HELP!!! - Painting fiberglass boat is a black art!
Gary L. Robertson
experience (cars, motorcycles, tractors, cabinets, etc.). So I want to sand
down the old finish on my 14.5 fiberglass fishing boat (freshwater only) and
repaint. As I normally do I start consulting the net for types of paints,
tips, information, anything that will lead me to a good finish. Well, there
is a plethora of paint, tons of tips, and all seem to be different.
Can anyone suggest a step by step process of finishing the hull and topside
and what types of paint to use? This boat does not spend it's life in the
water, only weekend fishing trips for a few hours only.
TIA
Gary L. Robertson
mkpauls
local auto paint supply for (probably 3M) supplies. Amazing what compound
and then wax will do.
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In article <tBAt3.14$DO1.2...@news1.i1.net>, "Gary L. Robertson"
Frank Gerry
I repainted the topsides to my 22 foot sailboat. So my first bit of advice is
don't paint unless you absolutely have to. Is the old gelcoat at all
salvageable???? If it is, then get some good wax and buff it like crazy. That
will do wonders, if you have gelcoat to work with.
if your boat was like mine and the gelcoat is truley gone, then the way to go
is with a good two-part polyeurathane paint. I like Interlux myself. Stay away
from the one-part paints, those are meant to be applied by professionals in an
indoor location, with good air filter apparatus.
Interlux recomends a primer coat, this is a good idea if there are
imperfections in the gelcoat (scratches and the like).
So, what I did first was sanded the entire gelcoat with 200 grit paper, then
applied the primer. Ue the roller brush method, apply with a roller, tip with a
good brush. (works best with 2 people). The two-part paint should have two
coats. It's really thin paint and you definitely don't want to apply it thick or
it WILL run. Always sand between coats to allow the paint to adhere to the
surface. Wow, it's a lot of work. But if you want your boat to look right, then
you have to do the job right.
Good luck
Frank Gerry
James D. Manning
sailboat. Its extremely important to follow the manufacturer's directions
to the letter. Its also very important to wear a proper cartridge
respirator even when using the roller/tip method and painting outside. This
paint can be very hazardous to your health.
John Lane
mostly, I would note that no one other than you has seen your boat, and no
one other than you knows what you want. If you want a nice, new, shiny
look, perhaps even a new color, then paint it. If all you want is to spruce
it up a tad, sand (very fine) and buff (assuming the existing gelcoat is
good enough).
I have painted several boats with Interthane Plus, and I have always been
happy with the results. I hate the company (not very responsive, IMO, among
other things), but the product is good. OTOH, I wouldn't paint the exterior
of a boat with any one-part paint, unless it was a beat up old fishing boat
or dinghy that I just didn't care much about. The one part paints just
don't hold up that well. Interthane Plus can be rolled on with good
results; I rolled my first restoration project, and I swear you couldn't
tell it wasn't sprayed. But as with any paint job, preparation is 95% of
the job. Leave sanding marks, you will see them, big time. Sand very
carefully, using down to at least 180 (preferably 220 or finer), and roll
carefully, with good quality foam roller pads (the yellow ones), changing
rollers often (I make up bunches of them before I start and just throw them
aside as the start to get too wet or soft), and follow the instructions
carefully for mixing, application, etc., and the results will be nice. One
final thing, use the best mask you can find -- figuring on spending at least
$40 on the mask.
Good luck.
Mark Lane
bluw...@my-deja.com
> if your boat was like mine and the gelcoat is truley gone, then the
way to go
> is with a good two-part polyeurathane paint. I like Interlux myself.
Stay away
> from the one-part paints, those are meant to be applied by
professionals in an
> indoor location, with good air filter apparatus.
I beg to differ on what was said with the eurathane paints. Pettit
makes a one part eurathane paint called Easypoxy. It was designed to be
brushed on. I favor the easypoxy because it levels really well, doesn't
require primer and is reasonably priced. In your situation, I would say
the paint will last at least 6 years. I painted the transom on my cabin
cruiser with easypoxy 3 years ago and it still looks great. Easypoxy
can also be sprayed if thinned and you use a low pressure gun and spray
in light, misty coats.
The 2 part eurathane paints can also be brushed on with excellent
results. It will last longer than a 1 part eurathane paint and is
generally tougher. I've used Awlgrip with good results, but the stuff
is really expensive. The 2 part eurathanes are very toxic when sprayed
because they release cyanides into the air. It should only be sprayed
if you have a full face mask with fresh air being pumped in. Someone
please correct me if I'm wrong on this.
In your situation, I would go with the easypoxy. Clean the hull with a
mold release wax remover just to be safe. Fair any dings or
imperfections with a good quality filler. Since you're working on a
fiberglass boat, you don't really need to use epoxy. You can get by
fine with a polyester based filler. 3M has an excellent, but costly
filler for this. It's the best polyester based filler I've used. I
know people who've also used a quality auto body filler good results.
Then sand the hull smooth and wipe clean with a rag dabbed with Pettit
Old Salem paint thinner. You can apply the easypoxy with a brush or
roller in small sections, then "tip off" by dragging a good quality
paint brush to level the paint and remove any bubbles.
