Can I paint the front deck like this?

[footbrake]

I can't get anyone to answer this for me. On my 1988 Inperial the front deck ,between the winshield and my anchor roller is pretty well beat up from age and weathering and the finish is really gone even with profesional buffing and waxing. My question is, why couldn't I myself,lightly sand it prep it, and wipe it down with acetone and roll the top of the deck with a Rustoleum color? As everyone knows Rustoleum dries very shiny and smoothes out like glass after applied. I'm really not worried about the gelcoat, the finish is shot anyway. I'm sure the rustoleum finish would be easy to polish and keep clean also. Give me some answers please. Thanks-Russ

 

[sphelps]

Sure ! You can paint it however you want .. Use 100 grit paper to sand it Clean it real good with some TSP .. If there is any dings or scratches you can get small can of 3m Premium Marine filler to touch up with .. A good acetone bath then primer . The rusto clean metal primer will work .. I would do 3 coats sanding lightly between coats .. Then use the rusto oil based enamel 3 coats scotch bright between coats .. But do yourself a favor and use the enamel hardener with it . Makes it
dry much faster with a harder finish ..
No clearcoat .. When you scatch it . And it will get scratched . It will be very easy to touch up ..
Or you can spend the extra money and buy some of the other better 2 part epoxy paints ..
But for what you are wanting to do the rusto or the Majic paints from Tractor Supply will work fine ..
Hope this helps !

 

[Axkiker]

Dont underestimate your ability to apply Gel Coat. You can even roll the stuff on after filling voids. Then all you need to do is wet sand and buff. IMO gel is more forgiving than paint when it comes to application.

 

[djm3801]

OK - timely question for me too... I have a 1979 McKee. Looks to be original gel coat and in fact it is not horrible - I was going to fill screw holes, touch up, and buff that. However ability to touch up effectively and color match is a bt of a crap shoot. Would I be better off to just wash, sand, Acetone, and apply a fresh topping of gelcoat? Other than surface fading, the original finish looks like it can be buffed, but maybe just better to refresh the whole thing...