98 Stingray Paint and upholster Restoration Input Wanted

The temps hit 70 today so I decided it was time to pull the boat out of storage and get it ready for the season. You can find my original restore of the Carpet, Engine and Out drive that I did last year when I bought it here-
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=486483&p=3288559#post3288559

I was going to do the oil change, Water pump (Started making some noise our last day out last year) Clean up the side that had some gel coat damage from a boat that caught fire on the slip next to mine and call it good..

Then I couldn't help myself. Pulled everything but my carpet out for a deep clean. Going to have all my seats and sides reupholstered. Painting the boat after we put a new coat of gel coat over damaged area. Going to do some Vinyl Graphics on the sides as well. I have a lot of questions and would love any input or advise!

Also a few other fixes
-New Fuel Gauge (The needle broke off inside the gauge)
-MPH Gauge never worked
-Trailer bearings repacked
-New Bilge pump
-New Rub Rail
-Fix Gel coat
-Paint
-Adjust Trim Gauge to Trim Senders


Here what she looks like as of tonight.

Re: 98 Stingray Paint and upholster Restoration Input Wanted

I will be doing a fair amount of research but lots of what I am looking into is new to me so please excuse my dumb questions and feel free to point me in the right direction to find the info I need.

First thing I am in need of is some clarity of Marine Paint. I understand that Marine paint is going to be better for me the automotive paint however I am not sure about what paint I will need. I am reading all over that I will need an Antifouling paint for anything below the waterline But I don't think I need to because I only boat in fresh water and the boat is taken out every day I use it. I don't plan on painting the underside of the boat however there is a small amount of the rear section of the boat that sits underwater that I was wanting to paint. Will a regular topside paint work even though part of it will be under the water line? Here is a picture of the boat in the water last summer, I want to paint from the line I marked with black dots up. following that line into the water and up the other side.



So what kind of paint should I use to do that? Or should I reconsider going that low and stick closer to the stock paint lines?

Question 2

I am thinking about painting all the way into the inside of the boat Red. I am worried that Red will make the boat sides where people might put there arms to hot.. Any opinions on this?

Re: 98 Stingray Paint and upholster Restoration Input Wanted

I am thinking about painting all the way into the inside of the boat Red. I am worried that Red will make the boat sides where people might put there arms to hot.. Any opinions on this?

Click to expand...

Ayuh,... Red is Ok, but it fades, Quickly...

Re: 98 Stingray Paint and upholster Restoration Input Wanted

k....hold the phone a minit here....

we weed some questions answered before we can really recomend a course of action.

first off......what happened to the boat?..... did a storm get it?

pic 3 shows serious gellcoat rubbing.....is that why you need a new rub rail?

and are you going to keep this boat on a trailer ?...or is it going to live in the water?

why do you want to paint it? dont you like the color?

PMP.....there are real reasons im asking these questions....it will help us help you !

cheers
oops

Re: 98 Stingray Paint and upholster Restoration Input Wanted

Bond-o said:

Ayuh,... Red is Ok, but it fades, Quickly...

Click to expand...

Hmm Thank you I will keep that in mind.

oops! said:

k....hold the phone a minit here....

we weed some questions answered before we can really recomend a course of action.

first off......what happened to the boat?..... did a storm get it?

pic 3 shows serious gellcoat rubbing.....is that why you need a new rub rail?

and are you going to keep this boat on a trailer ?...or is it going to live in the water?

why do you want to paint it? dont you like the color?

PMP.....there are real reasons im asking these questions....it will help us help you !

cheers
oops

Click to expand...

Question-
The boat Was at the dock and the boat in the slip next to it caught on fire. The gel coat in that rear corner had some heat damage.
No it did not get hit from a storm.
Pic three is after I sanded it. Its now almost ready for new Gel Coat. Rub Rail had heat damage as well on that side.

The Boat lives on a Trailer. It is taken out of the water after every boating day with the exception of maybe once a year when I go to lake power and camp overnight.

A few reasons I want to paint it. I want to paint it because I am redoing the gel coat in the rear and would like to paint everything when I am finished to make it look better. I know I can have the gelcoat matched but it will be hard with how much fade it already has. I also want to update the look of the boat Because I will probably sell it next year to buy a newer boat. I am sure I could buff the outside and it would be nice and shinny but its not really a color I want.

I think I got all your questions there. Interested to see how some of these play out!

Re: 98 Stingray Paint and upholster Restoration Input Wanted

PMP said:

I will be doing a fair amount of research but lots of what I am looking into is new to me so please excuse my dumb questions and feel free to point me in the right direction to find the info I need.

Click to expand...

Hello PMP .. welcome to Iboats.

Most if not All of your answers to your questions are already posted in the Iboats resto threads .. You have arrived at the forefront of Boats for the DIYer .

PMP said:

First thing I am in need of is some clarity of Marine Paint. I understand that Marine paint is going to be better for me the automotive paint however I am not sure about what paint I will need.

