changing colour of my boat? it has yellow gelcoat

[UK-WOOZY]

hi all. id love to change the colour of my boat. dislike the yellow which it came with from its birth.

what would i need to do? could i just sand it a little then just use boat paint?

it will be a while though as i was in an RTA 2 weeks ago, currently have a fractured collar bone.

thanks all for advice

 

[Tranona]

The major paint manufacturers such as International and Hempel produce plenty of information on using their products. Basically you are right, sand it down and paint, but those simple words hide lots of hard graft to do a decent job. As ever the secret lies in the preparation, actually applying the final finish is relatively easy. you have a basic choice of one pack or 2 pack with increasing cost and level of skill required for application. You can get good results for modest material cost using a good one pot such as International Toplac with the appropriate primer and undercoat.

 

[Tam Lin]

If I were you I would learn to live with it! I can't see what colour it is as your pictures won't open for me but provided it is in good condition I would leave it alone for the following reasons:
You can't see the colour when you are sailing your boat.
Some people are suspicious of painted boats when you come to sell her.
It is a lot of hard work, haven't you got anything better to do?
When you scratch the paint, and you will, the yellow will show and spoil the effect.
It is a lot of hard work to do it properly.
You will have to to it every so often as long as you keep the boat.
Did I say that it is a lot of hard work?n

 

[GrahamD]

Vinyl wrapping may be the way to go. I did a Google search and on the website of grapefruitgraphics.co.uk found the following

"Giving a second youth to your boat is no longer an impossible dream. By Vinyl wrapping your boat, the hull of a 30-foot sailboat for example, can be completely coloured in just 2 days and at a lower cost (typically 30-60% less) than when using paint."

You could then have any colour or graphic effect you want. A friend of mine looked into vinyl wrapping as his blue hulled boat was suffering in the Med sun, and was also told that it could be quite easily patched.

 

[nimbusgb]

+1 for Vinyl wrap.

 

[Jamesuk]

+1 for Vinyl wrap.

Yes me too + pink this year Purple next :/))

 

[Tam Lin]

Photos are working this morning! Is it really a yellow boat or cream/white that is stained? Have you tried wet and dry paper or rubbing compound? You may be surprised how well the hull comes up!

 

[northwind]

I would first try cleaning it with an oxalic acid solution (ideally on a hot day) and then use a machine polisher and cutting compound, you will be amazed at the difference, most of the discolouration will be on the top surface.

See this article..
https://www.powertoolsalesuk.com/media/productpdfs/sailing.pdf

 

[MagicalArmchair]

If you can live with the colour, my old chalky gelcoat of forty years of age was made pretty damn good by use of Poliglow (a polymer coating). £60 is a whole lot cheaper than paint or wrap...

http://www.albinballad.co.uk/technology/poliglow/

Easy application process and very satisfying to do.

edit: My gelcoat was discoloured and bloomed like yours too - I used poli ox and scrubbed like crazy first (http://www.poliglow.co.uk/tlsea.htm) - I sound like a work for Cooks, I don't, just a very very pleased customer.

 

[Tranona]

Photos are working this morning! Is it really a yellow boat or cream/white that is stained? Have you tried wet and dry paper or rubbing compound? You may be surprised how well the hull comes up!

But it is yellow which the OP says he does not like. Using cutting compound and cleaning it will likely make it an even brighter yellow. Only alternatives are live with it or paint it (or possibly vinyl wrap). £150 materials and a lot of hard graft would transform the appearance and change the colour.

 

[fisherman]

I've seen a couple, one from yellow to black, one from black to orange, using perfection. Both working boats and looking good. The black to orange was done alongside the pontoon. Two years at least:

https://www.google.com/search?site=...o.php%3Fphoto%3D123845%26cat%3D123845;600;338

 

[Fantasie 19]

If I were you I would learn to live with it! I can't see what colour it is as your pictures won't open for me but provided it is in good condition I would leave it alone for the following reasons:
You can't see the colour when you are sailing your boat.
Some people are suspicious of painted boats when you come to sell her.
It is a lot of hard work, haven't you got anything better to do?
When you scratch the paint, and you will, the yellow will show and spoil the effect.
It is a lot of hard work to do it properly.
You will have to to it every so often as long as you keep the boat.
Did I say that it is a lot of hard work?n

+1!

 

[Old Thady]

Does anyone know how the costs compare between vinyl wrapping and painting? I'm thinking in terms of a 25 ft sailing boat.

 

[demonboy]

If I were you I would learn to live with it! I can't see what colour it is as your pictures won't open for me but provided it is in good condition I would leave it alone for the following reasons:
You can't see the colour when you are sailing your boat.
Some people are suspicious of painted boats when you come to sell her.
It is a lot of hard work, haven't you got anything better to do?
When you scratch the paint, and you will, the yellow will show and spoil the effect.
It is a lot of hard work to do it properly.
You will have to to it every so often as long as you keep the boat.
Did I say that it is a lot of hard work?n

I don't wish to be rude but this answer is just lame. The OP wants to change the colour of his boat, which is perfectly feasible, so what's the problem? Suspicious of painted boats when you come to sell her? Can you provide evidence of this, or is this just armchair sailor made-up nonsense? Can't see the colour of the boat when you sail her? How is this relevant? The OP wanted to know how it can be done, not be told not to do it.

We painted our boat a new colour and we love it. Sometimes boats get to age or condition where it is desirable to get resprayed. Our boat's resale potential has just gone UP because of it (not that we're in the market for selling). Yes, much preparation, yes, hard work (and that's boat ownership for you), but I say go for it. Do your research, know it can be done, and don't let the nay-sayers put you off.

Good luck and fair winds in your freshly painted vessel.

*rant over*

 

[Tam Lin]

H

I don't wish to be rude but this answer is just lame. The OP wants to change the colour of his boat, which is perfectly feasible, so what's the problem? Suspicious of painted boats when you come to sell her? Can you provide evidence of this, or is this just armchair sailor made-up nonsense? Can't see the colour of the boat when you sail her? How is this relevant? The OP wanted to know how it can be done, not be told not to do it.

We painted our boat a new colour and we love it. Sometimes boats get to age or condition where it is desirable to get resprayed. Our boat's resale potential has just gone UP because of it (not that we're in the market for selling). Yes, much preparation, yes, hard work (and that's boat ownership for you), but I say go for it. Do your research, know it can be done, and don't let the nay-sayers put you off.

Good luck and fair winds in your freshly painted vessel.

*rant over*

Just speaking from experience! I've painted Tam Lin and my serious advice is to consider all alternatives before taking the plunge!

 

[C08]

This looks like a steel boat so the reservations about painting over gelcoat and the work in maintaining that do not apply as this hull is probably painted anyway. I would expect regular touching up is necessary to protect the hull from rust!

 

[HenryEDM]

This looks like a steel boat so the reservations about painting over gelcoat and the work in maintaining that do not apply as this hull is probably painted anyway. I would expect regular touching up is necessary to protect the hull from rust!

It's not steel; just because it is chined doesn't mean it's not GRP.