Do I really have to prime it?

[Fishsher]

I am thinking about painting my hull on a 1974 Reinell with topside polyurethane. There is no previous coat of paint on it except pure gelcoat. Can I just sand the hell out of it and put 2 coats of the topside paint. Also, should I use a 2 part polyurethane or not?

 

[lenny2113]

Re: Do I really have to prime it?

Fishsher,<br />I just finished my painting project on my 17 foot boat. <br />I used 1 part polyurethane (INTERLUX) paint. Primer used was called Interlux Pre-Kote. In general, any primer for a 1 part polyurethane paint will do the job. <br />I used a proffesional spray gun to apply the paint. It really came out nice. <br /><br />Honestly, there is nothing better then the original gelcoat. See if you could restore the gelcoat.<br />If your boat is white, most likely you could try to restore gelcoat. If it's a dark color, then don't even bother trying. It will not look good.<br /><br />It takes a long project to paint the boat.<br />And yes you need to primer before you paint if you do decide to paint. <br /><br />My suggestion: before starting paint job see if you could restore gelcoat. <br />Lightly send with 400 grit dry paper, follow with 500 grit wet, 1000 wet.<br />Then use fine compound and a good rotary polish mashine (not orbital). Wax after compound with any kind of marine wax. Try on a small portion of the boat and see what you get. <br /><br />Good luck,<br />Lenny

 

[Fishsher]

Re: Do I really have to prime it?

Lenny,<br /><br />That gelcoat is completly beyond repair. There aer so many spider cracks that you can see from 10 feet away. How much paint and thinner would I need to use for a 24' Reinell with an 8' beam. Its a cuddy.

 

[lenny2113]

Re: Do I really have to prime it?

Send hull with 150 grit paper until you see no spider cracks. Fill deep scratches with "marine tech" filler. I used 2 part marine epoxy for my boat. It is the same thing. Send using 220 grit and then primer. Don't forget to wipe with acetone before primering. Let acetone evaporate. Pick a day with humidity within a range suggested on the can of primer/paint.<br /><br />A lot depands on how you plan to paint.<br />Roll and brush or spray gun. I sprayed my 17 footer and it only took 3 qt cans of paint for 3 coats. Also 2 qt of thinner. <br />Your case could be different based upon the method you choose.<br /><br />Send with 220 grit after primered.<br />After first coat of paint I used 320 dry send paper. After last coat was sprayed, I used 500 wet send paper. I taped edge on the hull with masking tape not to send too much on the edges.<br />All the preparation was done using 5" orbital sender. <br />I wet sended by hand (you have more control this way). I suggest not to use circular motions while wet sending. Just send length wise. Use palm of your hand and not finger tips to hold paper. Also if the paper sqeecks, means you need to put water on it.<br />Put a little dish washing soap in the spray bottle of water and constantly spray paper and the surface. <br /><br />It's a lot of work to make it look nice. <br />I thought I would be done in 3 weekends <br />No such luck. It was raining every weekend in NY.<br />Anyway, good luck with your project.<br /><br />Lenny

 

[Fishsher]

Re: Do I really have to prime it?

Thanks Lenny. Ill give it a try some time within the next few weeks.