One word of warning when using easypoxy, though, if you're doing it
outside, don't even think about it if it's hot and humid. I painted
with it on a humid 94 degree day. The stuff gelled before I could even
tip it off. I had to sand down and start over again on a cooler, drier
day.
Regards,
Dennis
In article <37B72E08...@mindspring.com>,
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Share what you know. Learn what you don't.
Gary L. Robertson
Some of the details I should have shared earlier: the gelcoat on the
tri-hull is in considerably bad shape. I don't believe any amount of waxing
and buffing will return it. There are some spider cracks and some deep
gouges that even go through to the fiberglass substrate beneath. There is no
blistering however.
I feel I need a type of sealant for the hull that can be applied over the
(properly prepared) gelcoat. The Interlux guide reccomends their
"Interprotect 1000" product which sounds suspiciously like a good quality
epoxy resin. They then reccomend an antifouling coating which in my case
seems unnecessary for a boat that only sees freshwater for a short time in
the season.
I'm kinda formulating a process in my head where I will clean and sand the
hull to about a 150 or 180 grit (actually this step is complete). Fill where
necessary with an epoxy paste filler and sand those areas. Then apply a
self-leveling epoxy sealant coat or two. My next step I'm not to sure about.
I can't help but think that applying an antifouling sloughing or ablative
coat that must be refinished each year is not necessary for a boat with very
limited water time.
There are epoxy paints that have a much longer life-span, are very
waterproof, and very durable to bumps and dings. I don't think I need to
worry about fouling as much as I do maintainability. Opinions? Comments?
The topside is in pretty good shape with the present coating being smooth
although discolored by age and environment (this boat is nearly 14 years
old). I have researched enough to believe a light sanding and application of
urethane paint with possibly a clear coat for gloss and added protection is
what is needed here IMO. Comments? Advice?
I happen to have a gallon of Martin-Senour epoxy primer (with catalyst) that
is your basic red matt color/finish (kind of donated by my defunct,
ex-employer, used as the base coat for painting DC motors in harsh
environments). I'm wondering if this would be sufficient for my sealant coat
on the hull as I mentioned above. It is VERY self-leveling and VERY hard
after cure. Any opinions?
So again thanks for all your responses. If anyone has anything further to
help me clear my process please don't hesitate to post.
Gary L. Robertson
Jon
<grob...@rjsonline.net> wrote:
The last thing you want is a very hard primer. Most primers for epoxy
paints, while tough, are very sandable. I have use Interlux myself on
two boats and have had the yard use Awlgrip on my most recent
boat (because I had it done in Flag Blue which is unforgiving, and it
was sprayed on which since I have a heart condition is not advisable
for a do it yourselfer, no matter how well equiped. My boat was the
classic mess. Crazed gelcoat on the upward surfaces, peeled Imron
on the sides (it was unused for sever years). I got all the deck and
cabin paint off. I filled the largers voids with vinylester filler.
Then I used Awlgrip highbuild primer, hand painted. Contrary to what
you might think, high build primer is extremely thin and viscous so
that it will flow into all the little spiderweb cracks. It took 2-3
coats of this with sanding in between. Then they yard sprayed normal
Awlgrip primer on the topsides (in grey because of the dark boat) and
white on the deck and cabin. For the wetted surface, I had the boat
sand blasted because the previous owner never removed any paint.
There were no blisters, but some shallow pock marks from the blasting.
I coated this first with 3M vinylester resin, then filled with
Vinylester filler followed by 3 coats of 3M barrier coat. On an
earlier boat I used Interlux to good effect as a barrier coat, but the
stuff is hard as hell and has to be roughed up to permit bottom paint
to adhere. I would only use that on underwater surfaces. The 3M
product is much easier to sand...you need about an 80 grit sanding to
get bottom paint to adhere. The topside primers, in contrast sands
almost like talc to provide an extremely smooth surface.. BTW use
an random orbital sander. I used a palm sander on a earlier boat and
you could see little curliques if you looked closely. Remember epoxy
boat paint is a "coating" not a filling paint. It will be no better
than your priming job.
Jon Teske...veteran of three major renovations.
Bigd...@aol.com
> experience (cars, motorcycles, tractors, cabinets, etc.). So I want to
sand
> down the old finish on my 14.5 fiberglass fishing boat (freshwater
only) and
> repaint. As I normally do I start consulting the net for types of
paints,
> tips, information, anything that will lead me to a good finish. Well,
there
> is a plethora of paint, tons of tips, and all seem to be different.
>
> Can anyone suggest a step by step process of finishing the hull and
topside
> and what types of paint to use? This boat does not spend it's life in
the
> water, only weekend fishing trips for a few hours only.
>
> TIA
> Gary L. Robertson
>
>
You seem to have expierence with it already. I painted a 20 ski boat
with PPg epoxy primer, top-coated with enamel. It has been on the water
two years and still looks good. Not as good as a gel-coat job, but
substantially less expensive. Just pretend your painting a Corvette ;)
--
David