a few questions before painting

[newbie101]

I am almost ready to paint the boat. Its a 12' fiberglass foam boat. I had sanded down all the way to the fiberglass and patched some holes with resin. Now I have sanded it down. I am thinking of using a marine urethane 3 part paint and then putting a clearcoat over it. Do I need to prime the boat before painting it? Also, will 1 qt of paint and gloss be enough to cover the outside of the boat if i'm spraying it? just trying to figure out all the details before i get started. Thanks for any help!

 

[Chris1956]

Re: a few questions before painting

Newbie, You will want to sand it with 400 grit wet/dry paper to get a good finish. If the boat is trailered, you can use a 1 part polyurethane paint. They are inexpensive and pretty good. Prime first with the recommended primer. I think 1 qt will do the deck and then some. Why not buy two qts and return one if you don't use it. I also think the clearcoat is optional.

 

[newbie101]

Re: a few questions before painting

Thanks for the help. Yea I am keeping the boat out of the water. Im just painting the outside of the boat so I figure one qt should do it. I will check into the 1 part polyurethane paint. so many different options out there my head starts spinning!!

 

[newbie101]

Re: a few questions before painting

i found a one part bottom coat made by Petit that is an UNEPOXY. Will this work for the fiberglass boat? would i need to prime if i used this?

 

[surlyjoe]

Re: a few questions before painting

if you sanded all the way down till you could see the glass fibers you will need to prime it first.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: a few questions before painting

This is kind of following your other post. You still need to do the same things, if you sanded down to the glass, then you need to primer it. Unless you want a show finish on it, just get a 1 part topside paint (least costly method), you won't need a clear coat. The hard part will be getting the pits and glass fibers filled and covered then sanding the primer smooth.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: a few questions before painting

Newbie, UNEPOXY is an antifouling paint, designed to keep grass and barnacles off the bottom of a boat kept in the water. It is soft, toxic and not known for its finish. What you want is Interlux Brightside or Toplac or Pettit Easypoxy, to choose just three from two manufacturers. There are many other one part polyurethane paints. Be sure to use the primer the manufacturer recommends.

 

[newbie101]

Re: a few questions before painting

ok, this makes a lot more sense now. I will get the primer and just a topside 1 part paint. I got confused and wasnt sure if a topside was ok, but i guess since i'm taking it out of the water it will be fine. thank you all for your help!

 

[ToyBoat5X]

Re: a few questions before painting

how did your paint turn out? Im getting ready to paint my fiberglass boat with Brightside topcoat w/ a HVLP gun I got from Harbor Freight tools for $29.00. What kind of sprayer did you use?

Post some pics..

Andy