repainting a fiberglas hull

Discussion in 'Fiberglass and Composite Boat Building' started by mrbaseballny, Aug 29, 2006.

  1. mrbaseballny
    Joined: Jun 2005
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    Location: Western New York

    mrbaseballny Junior Member

    A friend has a 1960 Glastron Fiberglass skilite boat. It has finally made it to the "fix her up stage" and we are going to sand down the hull and repaint it. It has several chips, scraps, dings, etc.

    My question is can we just sand it down lightly or scuff up the surface and just repaint it with a suitable paint, or do we have to take it all the way down to bare fiberglass and then repaint it. Do we have to use a Marine paint or can we paint it with something found in the hardware store?? Also do you suggest for sandpaper? grit wise?

    Any suggestions are welcome, please keep in mind we are trying to keep cost at a bare minimum:)
     
  2. mrbaseballny
    Joined: Jun 2005
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    Location: Western New York

    mrbaseballny Junior Member

    Anyone have any suggestions??
     
  3. fiberglass jack
    Joined: Dec 2005
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    Location: toronto

    fiberglass jack Senior Member

    go look at old treads all the info u will need and more
     
  4. roob76
    Joined: Dec 2005
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    Location: Miami,Fl.

    roob76 Junior Member

    if you are painting anything that came out of a mold (ie outside of the boat or an inner liner) first thing you want to do is wash it down and scrub it good then wipe down with a dewaxer. once that is done then you can start whatever repairs need done before scuffing it up and priming and painting. i've experienced boats where you will be fixing gellcoat chips and it seems like all the gellcoat will chip off very easily due to osmosis or cheap materials or both from sitting in the water for long periods of time. or it will have blisters. if this is the case you maye have to get her down to bare glass in the areas where the gellcoat isn't sticking good anymore(big job) then you will have to deal with filling in those areas and smoothing them out before painting. for sand paper i usually start with something like 120 to 180 before priming. then go alittle finer for the first coat like 240-280 scuff first coat of paint lightly then go to like 300 to 330 for final coats of paint. for paint use marine paint for a good long lasting finish. at the least use a 1 part polyurethane paint such as pettit easypoxy or interlux 1 part polyurethane. i've had good results with pettit easypoxy. if brushing or rolling use the brushing thinner as directed. if spraying use the spraying thinner. you can also use system three linear polyurethne which can be thinned with water and gives really good results although i have never used it myself. it is a little more expensive but it is worth the money when you consider gloss retention and abrassion resistance.

    good luck with the project!
     
  5. jimslade
    Joined: Aug 2005
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    jimslade Senior Member

    Sand with 180, prime with a TOP quality epoxy primer, sand with 400 and topcoat with urethane. Have someone do the spraying. Urethane is very toxic. Your health is not worth a few extra bucks. Linear poyurethanes will kill you quick. Standard urethanes are less toxic and almost as durable. With any paint I would'nt leave the boat in the water for more than a week at a time.
     
  6. roob76
    Joined: Dec 2005
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    Location: Miami,Fl.

    roob76 Junior Member

    the system three wr-lpu is far less toxic tahn other linear polyurethanes. it was created by sytem three for the DIY types. it is actually probably less toxic than the 1 part poly being that it is water based and not solvent based. that's what i will be using on my next project.
     
  7. Jimbo1490
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    Location: Orlando, FL

    Jimbo1490 Senior Member

    They toxicity of urethanes is about the catalyst, which is some form of isocyanate. They ALL use Isocyanate, whether its a 'linear' polyurethane (Awl-Grip stopped calling their product 'linear' and is back to calling it 'polyester urethane' which is more accurate anyway), acrylic urethane (Awl-Craft 2000, PPG Concept), or polyurethane (Imron) or even acrylic enamel with a hardener (Centari). They all use members of the same chemical family for the catalyst.

    The catalyst is at its most dangerous when the isocyanate is 'free', ie, has not yet linked up with the monomers it will polymerize. This is when you are just pouring and mixing. After a few minutes of induction, most of the isocyanate will no longer be 'free', and therefore less of a hazard.

    The average person is NOT going to drop dead from exposure to isocyanates, but a person with an allergic sensitivity to isocyanate might. Those persons include those with a history of a reaction and history of asthma. An allergic sensitivity can develop over time with repeated careless exposures, just as sometimes happens with epoxies, so it's smart to protect yourself from exposure to prevent this.

    If you are or you become allergically sensitized, there is NO WAY you can ever use these products ever again, regardless of type of personal protection donned. Even a small whiff can be fatal to those persons.

    Jimbo
     
  8. FibrSupplyDepot
    Joined: Sep 2013
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    FibrSupplyDepot Fiberglass Supply Depot


  9. PAR
    Joined: Nov 2003
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    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    This is a 9 year old thread . . .
     
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