Help with bottom paint

RogerBoat

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Mar 5, 2011
Messages
37
I got my 35 year old 22 ft. Mackanic cabin cruiser up on blocks to inspect, repair and paint the bottom . Thanks guys, for help with this in a previous thread.

The paint comes off relatively easily with an orbital sander, but underneath are pits, spider cracks (dime and nickel size) too numerous to consider repairing them all. I agree with comments that I don?t need antifouling paint, being fresh water and being it will spend much of it?s time on a trailer.

After hours on the internet, I am at wits end trying to decide what I need to use to put things right. I don?t see me spending the next couple months trying to restore the gel coat.

Here is what I want to accomplish. 1. Do a reasonable job sanding. (Not take all the paint clear down to the fiberglass, although I think I can remove most of it.) 2. Fill some of the imperfections with epoxy body filler. 3. Prime and Coat the bottom with a material that will seal out moisture, that will address some of the cracks and capable of bonding to fiberglass, fillers and old paint that has been sanded down.

I would some experienced advice.
 

Chris1956

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Mar 25, 2004
Messages
28,103
Re: Help with bottom paint

OK, sand her down to bare gel coat. use a putty knife and some marine putty (polyester putty is fine), and trowl the bad imperfections. You will need to dig out some material to fix the cracks. You have to fix the deep ones, but surface ones are optional. Sand all repairs smooth. Now apply an epoxy barrior coat, per instructions, to assure the hull is water proof. it will give you a medium grey color, which is not to bad.
 

oops!

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Oct 18, 2007
Messages
12,932
Re: Help with bottom paint

hi....im moving this one to the dry dock....

you have several different issues here....

just some quick bondo and paint wont work.

as far as the gellcoat repairs (its not paint but pigmented polyester resin) they willonly take a novice a day or two for the whole hull.
 
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