paint or repair and polish? topsides

[chubby]

30 plus years of scuffs and scrapes with my amateur attempts at repair with the odd tube of gel have left Dabchick looking her age: like any old lady Ok from a distance but a bit wrinkly close up: too late for this season but thinking ahead, do I forget it and go sailing, on the basis that i only notice when I am up close with the polishing cloth, go for a paint job or go for a more professional gel coat repair(s) and a polish. I had thought a paint job was the way to go but a boatyard conversation with a fellow owner gave the view that a paint job actually puts off potential purchasers and doesn`t enhance aboat`s value: it may look good initially but spells future maintainence and buyers/ surveyors may worry about what is hidden and keeping bare is best!

 

[Baggy]

Good question... pardon the pun..but Iam in the same boat

 

[[448]]

I'm in the same boat too. My 2p worth is that my boat is worth more to me than I would get for her at 35 years old. So I intend doing a really good sand down etc. and paint her with a conventional Yacht enamel. Total cost excluding my time about 50 to 75 £. If you go down the professional paint job route, you will never recover the cost if you sell her. Mine is 27 feet.
Dave

 

[doug748]

......... I had thought a paint job was the way to go but a boatyard conversation with a fellow owner gave the view that a paint job actually puts off potential purchasers and doesn`t enhance aboat`s value: it may look good initially but spells future maintainence and buyers/ surveyors may worry about what is hidden and keeping bare is best!

Your fellow owner was spot on, in my view. Do whatever you can to avoid painting.
I see your topsides are white which is a great bonus. A good GRP man will make good in such a way that you will not be able to see the work when finished.
I have spray painted topsides...

 

[Lodesman77]

Don't use ordinary enamel!! That's the mistake I made. Fortunately only the transom but after two years it went dull and looked worse than when I started. If you must paint then at least use something that will last...

But if I were you I'd avoid painting unless you have to.

 

[Marmalade]

Marmalade is only 17 yrs old but a decent professional polish last year left her looking almost new. I was amazed at what could be achieved.

 

[Boathook]

I had the hulls on my Cat painted. I did the donkeywork of grinding out and filling 'damage' and then the yard boat repairers took over with the boat in the shed for the final fill and sand. She was then hand painted with Alwgrip. Beautiful finish but a lot of hard work and expense. Would I do the same - I doubt it for a variety of reasons but I would still possibly paint but do it myself to a lower standard and massive financial saving. After that I would possibly change my mind again !!

 

[yoda]

Gel coat work every time. Just had part of mine re-gel coated and the finish is unbelievable. Not cheap but nor is painting.

Yoda

 

[KREW2]

Providing the gel coat is not worn down to the laminate you can get it back with compound and a good rotory polisher.

 

[Seanick]

I'm in the same boat too. My 2p worth is that my boat is worth more to me than I would get for her at 35 years old. So I intend doing a really good sand down etc. and paint her with a conventional Yacht enamel. Total cost excluding my time about 50 to 75 £. If you go down the professional paint job route, you will never recover the cost if you sell her. Mine is 27 feet.
Dave

Don't enamel GRP-that will really halve the value of your boat. A good two pack paint job is tougher than gel coat, has better abrasion resistance and stays glossy longer. If your topsides are blue, black, green or red gel coat then get used to them fading and lets hope you enjoy lots of polishing!

We recently painted a black Shrimper that had been hand painted in 'Enamel'. It took about 40 hrs to remove all the old paint and make good, and the same again to spray four epoxy undercoats, flat off and apply 3 coats gloss. Total cost about 2k plus VAT. It probably added 2k to the value of that Shrimper, which now looks better than new.

What would you rather buy and sail in, a well sprayed boat/car or one that looks rough?

 

[Clyde_Wanderer]

My vote is for refurbishing the original gel, filling any scratches or chips and using a polisher with white sponge and Ferecla compound spraying the sponge every couple square foot using a squirty bottle filled with water will prevent scorching the gel and make the job easier.
I use a sealy 7" polisher/sander with variable speed control, and mostly set at a lower speed, cost aprox £35 and can be used for many purposes.
I find leaving the compound on for a few hours and then washing off with a soft cloth or sponge and water, then leaving until dry and polishing with a dry soft cloth or waxing and polishing is easier than trying to polish off the dry compound and gives a great finnish.
Light scratches, ie from dirty fenders or dinghies can be polished out by starting with 800-1000# wet and dry and finnishing with 1200/1500# rinsed in soapy water before compounding.
If filling areas with gel, mix in Parafin wax ONLY to the coats which you intend sanding.
Gently heating applied gel with a hot air gun will speed up the curing process allowing the next coat to be applied in as little as 10mins hence speeding up the repair time, just dont overheat it.
Hope this helps.
C_W

I would never even consider buying a boat with painted hull or decks.