Painting Fiberglass boat
David Marks
that has done it at home and what steps should I take to be successful doing
it and being happy with the end results. Thanks.
--
David
Reinhard Sprenger
stripped it to a shell and built in new stringers, transom, floor, etc. Had
to strip off the gel coat that was below the waterline. Put on a waterproof
layer of epoxy and then started painting. Boat is upside down on the
trailer.
I have to push it out of the garage because there is not enough headroom to
paint inside so I have to wait for calm evenings but there are lots of
those right now.
I had bad luck applying the epoxy with rollers so am really turned off with
that method even though it is recommended by others.
I am using a small compressor and a high quality spray gun which is working
out well except for about 6 pauses of a few minutes each per coat of primer
and now maybe 8 pauses per coat of paint because I have turned up the
pressure a bit for the top coats. I have a good regulator/water/oil
separator.
I am using Brightside primer and paint and their thinner and solvent wash.
I put on 2 quarts of primer in 4 layers and thinned the max 15 %. I went in
what I think are thin layers. We dry sanded between coats and did a good
wet sand of the final primer coat. Primer was easy, only 2 small runs
needed fixing and it was easy because primer allows for correction of
mistakes.
Painting the top coat, first layer, last night was a bit more difficult.
Because the final coat seems more critical and difficult to fix mistakes I
turned the regulator up to the bottom of the recommended pressure range, 50
psi, and this makes me wait for it to recharge more often but acceptable
considering the cost of a bigger compressor.
Made a big and real stupid blunder - I thought that the bow would get more
abuse and could benefit from a thicker coat in that area so I sprayed a bit
heavier. Got lots of runs that wouldn't correct worth beans with a brush
even though I was using the max 10 % thinner. The runs are so thick that
they are still too soft to sand 12 hours later.
One run in the primer coat was also soft the night I wanted to put another
coat on so I tried to fix it and the soft underlayer left a gouge type
area. Since it was in the second layer it was easy to fix and 2 more coats
hid the repair.
I am waiting an extra day to fix my runs - I think when they are cured hard
they will sand smooth and not leave a depression.
I had never wet sanded before and got a good lesson from a guy at Rondex in
Winnipeg which was worth a lot to me. Rondex is a supplier for the autobody
paint business and so they really know their business. I have been getting
such good free advice that I don't mind giving them a bit of a plug. You
should deal with such a business in your city to get the kind of help you
will need.
Wet sanding is easy and makes a super job. I was hesitant to do it because
I was worried about moisture ruining the next coat unless I waited an extra
day and I am in hurry to take advantage of the good weather but carefull
dry wiping, blowing with compressed air and a shot with a heat gun all
address this. The ease and good finish of wet sanding is worth it.
Another reason to wet sand is that the primer and paint coats take days to
cure hard. The 16 hours I have been waiting, recommended by paint
manufacturer, are O.K. but the softness of the primer and now paint makes
it impossible not to gouge in scratches, dry sanding, no matter how
carefull I was - more a problem of being totally inexperienced but a big
problem for this beginner. Wet sanding, after a good lesson, seems idiot
proof to me, I got a great finish and zero scratches.
My big problem is about 12 small bugs and 2 mosquitoes that are stuck into
the first coat of paint. Sanding these off will probably leave some marks.
Not too bad for the first layer but will be a real pain for the last coat.
I figure to go back to Rondex and ask for advice on smooth sanding the
last coat - hopefully something like 1200 grit wet sand will do it. They
have 2000 grit too, will try what they suggest.
I have never painted anything important before and so far the boat looks
great. It is a lot of trouble but I think it will look good in the end. I
have seen a lot worse paint jobs from car body shops by so called pros. My
job will be worse than a good professional could do but better than a
medium pro in a hurry.
lbu...@isys.ca
I've just repainted the upper section of my 20' Chaparral I used
Dupont Centari automotive acyrilic enamale turn out great.Since I did
not dans thru the gelcoat no primer was used, The reason I had to
repaint was due to extreme oxidation of the paint