paint

[speedy]

what kind of prep and what kind of paint is recomended for boat colour change and restoration.

speedy

[the sMac]

I just had mine done by a very good local shop.

They sanded the entire boat with a DA and then by hand. Then the fixed all the imperfections and filled/repaired any glass work. DA and hand sanded all those spots to make sure they are smooth.

They then layed on 3 coats of a special primer. And once again, they sanded that smooth.

Finally, they sprayed on a glass smooth coat of Imron. Let it dry, and once again sanded the paint smooth.

Finally, they went over the entire paint job with a coat of Clearcoat.

The boat looks amazing. like Gel, only deeper and more of gloss. like a mirror.

[samjr]

ok..i'll bite whats a DA?

[bdusted440]

A da is a power sander. http://www.checkmate-boats.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_razz.gif

[the sMac]

Right, a DA is a high speed (variable actualy) air driven, orbital power sander.

[Victorious1]

A DA is a random orbital circular sander that if used correctly can sand without leaving much in the way of sanding marks and does so at a very fast pace.

The very first thing to be done before starting on painting a boat(before sanding) is to use a silicone polish remover and wax stripper, then clean the surface with a prewash chemical suitable for the type of paint that's on the boat.

Next, depending on existing paint condition, complete sanding is done starting usually with 180 grit dry paper/240 wet and working your way down to finer grits (400-600 wet) until surface is ready for paint.

If there's a lot of repair needed to the gelcoat or glass, grind and feather out the damaged areas and use (preferably) fiberglass and resin to effect the repairs using a sanding block to finish so that the repair will be finished smoothly and hidden completely.

Primer/filler is used over repaired damaged area to help smooth out the finish and assure good adhesion.

Some painters prefer to use a sealer before painting and others prefer not to. Opaque/solid colors can usually cover, but, low hiding or transparent colors like candies need complete sealer/base coverage for proper outcome.

Next is the final solvent clean up for paint and then on goes the finish. Two part epoxy/urethane paints are expensive but give the best performance over the years. Graphics and clear coats can now be applied and then a final sanding with 1000 or 1200 grit wet paper and a buffing and it's perfectly finished.

Lots of time, lots of effort and material expense, but, she'll look like a new boat.

Vic

P.S. Don't go through all this if there's any chance of the core being rotten, for the sake of safety, spend the money on the core first then make it pretty.

[DONCONVINCER]

Vic you must be a painter.. To add to Vic's comments you need to pick a paint manufacturer before you do any surface prep or filling. Some paint manufactures have fillers, adheasion promoters, sealers and primers specific to their products. For the best endurance you need to work from the substrate up with materials formulated for fiberglass using all the same manufactures products. Some good manufactures with real good systems are Dupont, Spez-Hecker, Sikkins and Glasurit. European paints are formulated for harsh industrial fallout and will hold up very good on a boat. I would lean more towards urethane paints to epoxy for their ability to flex and resist cracking and chipping. The other alternative for color/top coat would be Gell but most painters don't do it

[Victorious1]

Yes Don, I've done my share of custom paint jobs and I totally agree with your post.

If you try to go cheap and don't follow these aforementioned steps you'll be very disappointed with the final results.

Vic