Painting grp hull for first time

[Swg]

Hi, I have a 19ft, black Cornish Shrimper which after a octuples of years in a busy harbour is covered in very visible chips and scratches in addition to having large areas of gel coat scuffing from fenders. I anticipate an annual job of filling and fairing and then polishing as a result. I wonder if it would be quicker to simply lightly rub down and paint the hull each year. Any views and if so does it matter what paint I use e.g. Good quality exterior house paint or just it be very expensive yachty paint ?

 

[Tranona]

Loads of information on painting GRP from major manufacturers such as International, Hempel, Epiphanes.

Do not be tempted to use household paints as the material cost of even best marine paints is small in relation to the overall job. The two main alternatives are single pack such as Toplac or 2 pack polyurethane such as Perfection. The former would cost around £100 in materials for your size boat. Gives a good finish your brush and a life of typically 5 years before recoating. 2 packs give a deeper gloss and last longer but are more expensive plus much more difficult to apply by brush in the typical yard environment.

BTW PBO covered this topic in great depth in their restoration project over the last couple of years.

 

[Rivers & creeks]

Agreed, except that Toplac lasts a lot longer than five years if it's done well.

 

[Swg]

Thanks for that, would Toplac simply require a rub down and recoat where its gets its annual chips and fender scuffs ?

 

[Concerto]

Personally I would be inclined not to paint the hull. Has any of the damage exposed the glassfibre so it just within the gel coat? If this is the case then I would be inclined to fill any chips with matching gel coat. For the areas of scuffing then hand wet sand these until smooth, then compound and polish. Gel coat is generally about 3mm thick, so little problem in rubbing through to the glassfibre. Also buy, or have made, a fender skirt to stop future abrasion. It might take a lttle longer than slapping a coat of paint on but you will get a better finish and you boat will be worth more than a painted one when you come to resell.

 

[VicS]

Thanks for that, would Toplac simply require a rub down and recoat where its gets its annual chips and fender scuffs ?

Whatever paint system you use read the manufacturer's product data sheet which should give full details of surface preparation and application.

Also read the material safety data sheet especially if you are using anything more exotic than ordinary single pack paint. Some contain some hazardous components!

 

[ianj99]

Hi, I have a 19ft, black Cornish Shrimper which after a octuples of years in a busy harbour is covered in very visible chips and scratches in addition to having large areas of gel coat scuffing from fenders. I anticipate an annual job of filling and fairing and then polishing as a result. I wonder if it would be quicker to simply lightly rub down and paint the hull each year. Any views and if so does it matter what paint I use e.g. Good quality exterior house paint or just it be very expensive yachty paint ?

Years ago, I gave up trying to restore the shine on an old 18' yacht which had a very chalky gel coat and just gave it a single coat of blue Toplac - no primer used - the gelcoat was blue.

In those days I knew nothing about tipping off/ laying off the paint so after I'd applied it with a gloss roller, it had a very 'nice' but still very shiny orange peel effect! In spite of this, it looked a lot better than it did and attracted many positive comments (though the experts would have shook their heads).

So I'd recommend International Toplac, not as tough as 2pack, but good enough and easily overcoated.

I went on to paint the cockpit with white Toplac with equally good results. For an old boat, there is no point in being too fussy by following manufacturers guidelines to the letter IMHO.

 

[Javelin]

Hit the hull hard with 80 grit, get it smooth-ish but get a nice key.
Apply 5 coats of gelcoat with a short haired roller.
In reasonable conditions you only need an hour or so between coats.
Then apply a coat of topcoat gelcoat, also known as flow coat,
I just use a little wax in styrene in normal gelcoat.
leave to go off for a day or so.
Then flat back with 240 grit, after this phase the sanding is easy and fast.
Draw all over the hull with a black marker and sand off with 400 grit
Same again with 800, then 1000 or 1500.
Then you can cut and polish and she'll look like new.
Much cheaper than paint, lasts much longer and for a mirror finish much less manual sanding than paint/spraying.
Worth a thought maybe.

 

[ianfr]

Painting

If you decide to paint.

I used Sandtex EXTRA flex gloss on my boat 5 years ago.
Painted on at 5 degrees celcius. One undercoat + 2 topcoats with a foam roller and light tipping as required.

After 5 years it is still shiny, and a clean, and gentle polish is all I will be doing this year.

View attachment 49249

It would be even better if I had spent more time preparing. But I prefer to be on the water

Ian

 

[Swg]

Ian, thanks for that. Do you get much scuffing from fenders or is that not an issue where you are moored? I'm really interested in ease of touching up paint scuffs and scratches vs ease of filling gel coat and polishing.(lovely part of the world by the way, we have a couple of holidays a year in Wivenhoe)

 

[ianj99]

Ian, thanks for that. Do you get much scuffing from fenders or is that not an issue where you are moored? I'm really interested in ease of touching up paint scuffs and scratches vs ease of filling gel coat and polishing.(lovely part of the world by the way, we have a couple of holidays a year in Wivenhoe)

I never had a problem with scuffing it being a light boat and in a sheltered marina. In fact I was surprised how tough Toplac is and did expect it to be a false economy. I wouldn't use anything else though although I was offered some cheap 2pack, with a slight 'catch' - it was surplus and old RNLI Rescue Orange!

If I have the energy I plan to paint the current 36' footer with it this spring. I cannot afford to have it done professionally with 2pack and even that has not stood up to the severe weather in its current berth this winter. From the spring it will be on a year round swinging mooring so scuffing of the the Toplac won't be much of an issue anyway.

