Big job! New paint job on 18ft nitro.

[Scott Hall]

OK guys I have a 2000 882 nitro that is a wreck with gouges,spider cracks,nicks you name it way past repair. It's a dark green and gold and whould like to paint it white! What the process for striping down to the fiberglass? I whould like to do the body work then send it off for a paint job. What's a ball park for a new paint job on my boat? Thanks for any help.

 

[thunderroad]

Re: Big job! New paint job on 18ft nitro.

It would be much easier to fix all the imperfections in the present surface and paint over it than it would to do any "stripping". On an automobile or something that is made of metal there is a definite stopping point (bare metal) when sanding or stripping. Not so with fiberglass.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Big job! New paint job on 18ft nitro.

Thunder is right<br /><br />It's hard to get way past repair on gel coat. repair the cracks, fill the gouges and pick you color.<br /><br />Cost is hard to come up with. everyone will give you a different price.

 

[cart7]

Re: Big job! New paint job on 18ft nitro.

Boats are built from the outside in. Hence, you can't fix this like a car as already stated. There's no solid body to sand down to.

 

[Scott Hall]

Re: Big job! New paint job on 18ft nitro.

Thanks guys I though it whould be to good to be true. It's really tough to fix the damage spots because it's a metalic flake with clear coat over it. I guess I'll leave it as is and not worry about it. Thanks for the advice.

 

[thunderroad]

Re: Big job! New paint job on 18ft nitro.

If you want to fix the bad places and change the color, you can do it. It's really not that hard. Just sand and fill cracks and gouges to smooth, sand the entire area to be painted, mask what you don't want painted and paint it. There are many paint types that can be used depending on what you want and how much you want to spend.<br />For small cracks and gouges you can get a tube of pre-mixed spot putty to fill with. It takes a little longer to firm up than the stuff you mix yourself but works fine if you're patient. Prime the spots you fix then use some no sand primer sealer on the whole thing to hook the old paint up with the primer and you're set to put on the finish color.