paint stripping and water sealing 87 mckee craft

[muddyfishin]

got a McKee craft 16 , previuous owner painted over original gelcoat,, white paint and 2 layers of blue bottom paint, its ugly,, paint was all messed up,, bought some aqua strip and started going to town,, some areas went right down the the factory cream colored gel coat, but some spots the stripper does nothing?!?? any tips or has anyone had this issue,, seems to take the bottom paint off good but the base layer white he put is tough,, along with the top side ugly sky blue he put over the original white,, ,, also its a McKee, its got the water in foam curse or its just getting in through the topside when it rains,, maybe both,, i have some holes to patch on the hull once i figure out ive sealed my leak,, any tips would be great!

 

[zool]

Hey muddy,

Stripping paint off to preserve original gel coat is usually a futile task....some areas will come off and leave a serviceable layer of gel, others, that are well sanded are already past the gel layer and into the resin....The bottom paint comes off easily because its most likely ablative.

Its usually best to just sand what you have there, and paint it again.

As for the compromised core ( like most older whalers and McKees), the re-coring is done from the interior and is a huge task...if its not that waterlogged, you can repair any cracks and live with it, if its saturated and heavy, then re-coring will be necessary...you have to make that call.

 

[muddyfishin]

thanks for the info !, i have to go and get the hull weighed to see how bad the water damage is,, however on the paint,,, covering the stripper with saran wrap and waiting 4 days most of the paint comes off, exposing original gelcoat, however some spots are pretty shot as you said,, going to finish stripping what i can and maybe a repaint,, what would you recommend for paint,, id like a gloss white finish??

 

[zool]

You have a bunch of options for paint, it mostly depends on budget and equipment.

If youre brushing/rolling/tipping, youre limited to a marine topside paint by Awlgrip, Interlux, Pettit, ect. If spraying, I would use an Single Stage Acrylic Urethane. If budget is real tight, Rustoleum/Tractor Paint or other Alkyd Enamels will also work.