Re: Boat painting
Agree with Billp, except I think some of the top grade latex exterior paints are probably reasonably tough and pretty durable, and water base is easier to apply and clean up. But high gloss latex is still less shiny than high gloss oil based enamel. Personally, I'd go with the enamel or a polyurethane or epoxy type paint. Single pack anything is fine for a trailer boat that spends most of its time out of the water. <br /><br />Basis of any good paint job is preparation. Also the most boring and lengthy part of the process, so it offers greatest temptation to cut corners, which you always regret later when the imperfections show up through the top coat. And the more glossy the top coat, the more visible the imperfections will be.<br /><br />Shiny surfaces like fibreglass need a good key for the paint to grip. If it's absent, the topcoat, whatever it is, will go on OK but chips off easily later because it's not properly bonded to the base.<br /><br />A light sand is good, but even better is a light sand with an undercoat that's designed to bond to the fibreglass. There's things like Penetrol and ESP or special paint-based coats from various manufacturers. <br /><br />Be careful to get rid of all contaminants and waxes, especially silicone, off base before applying any coats of anything. Sand first then wipe down with prepsol (automotive prep wash - any store that sells auto paint will have it). Not strictly necessary in a lot of cases with non-auto paints, but guarantees a clean base to start with and avoids nasties coming through the top coat.
