Painting Hulls

I recently purchased my third h16 here in SW FL. The hulls had been repaired on the bottom but never faired or re-coated. The rest of the hull is totally dull and brown too. I am considering a paint job or new gel coat. I have a pneumatic sprayer and a garage to paint the hulls in. Has anyone ever done this and what were their results. I know that something is going to have to be done as there is some glass work to be done around the rudder mounts as well. Any help you can give will be greatly appreciated. Also has anyone ever heard of a CO2 fired anti turtle device? With the waves being such here sometimes you don't have control of that down ward spriral of the mast.

Gelcoat is great when you are making the boat and spraying it into a mold. Re-gelcoating entire hulls is not recommended. I would look at a two part linear polyurethene. System 3 (http://www.systemthree.com/) makes a particularly nice one. Also check to make sure your sprayer can handle the consistency of a gel coat or polyurethane finish.

Wind,



You are absolutely correct about gel coating the entire hull (like most people post do). The other factor is cost. The way to go is the polyurethane finish, for cost and ease of application. The only thing I haven't been able to figure out is one auto body person along with web pages recommended performing was to heating the paint to 120-140F to maxmize gloss.



Mike

I am the owner of a painted hull. I did not paint it and do not know what was used but I hate it. To get rid of the dull look that your hulls have wet sand them with 600 grit then polish them with polishing compound. patch your holes and then carefully apply gelcoat as it dries hard and a good belt sander is needed for the first sanding. Fiberglass is pourus and will absorb water, gelcoat does not (as much) but is a pain to sand. I have never tried urathane on a boat but after working on an oak platform bed for the kids urathane is also not my favorite. it is sticky, dries slow and can be soft days later.(fingerprints) If I was going to paint a boat I think epoxy paint would work. they use it in chemical plants on metal to protect it from the toxic air and on deep sea oil rigs.

I painted my 1981 Supercat-20 two years ago with a two-part polyurethene paint and it has held up extremely well. You need the correct primer for the paint and it has to be designed to chemically bond to fiberglass. The guys at West Marine were very helpfull in that area. This was my first attempt at painting on a large scale so here is some advice: 220 grit sandpaper is as coarse as you want to start with. Anything coarser is too agressive and will show up after painting. The more time you spend sanding, the better the results. I spent two and a half months sanding and fairing my hulls untill I was satisfied. Cover your garage with plastic and tape the seams, then tape a couple of air conditioner filters at one end of the garage and mount a filtered fan forcing air in at the other end. Dust in the air can ruin any paint job! Also watch your humidity. When you paint, cover yourself up completely and wear an oxygen mask or some kind of forced air respirater. The paint is very toxic to inhale so a filtered respirater is not safe!!! Believe me, as I tried a very good and expensive filtered respirater and I came out of the paint booth in a real bad way!!! I was lucky in that as soon as the paint dryed, I set the hulls out in the Texas sun for 4 days, turning them over each day which seemed too bring out more shine but also finished the curinng proccess of the paint. Due to the meticulous sanding I did, I did'nt have too polish the hulls after curring.

Some of this info was learned at the school of hard knocks but most of it I learned by going and talking to several paint shops that deal with fiberglass. They were very helpfull and advice is free. The end result will reflect the time you put into the project. I hope this helps and if you have any other questions, fell free to email me.

Don Caldwell

Supercat-20

Nacra 18 square

How much paint did you use on your Supercat 20?

When you people are painting your hulls, are you sanding the gelcoat completely off the boat?

I used 2 quarts on a Hobie 20....I removed a lot of the gelcoat but not all, used the recommended primer, Sanded with 600 and Applied two top coats of Awl Grip. It turned out S0-SO, if I were to do it again I would do all the prep work including the primer coat and then let a pro apply the top coats.



"You get what you pay for"



Eric Arbogast

H-20 #584

CABB

MYC

I'm considering doing this to my boat.



What grit did you use to get rid of the gelcoat and did you do it by hand or with a power-sander?

You said that it took about 2 quarts for a hobie 20.

Is that 2 quarts of mixed paint (Base + Catalyst)?

Or, was it two quarts of the Base plus enought catallyst to mix it up?

I have painted a Dart20 and a 26 Monohul, along with the decks on my Tornado with both 2 part (Awlgrip) and single part paints (Interlux).



For your situation, I would recommend a one part paint that can be brushed on, and is self leveling. Interlux brightsides, also sold by West Marine as a house brand, is a great paint.

All of this for about $17/quart. The boat that I painted 5 years ago, and that is outside 7 months of the year still looks like new. It is farl less toxic, and far more forgiving that 2 part paints. And, hundreds of dollars cheaper.



