Painting Fiberglass....

...on a 17 fty Aquasport center console....How should it be prepared, and what is a good paint,and should it be rolled on? Thanks folks..:?:

 

The preparation would depend on the current state of it, which presumably isn't that great, or you'd not bother painting it, perhaps ? It probably depends, too, on how much you want to spend, but if there is a lot of prep required, you might as well get a high quality (read expensive) paint system, to make all the preliminary work worth it. Rolling, and lightly tipping with a brush, gives pretty good results, appearance wise. But as with all painting, the prep and priming and undercoating, and sanding between coats as and if required, makes the finish as much as the application method. And of course reading the instructions on the paint tin(s) is always a good idea.

 

Paint processes are 90% surface prep, 5% cursing and 5% actually applying paint time. You can apply paint in one of three basic ways, which I'm sure you know, but it's the surface prep that is key. There's lots of previous threads about painting and more information on many sites about the web. If debating if you should (or shouldn't) use a roller, you have some more research to do. Lastly, you have to decide what type of finish you want, because this governs how much effort you need in the prep and to a great extent the paint application process.

 

I'd imagine a cracked or crazed surface would require a high-solids undercoat as part of the paint system, otherwise you'll still notice it after painting. But if the underlying cause of the crazing/cracking is still at work, it will return.

 

Any ideas on the prep work? How would you go about doing it? Any steps to the procedure?...should I let a professional do it?

 

What do you have right now that is wanting you to refinish?

What kind of finish are you looking to have when done?

I think some form of both of these questions have already been asked. Your questions can't be answered until we know what you have and where you want to go with it.

 

Many folks will chose to "roll & tip".

This will give an almost auto grade finish.

One person rolls on the paint , the second uses a GOOD VARNISH brush to smooth any surface imperfections.

A smooth foam roller for Epoxy works best with most oil based paints .

Jamestown Dist has what you need.

As noted surface prep is 90% of the job.

 

how old is your aquasport? if its just dull with no major gouges to the fiberglass, all around , then no need to paint start sanding with as low as 220 go all the way to 2500, then compound with aquabuff and polish, i like wizards polish the best as it has synthetic polymers and really great product , as for painting , depends entirely on your budget and the amount of work you wish to do and results you want to achieve, and how long you plan on keeping the boat, if its a lifetime keeper family heirloom, then ,, go alexseal or imron with epoxy primer, stay with one system , use all of their products, if you plan to keep for a few years and then sell, you could do rustoleum metal primer , then rustoleum enamel with the tci acyrlic enamel wet look hardner. as for sanding depending how bad it is you may have to start at 80 then go to 320 for primer, high build primer, sealer then final 2 -3 coats. i would spray, practice on some cardboard , or melamine or a piece of glass for final, keep gun moving at all times , setting fluid needle about medium and air according to paint and gun, i live the LVLP PAINT GUN, BUT i have HVLP and lots of brands , probably 10 guns for various uses, i also highly reccommend just spraying with gelcoat, its the cheapest , and strongest of them all and that is what the boat was built from by the factory, use duratec additive to cut down on sanding, or if you cheap, just use 40% laminating resin, 50 gelcoat and 10% acetone, then you can start wet sanding , with a block of course or staight line sander (hutchins), with 600 , 800, 1200, then compound , polish.........hope this helps

 

Thanks folks , I will keep you updated....

 

Any good brand of paint? Will roll on and finish...Pettit? Woolsey?..etc?

 

yes pwillie, any those are fine, but i feel rustoleum is far superior to the small mom and pop paint brands, like those, rustoleum is a very large company and therefore has an unlimited budget to devote to research and developement and can buy raw materials in bulk , therefore achieving economies of scale in economic terms, and thus passing that on to consumer, product is far superior and significantly cheaper. some people only feel comfortable using '''marine'' and paying 3-10 times what something is worth, when you add acrylic enamel hardner to any oil based paint, it then becomes a very strong , durable product, and i have used it below the waterline , with the hardner of course, many times with excellent results. as always if you feel better spending more money , i always encourage anyone to do that, because what you feel comfortable may work best for you. as the guy said earlier........prep is around 90-95% of the paint job, and that is something i wouldnt take any sort of short cuts on , buy the best sandpaper and sanders you can afford, i use dynabrade, hutchins, ingersol rand and 3m products exclusively in my 30 years experience doing paint and fiberglass.