Re-paint inside of cabin to fill in fiberglass print?

[Terrulle]

The interior cabin of this boat has been painted with gelcoat. They painted over some areas of fiberglass "spikes"; glass that was not ground down prior to painting. Also, the fiberglass matt is showing through. I want to fill in these areas with something with more of a gloss. What kind of prep work is needed to repaint with an epoxy type paint. Sanding everything is not really an option, although I will grind down the rough spots. Thanks, T.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Re-paint inside of cabin to fill in fiberglass print?

You will need to sand it for any new paint to bond well, but it normally will sticks OK if you use a stiff wire brush and aggressively scrub the surface.

To get rid of the glass pattern you will need to either sand it down, or use a filler, both ways mean sanding and dust, it just depends on how good of a job you want to do. The better the job, the more sanding you will need to do.

 

[Terrulle]

Re: Re-paint inside of cabin to fill in fiberglass print?

I've been looking at Pettit's Dura-white cabin paint. It says that it will adhere to glossy surfaces without sanding. I still need to get all of the wax off the surface of the gelcoat as it was rolled on over where the fiberglass matt was laid (not cloth- burlap texture). So... I'm going to have to do some scrubbing anyway. The wire brush sounds like the way to go. I was just trying to get away from sanding inside the cabin. Also, I'm hoping that if I put several layers of paint on that it will fill some imperfections. Thank you for responding ondarvr, T.

 

[drewpster]

Re: Re-paint inside of cabin to fill in fiberglass print?

T, I know you are against sanding (so are we all) but I am sure painting alone will not cover it. If you can feel roughness to the surface I guarantee it won't. Nobody hates sanding more than I do, but I would suggest sanding, then fairing compound, then sanding smooth. Its the only way I have found to really get a good smooth surface easily. Simply sanding the gelcoat might be an option if the surface is only slightly irregular, but gelcoat is hard. It often takes an aggressive grit to cut it. Then it takes even more sanding to repair mistakes and to get the surface smooth again. If you want it smooth, sorry, sanding is the only option. I just finished part of a refinish I am doing on the roughest boat in the world and trust me I tried allot of options. None worked. I had to sand.

 

[Terrulle]

Re: Re-paint inside of cabin to fill in fiberglass print?

Yeah, I knew deep down that sanding and filling was the only way but...trying to find the easy way out of coursed
I appreciate the input. Thanks, T.

 

[flashback]

Re: Re-paint inside of cabin to fill in fiberglass print?

you could always glue some carpet over it..d

 

[Terrulle]

Re: Re-paint inside of cabin to fill in fiberglass print?

flashback, I never thought of the obvious:$ Maybe not carpet, but something like what Grady White uses below deck. Not the 70's shagd but something with a short pile. Thanks I'm going look into it.

 

[flashback]

Re: Re-paint inside of cabin to fill in fiberglass print?

Depending on how large an area you want to do, I think nagahyde would be a good choice also. I have seen it as wide a 50 inchs and there are tons of colors and patterns.. you wouldn't nessessarily need marine grade since you are using it inside the boat out of direct sunlite..