I wetsanded the boat with 220 paper before painting, washed it down with wax remover, and primed the boat with interlux primer. Between coats I sanded any brush marks or runs, Especially after the prime coat. If you don't sand the prime coat you will burn through to the high spots when sanding the finishing coat and have a real mess.





Wet Sand primer with 220, first coat with 320, second coat with 600, and then 1200. Alow a few days between coats.



The one drawback of the 1 part paint is that it can't be used on a boat that is left in the water forever, and if you have leaky hulls, the hydrostatic pressure may cause tiny blisters below the water line. They go away when it dries. Only the two part paints can handle this situation.



Be sure to let the paint cure for about 2 weeks before using the boat.



Good luck

I was recently told that DuPont ImRon would be a great product for painting hulls. How does this compare to the other things that have been mentioned?



Jonathan

Sanded Gel coat which was extremely worn with a rough surface prior to sanding (25 yrs weathered).

I used one gallon Polyurthane enamel primer (3 coats spread over 3 weeks) sanded between coats.

I used one gallon Polyurthane Bright White enamel ( 3 coats spread over 3 weeks) sanded between coats.

Thin coat of clear laquer on top of Hulls to add shine (whew what a refelction).

Presently polishing imperfections (Smoothing).

Yes, it is soft but Hobie will not see action until next June. The body shop said it will be rock hard by then, with maximum protection from scuffing. The way to go in both time and cost, but the concern is time for hardening.



Mike

Check the web for Imron and related paints. My research finds that imron is a brand name for urethane. Most body shops can get urethane through their regular suppliers such as Sikkens, ICI, and other companies at a better price than Imron.



I forgot to mention the two part Interlux paint. It is better value than Awlgrip, since it comes with parts a and b together. I have heard only positive experience with the stuff.



And the really big question...

How long do you plan to keep the boat? If less than 5 years, screw it and use the interlux 1 part (west marine version).







One further thing, Imron is super shiny. If it is so slick that it beads water, it is not a good surface for laminar flow. So, you may end up wanting to wet sand the sides with 1200 anyway.







The reason that I used Awlgrip over Imron, is that Awlgrip has a brushing thinner, while Imron is made primarily to be sprayed. You can't spray either of these without a fresh air system. They will kill you.

Malc asked how long I intend to keep the boat.



I'm pretty naive here. This is a 1984 Prindle. How long *can* we keep the boat? We'd rather sail than buy boats, and I figure if it's lasted this long, it will last until it gets hard to find parts, is that right?



Jonathan

If you keep up on the maint. it will most likely go another 20 years.



Have fun...Mike

malc,

2 quarts paint plus two quarts catalalyst (converter) plus 25% reducer to be exact. Actuallay I broke into the 3rd quart but I also did the daggers.



Eric

sanded the gel coat with 320, primed and sanded with 400 and the wih 600. All with a random orbital sander

Shee... Jon, lean in close, I have a closely-guarded secret to impart....





( If you buy a new boat, it's usually not that the old boat has changed, but that the loose nut on the tiller no longer fits it )

You should not sand into the Gel-coat too far. The glass underneath is very thin ~9oz and is easy to damage.

The best thing to do is simply sand the boat with a file board also known as a faring board. This will remove most of the waves that are so common on old production boats.



BTW I used 3 quarts 2 part Interthane by Interlux for my SC 20

Each 2-part kit totals one quart in volume or maybe one litre.



good luck

Marc

I bought 4 quarts but I practiced a lot on my other boats first. seems like it took just under 2 quarts. The 1st coat, I put on so thin that you could still see through it easily.(told by many paint shop pro's that a light 1st coat gets a much stronger bond) The 2nd coat I put on a little heavier to provide almost complete coverage then one more coat to completely cover. the last coat, I mixed 1part paint to 1 part clear coat and coated the entire hulls.( this gives you a harder top coat and a very nice shine without having to do a lot of polishing. ) but the big secret it "cooking" it after it's dry. I was "lucky" enough to be living in Cedar Creek, Tx. and I had 110 to 105 degrees for 7 days in a row. you can use heat lamps or metal halide but be sure to circulate the air so as to avoide hot spots and keep the temp constant throughout the room. This "cooking" or "curing" proccess is what hardens the paint.

Don Caldwell

J,



You are right, it's an issue (parts) with a boat of 36 years vintage. The new parts may work, but simply do not fit. It's like putting a new Chevolet engine into a 1955 rambler. It will work, but simply isn't right (in looks).



Mike