Boat Repaint

[Strevensm]

Hi,

I have recently bought a 17ft Picton as a project, i am new to the boating world so apologies if this kind of question has been asked before or if it is a very basic question . I am looking to repaint the boat due to the colour being faded and worn. I am wondering if anyone could recommend or give some advice on how i should sand back the boat for prep and also the stages in terms of which paints are required and in what order. I am a little confused with topside paint and gel coat as to which order they are applied in. Should i sand back to the fibre glass, use a primer undercoat, sand, topside paint, sand and then gel coat?

Along with advice on the process could anyone recommend products that would be reasonably affordable and easy to apply (user friendly).

Thanks,

Mike

 

[burgundyben]

You need to leave the gel coat in place.

Its all in the prep.

I would wet flat with 320 grit.

Then one coat of International Pre-kote. Then wet flat again with 320, then filler and touch up any bits that need it,

Then a second pre-kote. then wet flat with 600 grit. You could put a drop of your topcoat into the final undercoat and stir it in well, it'll help with the top coat.

Then top coat with International Toplac. Maybe 2 coats. Wet flat with 600 grit if needed.

Roller on with a foam roller. Lay off with a Hamilton Perfection Plus brush top to bottom. Plan your work.

Be meticulous with your prep and cleaning.

Practice make perfect.

Use good quality masking tape and don't leave it on.

 

[wallacebob]

Prep is very important to get a decent finish. But don’t overthink all this:if you can paint a front door with a brush, you can do it, lots of vids on YouTube on roll/tip technique. Any good quality paint will do, warming weather and thinned paint are just as important. Three thin coats are better than one.

 

[burgundyben]

But don’t overthink all this:if you can paint a front door with a brush, you can do it

Nicely put.

I am enthusiastic about this thread, as a wooden boat owner of 20 years, I've done a bit pf painting, its something I enjoy hugely.

 

[Strevensm]

You need to leave the gel coat in place.

Its all in the prep.

I would wet flat with 320 grit.

Then one coat of International Pre-kote. Then wet flat again with 320, then filler and touch up any bits that need it,

Then a second pre-kote. then wet flat with 600 grit. You could put a drop of your topcoat into the final undercoat and stir it in well, it'll help with the top coat.

Then top coat with International Toplac. Maybe 2 coats. Wet flat with 600 grit if needed.

Roller on with a foam roller. Lay off with a Hamilton Perfection Plus brush top to bottom. Plan your work.

Be meticulous with your prep and cleaning.

Practice make perfect.

Use good quality masking tape and don't leave it on.

That's perfect, thanks for leaving a comment.

How about gelcoat?

Currently i am finding information that's saying all kinds of things; undercoat, topcoat and then gelcoat?

 

[Strevensm]

Prep is very important to get a decent finish. But don’t overthink all this:if you can paint a front door with a brush, you can do it, lots of vids on YouTube on roll/tip technique. Any good quality paint will do, warming weather and thinned paint are just as important. Three thin coats are better than one.

Thank you. I am more worried about what types of paint i should use and in which order. The Youtube videos are great for showing how much prep is required and for plugging specific product, but not necessarily which paint or sequence of paint is actually required.

I think i am getting really held up on this gelcoat stuff. As i mentioned in the original thread, its due to my lack of knowledge and not knowing if the topcoat paint has some kind of gel coat or is considered as a gel coat.

Thanks,

Mike

 

[AndrewL]

Last year I was fitting a new rudder to my Macwester 22 and launch date (fixed) was rapidly approaching. The new gudgeons had to go in a new place, so the old holes were filled. With time running out I decided to quickly paint the transom.

This is what I did

• cleaned it with a degreaser
• used a random orbit sander with 360 grit to key the surface
• Washed it down with water
• 1 coat of international pre-kote
• Very light rub down by hand with 360 grit
• 2 coats of International toplac, thinned with white spirit, rolled on and tipped off.

I was happy with the result, only a year later but it still looks good. This really was a rush job, as the rudder still was not finished and there was only a week to go until launch.

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

Gelcoat is the original factory finish of the boat, on top of the GRP (fibreglass) lay-up. Sometimes small repairs are finished with gelcoat, to match the original finish. In your case you are sanding the original gelcoat finish of the topsides and apying paint.

 

[forestcreature]

<- one of the points of this being that gelcoat is not paint. Restoring old gelcoat would be a distinct approach to the topside finish as compared to painting. After being enthusiastically offered a (commercial) restoration of my own very stained, cracked, and pitted gelcoat, I understand that it's one route that's worth at least considering*. To summarise, you can either fill, sand, and potentially build up the gelcoat that's already on your boat, and that would be your entire finish. Or you can smooth and key the gelcoat and apply the primer and topcoat paints of your choice over the top.

* But not necessarily endorsing!

 

[gus]

Firtsly you have to ask yourself - does it really need repainting? It is and never will be a show boat (unless that is your 'thing'). Would just a polish up suffice? More importantly is having the boat functioning properly and reliably. Although mine could look very nice with a good clean up, by leaving it looking slightly 'unloved', it reduces its attractiveness to thieves who are a bit like magpies attracted to shiny things.

