Almost Paint Time

[North Beach]

I told you folks there were going to be a lot of questions. It's time to start thinking about prepping and painting both the hull and the top. The boat is aluminum. The existing hull paint is not in real bad shape-just a lot of scratches and a few touched up spots with who knows what. The top is in bad need of paint.

The last time i sprayed paint it was painting bridges with red lead and aluminum in the mid seventies so I'm pretty much clueless. I'd really like this boat to look good when I'm done so don't pull any punches.

I'll try and keep it simple. I have a neighbor down the street who has a full blown auto body shop on his property. Would I be better off prepping myself and letting him do the shooting?

Do i need to use anti fouling paint on the hull if I'm trailer storing the boat? There may be times when the boat could be in the water for a week or longer and a rep at interlux said thier top paint couldn't be submerged for more than 72 hours.

Would it be wise to use auto paint, or do I really need to go Interlux or Pettit? If I use marine paint, it appears that Pettit has a wider selection of colors or am I missing some info here?

I'm sure there are more questions but I don't want to load you folks up here. I'm trying to do as much of this as possible myself, but the danged boat is a 22 footer so there's plenty of room for me to foul up this paint job.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[5150abf]

Re: Almost Paint Time

What paint you use is up to you but I do know anywhere you have raw aluminum you need to hit it with etching primer, after that you can use any kind of paint you want.

If the boat is trailered you shouldn't need anti-fouling.

Your body shop guy probably only sprays base/clear which is fine for a boat, I just painted mine with base /clear and it came out really nice, won't be able to run the boat for a while(winter) to see how it holds up but several people on this site told me it was fine.

Unless your guy cuts you a deal expect to pay 40-80 for paint and 80-120 for clear then whatever he want on top of that.

It really isn't hard, all you need is compressor and a gun, I got really nice HVLP guns from Wal-Mart for something like $28

98% of painting is prep work, you will get out of it what you put in so put in your time sanding, I would use 320.

Good luck

 

[ruffinit]

Re: Almost Paint Time

I will add my two cents here.
I re-painted my 16 ft. Sea Nymph in September and am real happy with the result, although the boat hasn't hit the water yet!
I used Interlux, and followed their painting guide to the "T":
Stripped down to bare metal using chemical stripper, one coat etching primer, two coats primer, three top coats. I sprayed with a $50 HVLP gun from Lowe's. I can see my face in the shine, and I was able to lay down a pretty level paint job, if I do say so myself. I painted a smaller boat about ten years ago, and this one came out much better.
I believe a big factor is the ambient weather conditions. I painted over a four or five day period of warm, dry, low humidity conditions (even though it meant calling in sick one day and leaving work earl another). I think weather is a really big factor in how the paint dries and develops a gloss.
I would recommend a trip to Boaters' World or West Marine. Get Interluxes guide and follow their recommendations. Good Luck!

 

[sschefer]

Re: Almost Paint Time

One thing that you will find is that most paint manufacturer's wont guarantee any paint for more than 72 hours of immersion unless it is classified as a bottom paint and then you run into problems with trailering.

Interlux has solved that problem with their VC Performance Epoxy. It is designed for both above and below water application and resists wear from trailer bunks and rollers. The drawback is that you have to like white because that's the only color it comes in.

I like colors other than white so I'm going with Perfection all the way around. I think it will work out just fine.

 

[North Beach]

Re: Almost Paint Time

OK! Looks like I'm gonna bite the bullit and try my hand at painting this boat. I'd really like to be able to look back and be able to say I painted it myself

I haven't made the decision on who's paint I'm gonna use.

As far as stripping the boat completely-is that really necessary? I'll do it if needed!

 

[5150abf]

Re: Almost Paint Time

No you don't need to strip it to metal, that is really unnecessary as long as the base paint is in good shape and still stuck to the hull.

I sanded most of the scratches out of mine but tried not to break the primer more than I had to.

Where you do break thru to metal make sure you feather the area really well so you can't see it when you paint, all those spots should show up realy well with primer.

The only thing to worry about is a reaction between the new paint and the old paint btu that shouldbe a problem if you prime it.

Practice on a peice of metal, trash can, anything but the boat to make sure the gun is set up right, the biggest thing is don't hurry.

 

[DJ]

Re: Almost Paint Time

Any bare spots need to be washed with 50/50 solution of white vingar and water. Then, primed with zinc chromate primer.

Any other areas where paint is still there, just prime and paint.

 

[North Beach]

Re: Almost Paint Time

I know this is probably gonna sound dumb, but, zinc chromate on the bare spots and then a full coat of primer. Or just a full coat of ZC?

 

[5150abf]

Re: Almost Paint Time

Yes, you can get ething primer from Auto Zone in a spray can, that needs to go anywhere you there is bare metal then hit the whole thing with regular grey primer.

You only need a thin coat of the etching, it actually eats into the aluminum where regular primer would just lay on top.

Scuff that and you are ready to paint.

 

[sschefer]

Re: Almost Paint Time

1. Stripping: Only if you plan to use a two part paint over a 1 part paint. This is what the reps tell me anyway.
2. Zinc Chromate - If you decide to use Interlux products you will end up removing the Zinc Chromate and shooting it with their pre-primer. May want to think that over.
I'm not trying to sell you on Interlux products, just letting you know that you need to know what product you are going to use before you start your prep work. Once you've made your paint decision then prep it according to that manufacturers recommendations to get the best results.

 

[North Beach]

Re: Almost Paint Time

Sounds like I need to do a day trip to West Marine before I start prepping. Thanks Guys!!!