Hull Painting

[rotorhead22]

Hello, we purchased a 89 160 Sea Ray earlier this year and had a great summer and experienced/survived several challenging trips to the Gulf. The boat is in pretty good shape but we have decided to replace the interior and paint the outside. I would prefer to color sand and buff/wax the outside to get the white back if possible and add newer graphics, but I doubt the faded white gel coat will return to bright white. I have reviewed several hull painting videos and now I am confused as ever. I airbrush for a hobby and have worked with several types of paint/primer and clear coats, but this is a whole new area for me. I would like to find a roll on paint for the exterior. The boat is mainly used in a salt water environment. What are your experiences for painting in a high humid area with roll on and what brands have you used?

 

[Scott Danforth]

will your boat be trailered or moored?

if trailered, you can get away with tractor paint and hardener, however if you keep it on the water, interlux hull paint.

 

[tpenfield]

The 'best' way would be to spray gelcoat and then paint the graphics with a 2-part polyurethane paint. But that can be challenging. An alternative would be to do what is referred to as 'roll & tip', where you roll on the paint to a small section and then immediately smooth it out with a high quality brush.

Interlux makes some nice "topside" paints as does Awlgrip. Many of these paints are not for below the water line, so you may want to use a barrier coat for the hull bottom. (that is where gelcoat has an advantage over marine paints . . . it can be used for all areas of the hull.)

 

[Woodonglass]

It's my understanding that the High $$$ Ocean Yachts are all Painted. But...the Paint used on em is HIGH DOLLAR!!! If your boat is NOT left in the water for an LONG extended period of time then I think any quality 2 Part Urethane Paint should work very well for you. One of our members has had very good results with this...http://supermarinepaint.com/marinepa...allon-3p10.htm

Again, it's not cheap either but it's supposed to hold up really well.

 

[Scott Danforth]

It's my understanding that the High $$$ Ocean Yachts are all Painted. But...the Paint used on em is HIGH DOLLAR!!!

correct, we use dupont at work most are awl-grip, some are awl-craft, some are alexseal the paint is actually cheap compared to the other chemicals and the primers.

its also a biotch to spray and not need to be cut-n-buffed for that million dollar shine

 

[rotorhead22]

Thank you for the input I now have a better idea of what direction to take. I just need to get educated on safely lifting the hull up off of the trailer.

 

[Scott Danforth]

search the site, plenty of ways to get boat off trailer have been covered.

 

[Woodonglass]

I recommend building a bunk style cradle on pneumatic casters,

(something like this with 8"pneumatic casters) then pushing the boat back about 3 ft off the back of the trailer. Use a Push the cradle under the boat then raise the tounge of the trailer to put weight on the rear of the boat and shove continue to wiggle the boat off and cradle under until you get her off.