Boat and trailer paint questions

[Fred Weston]

I recently inherited a late 70s 16' Cobia which has been sitting in my back yard for about a year or so. The boat is in rough shape, the interior has been gutted because everything was so worn from sun damage, but the hull etc seems to be salvageable. The trailer also seems to be in ok shape, I had a trailer shop custom make me a new axle with all new wheel bearings etc, so that is out of the way.

I am not sure how old the trailer is but it looks to be pretty old. It is solid, very little rust - just looks oldish. The outside of the boat is very faded from sitting the sun over all these years and I would like to find out what is involved in painting it. Same goes for the trailer, I would like to paint it just so it looks better.

Everything I have read indicates that painting a boat is something you shouldn't try to do yourself if you want it to last for more than a year or two. I am DIY friendly, I have a compressor with tools and access to automotive style spray equipment. If I got a book on the subject to learn about the proper steps to take for prep and the actual paint, do you think I could do it myself? Being a student I am somewhat budget constrained. I am not afraid of working on it for a month's worth of weekends if it means I can save a considerable amount of money. What I would like to know is where I should look to find good info about how to DIY, plus maybe an estimate of how much the project might cost and how long it would take. Thanks.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Boat and trailer paint questions

For the Trailer,......... Wirebrush it,+ Paint it with Rustolium,... Primer,+ your choice of Color.......
It'll run ya about $20.00 to $40.00@gallon,... Depends on Where you find it......
Brushed, Sprayed, or Rolled,....... It'll last nearly Forever.......

For the Boat,....... It's hard to beat Any of the 2 part Ureathanes,..... I use the local NAPA's house brand, MSU....
This usually runs about $100.00@gallon,... That's Color, Hardener,+ the other Stuff you'll need.....
It goes on Beautifully when Sprayed........

Preperation is the Key to a Good, or Great Paint Job......

For the Research,....... There's Ton's of books on Painting Cars,.........Painting a Boat is the Same Thing..........

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Boat and trailer paint questions

that cobia is a great boat, and well worth restoring,, seats etc, ebay.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Boat and trailer paint questions

If you want to save money, try to buff it first, if that doesn't work then paint it. sometimes even very old faded and chalky gel coat can be made to look new.

 

[Fred Weston]

Re: Boat and trailer paint questions

Thank you for the advice. Any idea how many gallons I would need for this particular boat?

 

[JasonJ]

Re: Boat and trailer paint questions

Try to fix the gelcoat first unless you really want a different color. There isn't a paint made that is nearly as durable as gel, and the shear labor of paint prep is not much different than the labor involved in restoring gelcoat. You also havn't said if the boat will stay in the water for extended periods. None of the paints hold up to continuous submersion for much more than three days. The gel is easy to restore, it just involves some wet sanding up 1600 grit paper, use a variable speed buffer and some compounds and a good wax and you will have gel that look near new. Paint it and it will look good, but if your prep is less than optimal you end up with a mess. Plus, restoring the gel is considerable less expensive, especially if you can borrow a variable speed buffer front someone. I have done is all by hand a few boats, and while labor intensive, I was out very little money. Just the cost of the sand paper and buffing compounds. Just giving you a different perspective, good luck either way...

As far as removing from the trailer, if you are gutting it for a restoration, you might be able to get away with lifting it off with some help from 7 of your best buddies. Another way is to crank the jack all the way down, make some strong stands to go under the boat at the transom, then crank the jack all the way up. That will hopefully lift the rear of the boat off of the trailer. Then you would use a floor jack and something to extend to the keel, and jack the front of the boat. You can only pull the trailer forward so far this way, so when the trailer is as far forward as it will go, you have to put a brace behind the axle. Then you would remove the brace that was in front of the axle, and pull the trailer out. You might have to do this step a few times depending on the construction of the trailer. Then put a brace farther forward to better hold the weight.

 

[Tail_Gunner]

Re: Boat and trailer paint questions

8) Repainting a trailer is really a very simple and fast procedure. If you have a angle grinder (electric) just get some 40 grit sand paper and rip off the old paint, it will melt like butter and get you to virgin steel. It maybe takes 2-3 hours and from there just get a canned paint and have @ it 45 minutes maybe.

Use a quality respriator trust me there.

 

[B.M.W II]

Re: Boat and trailer paint questions

I have to agree with Jason j unless you wont to change the color of the boat try wet sanding and buffing it first. I am in the process of doing this with my bass boat. I liked the color of my boat and cant afford to paint it either. My only expense has been for the compound and sand paper. Plus I am getting great results. If you go to the (Winner form look for pics, 1983 bass boat) I have pics, of my bass boat off the trailer setting on 6 sunblocks and some pieces of 1x6, hope this will help you. Good luck.

 

[B.M.W II]

Re: Boat and trailer paint questions

I have to agree with Jason j unless you wont to change the color of the boat try wet sanding and buffing it first. I am in the process of doing this with my bass boat. I liked the color of my boat and cant afford to paint it either. My only expense has been for the compound and sand paper. Plus I am getting great results. If you go to the (Winner form look for pics, 1983 bass boat) I have pics, of my bass boat off the trailer setting on 6 sender blocks and some pieces of 1x6, hope this will help you. Good luck.

 

[B.M.W II]

Re: Boat and trailer paint questions

Sorry dubble post. still getting use to the new stuff on the site.

 

[Fred Weston]

Re: Boat and trailer paint questions

Well, I guess it cant hurt to try a little wet sanding. What kind of store would I go to for the compounds and sand paper? Also should I just use an orbital sander or what? Jason said use a buffer but I am not familiar with using sandpaper on a buffer... thanks.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Boat and trailer paint questions

The buffer is for the buffing compound. Normally you would wet sand by hand, start with the finest grit you can, this saves time sanding out the scratches from the coarser paper. Try 600 in a small area first then buff, depending on the type of gel coat, you may need to go to finer grits, but sometimes you can easily buff out 600 grit scratches. You can also try the comet and green scratch pad technique, people report good results with that method too. Any auto parts store will have compounds, coarse for cutting through the oxidized surface and finer ones to get a good gloss. Sometimes you don't even need to sand, just try the coarse compound first.

 

[dmarkvid2]

Re: Boat and trailer paint questions

There are so many products out there that will bring your gel coat back to life. Of course I forgot what I used so I can't tell you right off the bat. :/ But my boat looks 110% better than it did when it was given to me. I'm like you, Re doing everything there is to re due. Have fun!

 

[Tail_Gunner]

Re: Boat and trailer paint questions

Some thing's are just to simple, 3m heavy dutybuffing compound, rinse then buff in wax. Ohh by the way it takes a heavy duty car buffer, compounding bonnet and then a waxing head. If that doesn't work your screwed..8)

 

[shanklejo]

Re: Boat and trailer paint questions

Log onto marinestore.com. They have a gelcoat restoration system that works very well. It's called Vertglas. I use it on my boat and it was faded bad. Made it look brand new and lasted for 2 years. It takes a while to do it, but the price is right. Just 60 bucks and you get enough to do 3 16' bass boats. I highly recommend it.