 

[Kelpie]

It might be beneficial for the OP to understand that gelcoat is a resin, generally applied to the hull when it's in its mould, to give the hull a smooth finish. Look on the inside of your hull and you may see what fiberglass looks like without gelcoat.
Unless doing a major restoration, nobody applies gelcoat to a boat once it's left the factory.

 

[DownWest]

Sarabande put this link Jotun Topcoat Paints | Single Pack Topcoats | Two-Pack Topcoats - SML Protective Coatings in the other thread, if you are on a tight budget, scroll down to the Lustre range. Some of the two component 'Yacht' finishes can be a bit eye-watering, while a good polyurethane can do a decent job.

 

[ghostlymoron]

I repainted my 19' sail boat recently and was satisfied but not overjoyed with the result. I used a budget brand of paint for cost reasons and it wasn't noticeably worse than a premium brand I had used before. I think it was Flag brand but I'm unsure. AFAIK premium brands don't have a magic ingredient but just have more effective marketing.
My advice is to spend 90% of your effort on preparation, I used a palm sander on my small boat with medium/fine paper. Fill with marine grade filler, sand and refill if necessary. Apply primer, sand lightly, inspect for defects, rectify and repeat till NO defects visible.
Our plan was to 'roll and tip' the gloss coat as researched on YouTube but we found that tipping gave a worse result than just rolling (possibly the skill of the 'tipper' - I was rolling) so abandoned that stage early on. A very light sanding when the gloss is FULLY dry followed by a second coat.
The result was satisfactory when viewed from 10' but slightly 'textured' when viewed up close. Nice deep colour and no guages or scratches.

 

[stephen_h]

If the finish is just faded then a good cutting and polish with an electric polisher will make
a huge difference. Look on Youtube on how to do it. Try this before painting which if you
don't get right can look a mess

 

[sutton sailor]

The previous advice is spot on.
No.1 cut back but do not polish, you may want to paint it and the polish won't help
If it looks 98% ok and you are happy with it then give it a polish.
If you are not happy then you can decide to paint.
In which case how long do you want the paint job to last.
Single pack paint is lower cost, easier to apply , easier to touch up. You can keep an old can and brush and some thinners for a quick touchup.
However the single pack is softer and less durable than 2 pack

2 Pack epoxy primer is the only paint that is truely waterproof, and infinately harder and durable, but suseptable to UV, so must be covered to exclude UV.
2 Pack polyurethane is again harder and more durable.

If you are concerned with osmosis , then 2 pack epoxy and 2 pack polyurethane is the way to go.

I previously had a steel boat so it was a no brainer 2 pack all the way.

She was first painted with International Epoxy primer then 709. Could not spray insufficient amps in a USA boat yard so rollered tip out Finish perfectly OK.

That lasted 15 years. Next time the boat yard I was at were introducing an Italian paint Venitzian, unknown in this country but well established in the UK
Same method, it did a great job, lasted well.

Forward another 13 years, Paint looked good. Mooring failed and boat bounced down the side of Torpoint ferry. Did 10K worth of damage, just scratched the paint, but needed a paint job, mooring contractor paid for insurance claim.

This time I used Jotun supplied by SMS, a fraction the cost, but finish just as good.

So the answer is if you want a low cost job go 1 pack if you want it to last go 2 pack, bit more cost bit more effort, will last 5 times longer.

But as said before the finish is dependant on the PREP which is the same either 1 or 2 pack.

 

[Praxinoscope]

My advice is to avoid painting unless it is absolutely essential, once painted a GRP boat will have to be painted again and again, as I learned to my cost.
Might not be so bad if a twopot paint is used.

 

[Ceirwan]

There has been some great advice posted above, but just some thoughts.

First up you need to decide your budget, how much time you have & how good a finish you want too achieve.
As has been stated above, gelcoat is a pigmented resin applied to the inside of a mold, it is possible to completely re gelcoat a boat & get it looking like factory new again, however is a hell of a lot of work. Gelcoat doesn't flow out like paint & most of the labour will be in sanding out the orange peel & buffing it to a shine.
You probably won't find much info on it here, but there are some good threads on 'TheHullTruth' and 'Cruiser Forum'. But did I mention that its a lot of work?

If you decide to paint then you really have 2 choice, 1 or 2 part polyeurethane.
Note, you will be painting over the existing gelcoat, no need to sand it back to bare fibreglass.

Single part is easier to apply, less toxic fumes & can get you a great finish,.
Two part paint requires mixing in the correct ratio before laying it down, it generally can't be applied over single part paint if your boat has already been painted in the past. However it will last a LOT longer than the single part, be much harder wearing and more UV stable. It also costs a lot more.

If your gelcoat is in reasonable condition it may be possible to restore it, this will be the least work of all.

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

I painted (with some help),some sailing school dayboats with Weathershield Outdoor Gloss, 3 years ago, still looking fine. The paint was effectively applied with rollers as the warm weather was drying the paint too quickly to tip off. Did my own boat similarly last year, it looked perfect from 2 or 3 metres distance, will keep the forum posted.