Spray Painting Fiberglass Boat??

Has anybody ever used canned spray paint(Krylon, Rustoleum)to paint their fiberglass boat?? I came across this article for painting fiberglass RC Boats and wonder if the same would apply to any fiberglass boat in the water? I assume that if it can hold up on a model boat that is raced every week or month, why would it not hold up on a simple fiberglass fishing boat?


Here is the link to the article, http://www.offshoreelectrics.com/how_to_spray_paint.htm

Let me know your thoughts. I know that this has never been reccommend before, but for those of us who can't afford an expensive paint job, would this be an alternative?

 

On expense i would say it is cheaper to by a 20-70 dollar spray gun and good 2 part paints than aerosol cans, how much does a gallon of paint cost in aerosol cans?
You don’t have to by Hempel or Awlgrip, most industrial 2 part PU paints work good.

There is a big difference in 2 part and one part paints in how they last.

The painter takes his money, but if you going to use your time on aerosol paints, you might as well paint with a spray gun, less time and better finish and easier than with cans, what im trying to say is that if you cant paint with a spray gun its much tougher to get the finish with aerosol cans.

Also as a added benefit if you screw up bad with the paint job the 2 part PU paint can be sanded down and over painted, the one part paint would have to be removed totally before a repaint with a proper paint as it most likely will boil under the new paint or at least flake all of in no time, you could paint it once as a learning thing, the fill any scratches and sand and the paint the surface, by then you should have got the hang of it, if you still get small runs etc they can be carefully sanded down and polished to shine like the rest of the boat.

And in now time you could have a second income as a boat painter, with spray painting you learn it or you dont.

 

Saftey!

Thanks for your thoughts...I forgot to mention in my original statement that safety was a big concern for me in using Polyurethane (PU) paints. I currently live in an apartment and do not have access to a well-ventilated, secluded area to paint with PU. It will require me to find a location and get all the necessary safety equipment (air-supplied respirator, spray gun, etc) to paint. Painting this myself seems a little dangerous, since I am uneducated in the painting field. And it will be too costly for my budget to get a professional to do it.

Concerning the quantity of paint in aerosol cans, I believe that 3-4 cans will more than adequately cover my 14' vessel. 3-4 cans of primer coat, 3-4 cans of paint, and 2-3 cans of clear coat...they are only $3-$5 dollars a can..So $55-$60 for the project. Don't anticipate spending over $100 bucks for supplies. I understand that it will most likely not look as good as PU, but will it look good from 10-20 feet away? Do suspect anyone else getting that much closer than that except for me.....

Since this is just a weekend project with limited resources I cannot afford to do everything by the book… So you believe that the paint would peel after a little while… Would using the aerosol prime coat and aerosol clear coat help prevent the paint form pealing?>> What are your thoughts? Thanks for your response…If we decide to go that way, I will definitely post some pictures of the results, unless someone can come up with a superior reason not to do it.

 

SAFETY 2

Boil or flake (not peel except if you use latex) if you repaint it with a PU paint the risk is there, almost a fact.

The aerosol paint should stay on if it doesn’t have to be repainted with 2 part paints and dont clean it with grafiti removers.

Good luck with the project, de grease, sand, fill, prime if you feel its necessary and paint. The under work takes 95 % of the time to obtain a good result.

You could also use a mohair roller and a good brush to paint on the 2 part PU paint, don’t need no respirator, and painting by hand was the way just 30-40 years ago, all the great boats were varnished by brush, and the results spoke for them selves, my dad used to paint and varnish boats with a brush, in the 60’s to 80’s, and it was often mistaken by novices as spray painted in the later years, painting by brush is just a lot more difficult and you need to plan ahead on the sequence your going to use and be ahead and atop of what you doing for good results.

 

Latex

Boil or flake (not peel except if you use latex) if you repaint it with a PU paint the risk is there, almost a fact

Are you saying I should use Latex spray paint? Will this provide better results?

 

I concur with Richard's comments, but if you're concerned about complication/respiration with 2-part paints and proper sprayers, you still might find a middle ground with 1-part paints and something like a borrowed Wagner power-painter.

In any case, I suspect you'd have much better results from rolling/brushing with a good one or two part paint than from doing the Krylon job. If you still lean towards the Krylon route though, consider some place like "Earl Sheib" - the car-painting chain: they used to mask and shoot cars for US$99. You get what you pay for, but I think it would be better than the spray-can method.

[edit: sorry: my comment is a little dated - you two were quick with the last two posts!]

 

Prep is all the work. Do it yourself and save the money. Have someone spray 1 coat of polyurethane on it. It only takes 10 minutes to spray a boat, but a week to prep it properly.