Need Some Ideas for Painting

[mudcatwilly]

This is my first post on this forum. I just bought my first boat, a '75 Lund trifoil, 16-feet long. The hull is in good shape, but it's real ugly, burnt orange on the bottom and white on top and on the interior. The paint is faded and scratched and previous owners have put in and taken out all kinds of things, so there are little screw holes everywhere. The last owner tried to seal some penetrations in the back of the hole with common household caulk (white caulk on the orange hull) and did a poor job. I want to patch all the little holes, remove all of the caulk and seal the hull properly, and I want to give it a new paint job. I have a few questions. 1) What do you use to patch the holes in the fiberglass? 2) I assume you must sand the hull before painting. What type of sander is best to use and what grit(s) paper? 3) I have no idea about the actual painting procedure. Do you apply a primer? 4) What is the best paint to use and how is it best applied? 5) How do you paint the bottom of the hull, meaning how do you get the boat suspended in the air?

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Need Some Ideas for Painting

Welcome to the forum!

If you search and read there are alot of pictures of restorations here and a wealth of people who have "been there - done that".

First dig out and remove ALL the household caulk. Refill those holes with a marine epoxy - push it in and tehn you can sand it smooth. [pay close attention to the condition of the wood in the holes - it will give hints on what lies beneath] It will also fill in screw holes (you might have to open the screw holes a bit with a larger drill). Sand it smooth all the way up to 220 sandpaper. Marine Tex works for filling holes and so do most of the 2 part marine epoxies. Epoxy is your best choice. Fiberglass resin will not hold as well.

Sanding the hull - labor of love and pride. You can do it by hand or with an orbital sander. The key is to roughen the surface and keep it smooth. Try not to sand away any hull details or create waves. I would not be over aggressive.

Paint - hundreds of choices. Do a search here in this forum. Depends on if you intend to trailer or dock your boat. There are many methods of application from roll and tip to spray. Once again search here.

As far as painting the bottom. You can do it in sections or many people here have flipped the boat over.

One other thing..... we are picture junkies! Take lot's of photos (host them on photobucket.com or another site to post them here).

Bob

 

[dsinger]

Re: Need Some Ideas for Painting

Unless you know exactly what paint is on the boat you have to seal or prime it or it may look good for awhile then chip off slowly. Also another word of advise and others might disagree with me but only degrease with Dawn Soap and tack. Other degreasers (everyone on the market) with create a chemical reaction with the fibers in the cloth they are put on with and cause soft spots in the paint. I have tested this on several products.. My paint sticks