Painting the keel of my boat.

[peeterb]

I have a 1988 fiber glass 16 foot glasscon boat which i would like to paint the keel because it has been rubbed down to the fiberglass.Can enyone please tell me what i need to do to the bottom of the boat to prep it for painting and also is there a special paint or finish i need to use to?<br />Thanks

 

[Columbia]

Re: Painting the keel of my boat.

When you say "rubbed down to the fiberglass" do you mean that the gelcoat has been gone through and you can see strands of glass and the dull gray'ish color of the laminations? It would be easier to respond if could describe it more fully.

 

[JasonJ]

Re: Painting the keel of my boat.

If it has been rubbed to the point of exposing fibers, you have to repair that first before painting. You will need to grind all the exposed area until you get to clean fibers, then you'll need to build that area back up with more fiberglass. I like to use several layers of cloth, roving, and epoxy to build back out. Then you could sand smooth and paint with a good paint designed for boat hulls. You could also do the repair in polyester resin, and apply gelcoat to the final surface, but it is very difficult to match gelcoat. Another thing I have seen done is to repair the damage and then install a keel guard. The keel guard protects and covers the repair, eliminating the need to cosmetically cover the repair. On my boat I just do the repair and leave it. I have all sorts of scars and repairs that while ugly to look at, they get the job done. What you do also depends on if you leave the boat in the water or keep it on a trailer. It is my understanding that 2 part paints don't hold up to being left in the water, except for bottom paints. I may be wrong about that, but I have read about the 2 part paints deteriorating after a few days in the water.

 

[peeterb]

Re: Painting the keel of my boat.

Thanks for the reply folks.<br />When I look at the bottom of my boat I can see the fiberglass and also the threads laced in it.I believe the gell coat has been rubbed off when i load my boat on and off the trailer.The gell coat is only rubbed off on about a three foot long three inches wide on the keel towards the front of the boat.It does not look like it has rubbed into the fiberglass but the paint and gell coat is definatley gone on that part.Would I be able to lightly sand and then paint?What is gell coat?<br />Thanks

 

[18rabbit]

Re: Painting the keel of my boat.

Gel coat is a polyester resin with ‘wax’ mixed in to make it appear shiny. It does not contain fibers. It is the first layer applied to a mold, followed by the fiberglass, when making a boat. It is the finish coat you see when you look at a boat. In is not applied after molding the boat. While it is possible to repair gel coat after the boat is ‘cast’ it is also a big pain in the butt to do. In some applications, it may be impossible to get the resin to fully harden without special surface prep.<br /><br />Polyester resin has a water-soluble component that is embedded in the resin. Today, the resin is as good as it has ever been. But in the late 60’s and early 70’s there was a more common problem with the resins used that allowed water to penetrate the gel coat and mix with the water-soluble component, forming an acid that in turn would eat away at the resin. The problem is not entirely gone and still surfaces, though much rarer, in gels coats today.<br /><br />When doing boat repairs that affect the gel coat, it is possible to use a boat paint that is designed specifically to be use instead of gel coat. These are made for the marine industry. I believe they are a type polyurethane based paint. This is what I had applied to my boat. (I did not do the painting.) It is shiny, but not quite as much as gel, and it is very durable. While less expensive than gel, it still ain’t cheap!<br /><br />Before you put all that effort into fixing the bottom of your boat, it might be worthwhile to make some adjustments to your trailer, if possible. It would be a shame to fix the boat but not what caused the problem.

 

[Columbia]

Re: Painting the keel of my boat.

glassc: are you sure your keel was worn while loading and not while pulling up on the beach? That's where I would expect it to happen, running ashore, etc. A sandy beach is the same as sand paper and the keel is the most prominent point of the boat when you slide it up the beach....each time you pull up on the beach, you remove a tiny amount of material. There are stick on keel protectors to help avoid that but I've not used one. Either way, you should figure out for sure what is causing the grinding away of your keel as it will only happen again when you repair it. <br /><br />Gel coat is not paint, it is polyester resin much like in the fiberglass. It has color in it. Gelcoat is a "cover" over the bare glass about 20 mils thick on most boat. If your bottom is gel coated only then you might want to use gel coat to repair it. You should be able to determine whether your bottom has been painted or is gelcoat by looking. Same finish as hull sides? Different color or feel? Gotta know before you can move on to repair.

 

[peeterb]

Re: Painting the keel of my boat.

old Sailor<br />When you say I should be able to tell the difference between gel coat or painted can you explain how.<br />Thanks

 

[peeterb]

Re: Painting the keel of my boat.

Old Sailor<br />The bottom of the boat or Keel looks and does feel like the hull sides?

 

[walleyehed]

Re: Painting the keel of my boat.

Polyester "FINISH" resin has wax in it, just like gel-coat. The wax comes to the surface and seals the resin from air contamination, for a near-perfect finish when used properly.

 

[peeterb]

Re: Painting the keel of my boat.

thanks for all the posts<br />i wii give the polyester a try.

 

[y2j]

Re: Painting the keel of my boat.

what about using epoxy and cloth to fix something like this guys problem on a polyester boat.. I had to grind out patches big as my fist of gelcoat and i went a little further to get some clean fibres, because my boat is suffering of osmosis from water getting intot he resin creating the acid stuff. Man the smell of that acid really makes me cringe<br /><br />Anyway i cleaned them out and i was thinking of building up the thickness of the grinds out with cloth and epoxy even though its a poly boat. Then when im nearly level with the top of the gelcoat, mix some epoxy with the brown west system powder stuff to thicken it up and use this mixture to fare it out?<br /><br />What do you think guys?

 

[JasonJ]

Re: Painting the keel of my boat.

Y2j, I had a bad gash on my hull that the previous owner had used Marine Tex on. They did a bad job with it because it leaked. I ground all of it out to expose a roughly 8 inch by 1/2 inch gash. I dished my grind out 2 inches all the way around. I then mixed up a thickened epoxy batch with the consistancy of peanut butter and filled the gash (I had no access from the interior). I then layered woven cloth with epoxy, each layer a little bigger than the last, until the dished area was even with the rest of the area. As I was not concerned with appearance, I left it at that. The repair is stronger than the rest of the boat as it is epoxy, and it has never leaked since. Epoxy bonds very well to polyester, but poly bonds poorly to epoxy, thats all you have to remember...

 

[y2j]

Re: Painting the keel of my boat.

what about fresh poly from 2003 bonding to poly used in 1970?

 

[Franki]

Re: Painting the keel of my boat.

That leads on to another question I have on the same thing.. my keel at the very rear is worn right down the the FG threads as well, for the back foot or so.. no idea why, was like that when I got it..<br /><br />Can it be fixed in position, or must it be turned over???<br /><br />rgds<br /><br />Franki