch color is slightly off from the hull/HT gel color so I used the paint card and got a very close match. If I can figure out how to attach a photo I will include

The other piece of knowledge I would pass on is to consider using Awlgrip's flattening agent. That paint is so reflective it will show every defect in your hardtop. The shine also won't  even remotely match the shine on your gel. I used 75% of the recommended flattening agent and it still put on a heavy shine. On my final coat I used the maximum amount and it ended up blending in perfectly. I ended up using the roll and tip method for this application.

Good luck