painting an old boat

[actionljackson]

I am wanting to repaint an old fiberform fiberglass boat 14ft.My question is can I paint right over the old gelcoat? There are the obvious places where I have done some work to repair spider cracks and what not but the areas where the gel coat was fine I'm not sure if I can paint right over that part.I plan on primering the whole thing.Do I just wet sand the good stuff along with everything else or am I missing something.Not looking for a perfect finish but I can be picky and want to do it right the first time.Thanks,Leo

 

[solar7647]

Re: painting an old boat

just sand with a fine grit sand paper, clean with acetone, primer and paint. Thats all there is to it. Rustolium make a marine top side paint you can use for a good price.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: painting an old boat

I highly recommend Easypoxy. I just painted my boat with it. Brush and roller. Came out awesome. Levels out amazingly for a finish that lookd sprayed. Just gotta keep an eye out for runs.

 

[5150abf]

Re: painting an old boat

Ya you don't need to remove the paint, just rough it up, I worked in a body shop last year and we scuff with a Scotch brite pad and paint.

I woudln't use anything bigger than 320 although follow the paint directions, some boat paint actually calls for 80 grit btu normal paint 320 should be fine.

Good paint is all about the prep, on a 10 hour job you will spend 9 hours getting ready to paint and an hour actually painting.

Good luck.

 

[drewpster]

Re: painting an old boat

The kind of prep you do will depend on what paint system you choose. Some two part paints have very strong solvents in them. Be sure you read the directions thoroughly and do a little research. Some recommend the removal of incompatible paints. Leaving the old paint can cause the new stuff to fisheye, orange peel or come off altogether. Be sure to know what you are working with. It will also dictate what primer you use.
If you want to avoid removing the old paint look in to a single part paint. They are a little less durable, but about half the price. The ones I have used will go over old paints without a problem.
Unfortunately neither of these are as easy as painting the den at home. The better the prep, the better the result. Get everything smooth and repaired before you start the paint and you get a good result.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: painting an old boat

I gotta say, Easypoxy was as easy as painting the den at home I did put a fair amount of effort into cleaning and scuffing the existing finish though.

My wife wishes I would stop working on the darn boat and would paint the den