How to apply water proof coating on boat cover?

[thormx11]

So I just washed my bow and cockpit covers this afternoon and put them back on the boat to dry and not shrink. I have a gallon of Cerf-Kote that was given to me to use to waterproof the covers.

My problem is finding somewhere big/clean enough to spray them down. Can I coat them while they are on the boat? It is a 24' boat and the bow cover is probably 8'x6' and the cockpit cover is probably 16'x8'. I have a gravel drive way and dont really want to lay them in the grass and get them dirty.

How have some of you with larger covers coated them? Ideally I would like to just snap the covers on the boat and use a 1 gallon sprayer to coat them. Would this hurt the boat at all?

 

[jbetzelb]

I did this by using real thin plastic. Basically covered the boat anywhere I could get overs pray on the fiberglass. Using a real thin plastic allows you to snap the cover over the plastic and everything is held in place. To tell the truth the last time I treated my covers I used a paint brush instead of a sprayer and I think it worked a lot better. Kind of worked it into the cloth better. Had to stretch a little to reach but that is the way I will do it next time also.

 

[Scott Danforth]

I run my anchor line between two trees and make a clothes line, or I put out two step ladders and drape over them.

 

[thormx11]

I do have access to thin plastic wrap that we use at work when painting cars, it is probably 16' wide so I will probably go that route and lay a layer of plastic down then snap the covers on over top of them.

 

[BRICH1260]

You might consider putting down a sheet of visqueen plastic or poly tarp on the grass or driveway first, then lay canvas on that to spray.

 

[frantically relaxing]

We have 4 large large garbage cans- 2 waste, 1 recyclables, 1 greenwaste, all the same size, set them up into 4 corners...I've draped the canvas from our Chap 260ssi and the 280 Regal over them to spray them...

 

[thormx11]

Can anyone explain to me the cons of doing it on the boat? I went ahead and just sprayed the first layer on while the covers were on the boat, making sure not to get too much towards the edges. I then went and wiped the boat down after with a towel and tomorrow I will wash and wax the boat. I've seen one or two people say the waterproofing (other brands) wasn't good for the gel coat, but the boat has a standard Ford automotive paint right now. Not sure if this is any different, or a bad thing.

 

[QBhoy]

Best to pour the solution in a dish or bowl...get a paint brush and brush it on. Ideal !

 

[Horigan]

I like the idea of putting thin painters plastic on the boat to protect it while spraying/applying the waterproofing. It would be easy with a roll of plastic painters tarp and blue painters tape to protect all areas below the boat cover. If you want to try without protection, you can do a test spot to see how the paint behaves.

 

[thormx11]

it seemed to work alright without any plastic. the only issue I noticed was it formed a sticky coating on the paint. I had to scrub it pretty hard to get most of it off, and even afterwards when I waxed it i could tell that there was still some on the paint.