Sanding Boat to Repaint, Saftey Equipt checklist

[diveman05]

So i'm getting ready to repaint my 74 Trihull and i want to make sure i'm not missing anything here.

The hull is actually in pretty good shape so no reglassing or anything so i'm just going to be taking my orbital sander with 80 grit paper to rough it up a bit and get the shine, what little is left, off the current paint so the new primer and paint will stick well.

With that being said i think i'm sparring myself the seriously nasty work of sanding bare fiberglass right?

I have a good respirator and a set of goggles. I will be doing this outside with my sander hooked up to a shop vac. I plan on wearing long sleeves and pants am I missing anything, or any advice?

 

[mrdjflores]

Re: Sanding Boat to Repaint, Saftey Equipt checklist

take a look at my resto thread...i have several pictures of sanding and have the steps listed in the order i did them in.
if you get into raw glass when sanding, then you've sanded too far.

i did most of my sanding in shorts, barefoot with just a respirator and goggles....sanding just the gelcoat, not the glass itself

 

[diveman05]

Re: Sanding Boat to Repaint, Saftey Equipt checklist

take a look at my resto thread...i have several pictures of sanding and have the steps listed in the order i did them in.
if you get into raw glass when sanding, then you've sanded too far.

i did most of my sanding in shorts, barefoot with just a respirator and goggles....sanding just the gelcoat, not the glass itself

mrdjflores, Great thread there!!! I glanced over it now and plan on reading the whole thing tonight, very helpful and informative! Thanks again for that reply!

 

[JSmitty]

Re: Sanding Boat to Repaint, Saftey Equipt checklist

so i'm just going to be taking my orbital sander with 80 grit paper to rough it up a bit and get the shine, what little is left, off the current paint so the new primer and paint will stick well.

80 grit seems a little aggressive to me. I used 150 and that's because my old paint had blisters. On subsequent coats I used 220.

As long as you keep your eyes covered and a dust mask or respirator you should be OK.

 

[diveman05]

Re: Sanding Boat to Repaint, Saftey Equipt checklist

80 grit seems a little aggressive to me. I used 150 and that's because my old paint had blisters. On subsequent coats I used 220.

As long as you keep your eyes covered and a dust mask or respirator you should be OK.

i like your idea for a little smoother paper i think i'll give the 150 a try.

 

[GT1000000]

Re: Sanding Boat to Repaint, Saftey Equipt checklist

If you only need to scuff the existing surface and you are using an orbital sander, you should start with the finest paper that will do the job...320 or 220... And, make sure you keep it flat, if you tilt it on the edges, you will create divits and waves...If it has been painted before, and the existing paint is in good shape... ie not blistering or peeling or flaking, that should be all you need for the subsequent primer to get a good grip...If in doubt, check with the paint manufacturers website as to what grit they recommend for their particular primer...

On a side note, you should NOT use a DA sander too close to any edges or valleys, such as you would find along the strakes/chines...due to the fact that this is where the paint or gel coat is the thinnest and you can break through to raw 'glass very quickly...I would recommend you do these areas by hand and preferably with a sanding block.

If however, the previous paint has any problems, then you would need to remove anything that isn't very well adhered, and a coarser grit, like 150/120 or even 80 may work better to get down to the good stuff...

Eye protection and good quality/good fitting dust mask/respirator should be adequate for the removal, but if you get down to a lot of raw fiberglass, you should be prepared to cover any exposed skin or spend the next few days itching...

Have fun,
GT1M

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Sanding Boat to Repaint, Saftey Equipt checklist

So i'm getting ready to repaint my 74 Trihull and i want to make sure i'm not missing anything here.

The hull is actually in pretty good shape so no reglassing or anything so i'm just going to be taking my orbital sander with 80 grit paper to rough it up a bit and get the shine, what little is left, off the current paint so the new primer and paint will stick well.

With that being said i think i'm sparring myself the seriously nasty work of sanding bare fiberglass right?

I have a good respirator and a set of goggles. I will be doing this outside with my sander hooked up to a shop vac. I plan on wearing long sleeves and pants am I missing anything, or any advice?

Are you repainting or Gellin' ?

Prep is dependent on what primer or paint system you are useing. Sometimes 120 for primer ( I like 120 alot for primer or hand sanding for gel prep .. 80G for gel application for sanders ).

