Boat painting questions....

I am the paint specialist at the orellys here, the store I work at does not carry imron, but the closest store to us does.

 

your lucky that your only painting the topside of the hull you should be ok, painting a car is a breese compared to a boat try painting the cockpit or the deck its like spraying a floor a car is easy its right in front of you . i have seen many good auto painters say they can paint anything thats till they jump on a boat so take care and enjoy the challange

 

boat paint

i just recently painted (for the first time - never sprayed before except from those little cans) and it wasn't too bad.

Project: 21ft cuddy with Springfield engine bracket and engine

Materials: Brightside by Interlux (1 pt poly)

Found out AFTER i sprayed the first time about using a respiriator (I may die early death). Otherwise, that part went ok on second and later rounds.

I used a cheapo sprayer (conventional). Sprayed about about 40 PSI. Spraying went very well. Have to resist the desire to spray heavy. At least with this paint, it doesn't dry very well if heavily coated. Best 2 use multiple coats. It levels quite well (in fact I'm told you can roll and tip it).

I think if I knew more about sprayers and techniques it may have gone even better. But honestly, I just saw a boat sprayed at my boat yard by a "professional" and my stuff looks better.

Now I didn't spray the inside (yet), but just the outside was a breeze...not hard, went on well, no primer, just 320 grit sanded the gel and made minor repairs as needed.

Ed

 

Why didn't you use 120 grit. I have always seen people and myself sanding gelcoat with 120 grit to remove ALL WAX and imperfections. If you didn't the paint might peel over. I hope it doesn't.

 

sanding with 120

I didn't sand to remove wax, I sanded to smooth and get out the imperfections. Actually, i left out a step...I wiped the hull COMPLETELY several times with wax removal.

 

It's just that i didn't see the dewaxing step thats why i got a little nervous.

 

also acetone work great for dewaxing and i am old fashion i say spray with gelcoat me myself i will not use a imron or any car paint scratches to easy and i have mixed my own colors using gelcoat and also me my self i use 80 grit then come back with 180 block that will really take out the imperfections goodluck

 

I've never tried to spray gel, however, i'm told it's VERY difficult to prevent peeling (orange peel). I like the paint for the gloss you get and no powdery oxidation.

 

With paint you finish polishing and buffing the clear or the color. With gelcoat you can achieve high gloss too. You can sand it to 1200 grit, then polish and apply 3 coats of wax and buff, this will also prevent oxidation.
You can achieve excelent result from any of the two methods, but we know you're familiar with car paint, so stick with it. Just make your job easier.

 

Glastron uses imron in production . however their dealers are having big problems getting repairs done, if your only painting a stripe why not use gel coat??

 

Prep 180, gel coat , let kick, spray pva, sand 180,220,320,400,600, buff with aggressive compoun,polsh

 

THe most important step in painting is the primer. I only use a top quality epoxy primer. Any two part paint will work. I will never use Imron or Awlgrip. My life is important to me. I have been restoring cars professionally for 30 years. The primer that I use is called Glassheild, its made in Quebec Canada. They also make a quality topcoat.

 

I've been painting gel coat for ten years, and have only used sealer when painting plugs that have exposed wood or micro spheres. when the exsisting gel coat is usually around 20 mils I very rarely go through to the glass when preping. And if I do, and expose small air pockets i just use a glazing putty,sand then apply gel coat. If your boat is preped right the gel coat will have no problem sticking. 99/1 all preparation.