painting boat manually

[pdebrock]

can I get anyone's thoughts about painting the top side of a boat myself. I bought a 58 flying C and it needs a top side paint job. I have seen websites showing painting with an expoxy paint working with roler / brush and still getting a great finish. Has anyone tried this approach and do you think the top side (above water line) could be painted by roller / brush and get great looking results.

any suggestions for where to get the paint or things I need to be aware of with this approach?

 

[new honda guy]

Re: painting boat manually

hey,i think i can help u out on this one.i just repainted my 1970 alumacraft 14ft jon boat & had the the the same questions,so i went to a local auto paint supplier & the helped me tremendously.i asked about rolling it on & he said no no no-it will not look good since auto/boat paint is so much thinner than say house paint.anyway i rented a auto spray gun & compressor & purchased the paint from the auto paint shop,the original oem color for alumacraft jonboats is OD (olive drabb) green.i hate to bragg but for my first time using a spray gun,it turned out excellent.the total amount of money i had in this project icluding 3/4 gals. of paint,2 peaces of sand paper to ruff up the surface,paint gun & compressor was just under $100 dollars & took about half of a day.i had a little more paint than i needed but i used it all & ended up putting 4-5 coats on my boat-just make sure is dries a little between each coat,hope this helps u out & let me know if u tackle this job & how it turns out.

 

[pdebrock]

Re: painting boat manually

Thanks a million for the information. I do find it hard to believe that the rolling / tipping approach would work for me. That approach appears to be one of those where if you know what you are doing it is great, if you don't then it stinks. When I get going I will be sure to post my approach, thoughts and pictures.

 

[new honda guy]

Re: painting boat manually

hey,i forgot to mention a couple of things before painting.if u have areas in ur boat, as i did, where all of the paint was worn off to where bear aluminum was showing u will nedd to put on a primer coat first.the guy at the paint store said that paint will not stick very well to bear aluminum,so i would spend a little extra money & do it right the first time.he also recomended lightly scuffing up the existing paint with sandpaper so the new paint will stick to it as well,hope this project works out for ya,& dont be scared to tackle it,u will be suprised how well it will turn out.