Do my own paint job?

[BigBoatinOkie]

Howdy. My ol' '84 Wellcraft bowrider needs a paint job. I'd like to have it done professionally, but I'm pretty sure I can't afford it just like anything else that pertains to boats. That said, I'll probably just do it myself. So my first question is what do I put the boat on while I paint it? Some sort of boat stand? Hang it from a tree? Beats me. Thanks.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Do my own paint job?

Ayuh,... Many times, probably Usually, boats are painted On their trailer....

 

[DukesFin]

Re: Do my own paint job?

Are you painting the topsides as well as the planing surface? If so, it will need to come off of the trailer. Yes, there are boat stands to use. Use lumber under the keel and the stands for lateral support.

Have you used the search function of this forum and read-up as much as you can on painting? I think you're right... Having a shop paint your boat is very expensive and doing it yourself, while a challenge, I'm sure will be very rewarding!

Post some pictures of your project and good luck!

 

[thrillhouse700]

Re: Do my own paint job?

Are you doing a full restore right now or no? If not I have heard of people lifting up one side off the trailer and putting blocks under it then painting that side. Then repeat for the other side.

 

[SKIBUM1M]

Re: Do my own paint job?

How big is the boat? If possible flipping the boat makes it so gravety works for you.

 

[BigBoatinOkie]

Re: Do my own paint job?

Well, I'm not sure what you'd call a full restore, but it's getting a new deck and foam and paint on top and bottom. The engine and drive are not coming out of the boat so I can't flip it. Everything but the planing surface could be painted on the trailer. I have read many posts on the forum about the painting itself, and I'm comfortable with that, just nobody has ever really said how they got it off the trailer and onto whatever they used for stands. I'd prefer doing it myself, I'm fairly experienced with a paint gun, but if it's a total pain in the arse to get it off the trailer onto a proper stand, I may just pony up and pay a pro. Don't want to though.

 

[SKIBUM1M]

Re: Do my own paint job?

Taking mine off the trailer was very easy but I have rollers and not bunks. I just started rolling it back and put blocks under where it would land. It tipped very sloly and controlably by controling it with the winch then before the front came off I put a jack with a block on it under the keel and took the trailer away then lowered the jack. If you have bunks and it doesnt slide so easily I have seen alot of people tie the transom eyes to the wall of the garage and pull the trailer out from under it with their tow vehicle. same process just drive the vehicle slow and use 2 people.
By the way more than likely if you are like the rest of us the motor and drive will be out before you are done.

 

[BigBoatinOkie]

Re: Do my own paint job?

By the way more than likely if you are like the rest of us the motor and drive will be out before you are done.

Don't say that. If that's the case, screw it, I'll sell the sombitch. Why would I need to pull them? I just wanted to shine her up a bit, cover up the ugly brown color, and fix a couple dings in the keel.

 

[SKIBUM1M]

Re: Do my own paint job?

I have an outboard but have seen many I/Os pulled because people found rotted transoms, soft motor mounts, or leaking seals. Boat projects have a tendency to get bigger as you go and dig deeper, I started out just wanting to put a new floor in mine, then the transom, then rewire, now I am gelcoating it inside and out. I am glad it has grown tho because I enjoy building things and enjoy driving things which I completely rebuild myself. Here is last years project http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3351730

 

[BigBoatinOkie]

Re: Do my own paint job?

That's cool. I wish I felt the same way about rebuilding boats. I do enjoy tinkering usually, but I must say I don't care too much for working on boats. My first boat was a real cheap '86 19 ft. Cheetah i/o. I quickly found out that the transom, motor mounts, and part of the deck was trash, so I put it in the barn and bought another boat. This boat had a solid transom and the bilge area and the parts of the stringers that I can get to feel solid. I haven't drilled any core samples I must admit. There is about a 14x14 inch area of the deck that is above the fuel tank and near a storage locker that is soft. I attributed that to there not being any resin on the edges of the plywood where it is exposed at the storage locker opening. There is also some wet foam under the helm seat because some idiot didn't seal the hole he cut for the chair. Anyhow, until I tear up the deck and drill cores I won't know the extent of the rot. But I'm hopeful at this point.

 

[jspano]

Re: Do my own paint job?

being an i/o it must be atleast a 20 ft and that would put it at 2900lbs.
if your not doing a full restore it's probably more than that.i've never done it before but you probably will be painting it on the trailer.

 

[joey maneri]

Re: Do my own paint job?

First off, no-one sees the bottom after it in the water. Second any new paint regardless of the quality of the paint job, will look better than nasty old brown! If you did a half-assed job with a brush, no-one could tell when you pass by on the river. And the best part about not spending lots of time and money on the paint job is the first time you scrape the side up on some old dock, you wont be so pissed-off!

 

[stylesabu]

Re: Do my own paint job?

MY 16FT TINNY IS IN MY HEATED garage, off the trailer. I used 2 ton floor craftsman floor jack(sears $129.95 w/2 jack stands). jacked up back of boat near motor. pulled trailer out by hand, about 2ft,then put jack stands in rear corners. used floor jack in center, pulled boat out further. then i slide a 4ft long 4x4 under center pulled trailer out. then i used floor jack to lift front of boat to level off boat, acouple more jack stand or cinder block and some wood to level it off.I sand basted trailer and repainted it. and i will do the same to boat. if you need pics i can put them up. but the floor jack makes all the differance, but I was also an auto tech, i couldn't live with out it and its not that expensive, and it sure comes in handy changing at tire or re-pack trailer bearings. good luck

 

[BigBoatinOkie]

Re: Do my own paint job?

I think I can jack up the boat and put some timbers across the rails of the trailer then let it down on to the timbers. That should give me enough room to access the bottom of the boat. I believe I will roll the paint on the bottom, let it dry, jack it back up and move the timbers enough to paint the spots where they were. Then let the boat back down on the bunks and spray the rest of the hull. Now, should I use a different paint for the bottom or just use the same paint throughout. It's gonna be two tone above the waterline. Are there paints suitable for topside and bottom. I'd like something that levels well ,has good color and gloss retention, good scuff resistence, and will last for a good while. Don't want something that costs an arm and a leg either, but not cheap crap. Know what I mean. Anyhow, thanks for any suggestions. By the way, sorry I've got two threads going here, one for painting and one for decking, didn't figure they would grow like they have.