Ian,

PS although there were only a few scratches and dings, and none gelcoat deep, I never filled them, I just Toplac'd them and you didn't really notice them unless you were looking for them.

 

[Lakesailor]

Hit the hull hard with 80 grit, get it smooth-ish but get a nice key.
Apply 5 coats of gelcoat with a short haired roller.
In reasonable conditions you only need an hour or so between coats.
Then apply a coat of topcoat gelcoat, also known as flow coat,
I just use a little wax in styrene in normal gelcoat.
leave to go off for a day or so.
Then flat back with 240 grit, after this phase the sanding is easy and fast.
Draw all over the hull with a black marker and sand off with 400 grit
Same again with 800, then 1000 or 1500.
Then you can cut and polish and she'll look like new.
Much cheaper than paint, lasts much longer and for a mirror finish much less manual sanding than paint/spraying.
Worth a thought maybe.

That sounds like a shed load of work to me.

Flat back with 120 grit, Undercoat if you want. Single pack top coat. Done

​

The blue boat was Hempel paint which is much softer than the previous Blakes paint.

 

[Beamishken]

I think it kills a boats value once it's been painted it can't be any more work to gel coat the damaged areas then flat back & machine polish the hull every year rather than painting every year . The more coats of paint you get on the boat the worse it will look
I'd only paint a boat as a very last resort
I ran a body shop for 25 years & spray painted a few boats for customers & hated doing it as I always considered it a bodge

 

[doug748]

It depends on your boat, and where you are at.

My general advice on the matter is think carefully about painting and then don't do it.

I know Lakesailor will not take it amiss if I say that he enjoys taking inexpensive, neglected boats and making them sparkle. You may be different and have a lot of money invested in your Shrimper, and they are the type of machine that operate at the upper end of the price spectrum. In short, if this is the case, you can easily dent it's value by painting - as suggested above.

If you must, then re-gelcoat it, as suggested. I would do it in white and I might well pay a yard. In fact that is where I am at myself, just waiting for the hull to get really poor before I strike.

 

[ghostlymoron]

I certainly wouldn't paint a boat like yours - you'll knock thousands off the value. Fill and polish would be much better although matching the colour of gel coat is difficult for an amateur. Perhaps worth paying to have that bit done.

 

[ianfr]

Ian, thanks for that. Do you get much scuffing from fenders or is that not an issue where you are moored? I'm really interested in ease of touching up paint scuffs and scratches vs ease of filling gel coat and polishing.(lovely part of the world by the way, we have a couple of holidays a year in Wivenhoe)

Hi

The scuffing of fenders does occur, but so would any paint finish. If it isn't bad, then it will polish out, or a thinned coat brushed on covers it and brings it back to pristine. I was put on to this paint by our yard manager who had been using it for years. I MAY possibly give it another all over coat in a couple of years if I get round to it

Ian

 

[Rivers & creeks]

Not sure where this idea of painted boats loosing value comes from, a smart shiny painted boat versus a dull, scuffed and chalky gelcoat? I know which I'd buy and it's not the scruffy one! Compare a beautiful unpainted boat and a beautiful painted one and sure the unpainted is worth more, but that's a silly comparison because it doesn't recognise where the OP is coming from.

A word on colour choice, if you go white then choose an off white to match the coachroof which is very unlikely to be pristine white. If you go blue then beware that the darker blue shades of Toplac fade over time and touching up is a nightmare. Beware of green, yellow and red - some people really love them but you're limiting your market.

 

[Beamishken]

Not sure where this idea of painted boats loosing value comes from, a smart shiny painted boat versus a dull, scuffed and chalky gelcoat? I know which I'd buy and it's not the scruffy one! Compare a beautiful unpainted boat and a beautiful painted one and sure the unpainted is worth more, but that's a silly comparison because it doesn't recognise where the OP is coming from.

A word on colour choice, if you go white then choose an off white to match the coachroof which is very unlikely to be pristine white. If you go blue then beware that the darker blue shades of Toplac fade over time and touching up is a nightmare. Beware of green, yellow and red - some people really love them but you're limiting your market.

I don't think anyone disputes that a shiny boat will sell better than a tired looking one but it's probably a similar amount of work to get tired gel coat shiny as it is to paint
once the hard work of bringing the hull up is done a little tlc every year will keep it looking good
I have a black hulled boat & they do require more work but do look good when polished
colour changing is another pet hate of mine too I prefer originality

 

[Tranona]

Not sure where this idea of painted boats loosing value comes from, a smart shiny painted boat versus a dull, scuffed and chalky gelcoat? I know which I'd buy and it's not the scruffy one! Compare a beautiful unpainted boat and a beautiful painted one and sure the unpainted is worth more, but that's a silly comparison because it doesn't recognise where the OP is coming from.

A word on colour choice, if you go white then choose an off white to match the coachroof which is very unlikely to be pristine white. If you go blue then beware that the darker blue shades of Toplac fade over time acnd touching up is a nightmare. Beware of green, yellow and red - some people really love them but you're limiting your market.

Not my experience with dark Oxford blue with minimal fading after first 10 years. Touch ups still blended well.

However OP has black which might not be so tolerant.

 

[Rivers & creeks]

Not my experience with dark Oxford blue with minimal fading after first 10 years. Touch ups still blended well.

However OP has black which might not be so tolerant.

Also Oxford Blue and much older than ten years, which shows how good Toplac is, it's probably more than twenty years old. If we clean, polish and Owatrol then it looks reasonably OK but it's got nicks and dings that can't be colour matched. The yard are going to change it to off-white and it'll last another twenty years. It will also be much cooler in summer, the very high topsides and a dark colour can make the inside uncomfortable.