Oh yea.. you forgot about your EAR MUFFS .. Not ear plugs .. Muffs.

Nice quality muffs will treat you Very .. Very well . Noise fatigue sucks.

YD.

PS. Take off any rings you have on your fingers.

 

[glenn property of pam]

Re: Sanding Boat to Repaint, Saftey Equipt checklist

i like the full face respirator they are more expensive at around 80-100 bucks but the googles i find uncomfortable after 30 mins. i also like to take breaks and the full face mask is easier to remove as it doesnt have the buckle at the back and it stops dust from your face getting in the beer can. one day i would like to get the full hood with the battery powered filter like we used on spray lines then i could be cool comfortable and able to sand and grind all day. these things may be expensive but after 30 mins you will begin to wonder what comfort is worth.

tips: get comfortable and use a chair/old blacket when you can.....if you have to squat then 10 mins max before taking a break and walking around to get the blood flowing again. the vibrations of the sander will get to your hands and wrists so take a break before it hurts. check the paper often to make sure its not gumming up especially if you go near silicone/old paint. if you are happy and comfortable you will do a nice job if its uncomfortable you will try to rush and thats never a good thing.

 

[diveman05]

Re: Sanding Boat to Repaint, Saftey Equipt checklist

Thank you everyone for all the feedback! I am starting this project in the next day or two, i'll keep you updated!

 

[mrdjflores]

Re: Sanding Boat to Repaint, Saftey Equipt checklist

post some pics of your progress

 

[diveman05]

Re: Sanding Boat to Repaint, Saftey Equipt checklist

post some pics of your progress

So i'm really bad at pics while in progress, we redid our whole house already and we totally forgot pics while in progress but i attached some before and after pics, overall we're very happy with it, we had a few older fisherman yesterday at the launch arguing with each other whether it was a new or old boat or not...

But overall not to bad of a project, went through a ton of sand paper, a lot of bondo, never have i seen so many holes in a boat, above the waterline of course 2 coats of primer and 3 coats of Red Whit and Blue and we're set... Now we just need a name for her! any ideas? my one slightly backwoods friend said we should name her 'Merica since thats how he says America...

 

[81 Checkmate]

Re: Sanding Boat to Repaint, Saftey Equipt checklist

Nice looking job!

Did ya spray or roll and tip?

Tell us how ya did the underside of the boat on the trailer.........

 

[diveman05]

Re: Sanding Boat to Repaint, Saftey Equipt checklist

Nice looking job!

Did ya spray or roll and tip?

Tell us how ya did the underside of the boat on the trailer.........

Hey Checkmate, thanks! I thought about spraying it but i ended up going with the roll and tip method, worked very well, went with the foam brush and roller and it turned out very smooth. I figure i could have thinned the paint for an even smoother finish but overall very happy.

As far as painting while on the trailer what a pain that was!! What i did was to raise the back off the trailer so i lowered the front of it all the way put blocks under the back of the boat then raised the trailer causing the boat to be held up by 3 points, 2 in the back on each side and the main front roller in front. I then crawled around on my back sanding for countless hours and washed it off then took the foam roller which i had raised the trailer just enough to get in between the bottom of the boat and the rollers.

If i was to do this again i would have created something to lift the front of the boat and just take the trailer away, that would have been much easier but i trust being under the boat with the trailer between me and the boat over nothing between me in the boat should there be an issue.

 

[GT1000000]

Re: Sanding Boat to Repaint, Saftey Equipt checklist

The entire job came out looking real nice! Great looking rig...I really like the color combo, sharp...enjoy, and post up some pics of the big grin when you get it wet...

As far as a name...

Maybe "New Glory"...instead of "Old Glory"...:redface:...

Or maybe "Stripes"...like the movie??????......

Have fun!

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Sanding Boat to Repaint, Saftey Equipt checklist

What paint and primer did you use?

 

[81 Checkmate]

Re: Sanding Boat to Repaint, Saftey Equipt checklist

Wow lots a work on your back........Proly done it the same..... so you feel safe!

I had seen a boat lift system on the net called...Port-able boat lifts were they use the front bow eye to lift up so you can slide the trailer out. Quite expensive tho... When i do the Mate im gona do like they did but make up something myself.

Did ya use the 120 or 80 grit to scuff up the paint?

What kinda primmer and paint?