Click to expand...

Well..lets get the Auto VS. Marine paint question resolved. ..

The application is basically the same for both products ( or lets say 'line of products' ) .. so its the same prep and coating costs from one to another..

I think the biggest difference is that you dont normally drag sandy life jackets across the hood of your car. Basically the boat has to take a beating where your car is more like a trophy..

Car paint is normally Clear Coated. Marine Grade paints do not need the clear ( some have the clear already in the base paint itself ).

I digress .. Each Product has pros and cons about them..its up to you to determine your usage and longevity of the Final product you want to apply. ( I personally like the Marine Grade paints for Marine applications )

PMP said:

I am reading all over that I will need an Antifouling paint for anything below the waterline But I don't think I need to because I only boat in fresh water and the boat is taken out every day I use it.

Click to expand...

You dont need AF paint for a weekend runner boat..

PMP said:

I don't plan on painting the underside of the boat however there is a small amount of the rear section of the boat that sits underwater that I was wanting to paint. Will a regular topside paint work even though part of it will be under the water line?

So what kind of paint should I use to do that? Or should I reconsider going that low and stick closer to the stock paint lines?

Click to expand...

I Personally would NOT paint ( Marine or otherwise ) below the waterline. Do you have a specific reason why you would want to paint the transom ?

PMP said:

Question 2

I am thinking about painting all the way into the inside of the boat Red. I am worried that Red will make the boat sides where people might put there arms to hot.. Any opinions on this?

Click to expand...

Painting a boat is a bit labor extensive then one might think. .. Its not like just sanding it and grabbing a few cans of spray paint ..

There should be a VERY good reason why you would want to change to another color..

Yes and No on Red fading.. you can get some good MG Paint and have it last a long time. Yes .. it will heat up and can burn your arms..

RED is Very transparent ..so you would need to do A LOT of work and Prime just to get it ready for RED .. ( You would think Red would cover very fast..but it will not )

Utah has some fun lakes.. keep having fun and do not worry about a 3k paint job that will keep you out of the water unless Needed ..

YD.

Re: 98 Stingray Paint and upholster Restoration Input Wanted

Thanks Yacht for the replay. Do you know of a pro/Con list of the different marine paints? Thank you for clearing up the AF paint. I don't think I will paint the transom, Just the sides and want to just follow the line of the hull all the way across.

What am I missing on the paint is more labor intensive then I would think? I am an optimist to say the least however the boat is stripped to just the gelcoat at this point. Everything else has been removed. All I can see is tape, Sand, Primer 2-3 coats (possible sand between coats) and then finish coats 3-4. I have a 200 Gallon air compressor and paint gun I think I could do the full paint job over a weekend. The one thing I guess I haven't said is the fixing blemishes before paint. I have gone over the boat and will be fixing the few small scratches with gel coat and before I paint.

What else am i missing?


Really Second guessing red on the upper half, Maybe I will do a White Above the rub rail and red below it?

3k paint job? I am thinking maybe 400 bucks and my labor for a weekend.

Re: 98 Stingray Paint and upholster Restoration Input Wanted

Well I have not spent as much time as I had hoped on the boat over the last week however I have done a little bit. Here is my progress.

I have had issue's with my sewing machine so I have only done the interior that has not needed any sewing. Hope to have my machine back from the tune up this week.

Before and afters


Before


After



Before


After

Re: 98 Stingray Paint and upholster Restoration Input Wanted

As you can see in the first set of pictures I had sanded down some of the boat to fix the Gelcoat. Well here is what it looks like now. (This picture is before I sanded the new coat down so its not smooth yet.)

Before


After

Re: 98 Stingray Paint and upholster Restoration Input Wanted

I had a few hours last night so I made some new wood panels. I just took the old panels and screwed two boards under it. Trimmed it close on the bandsaw and then routed it out. Then I changed out the bit and rounded the edges. Added the new hardware and painted with water sealer.

Re: 98 Stingray Paint and upholster Restoration Input Wanted

Re: 98 Stingray Paint and upholster Restoration Input Wanted

I think that one or both of your Planer rollers are out of adjustment .. might want to recalibrate that.

Looking good.

YD.

Re: 98 Stingray Paint and upholster Restoration Input Wanted

got some stuff in today.






Pulled the boat out to wash it and found a few more imperfections that I need to fix before painting. I hope I can paint tomorrow!

Re: 98 Stingray Paint and upholster Restoration Input Wanted

We had a cold front move in so i have not painted yet. Tonight I built a new back rest for the rear bench. Turned out good.











I also got my sewing machine back. It needed a little more then a tune up. Anyways check out the one piece I have done with it. (Its not on the seat yet so its not stretched.)

Re: 98 Stingray Paint and upholster Restoration Input Wanted

Nice job on the seat cover!!

Re: 98 Stingray Paint and upholster Restoration Input Wanted

Woodonglass said:

Nice job on the seat cover!!

Click to expand...

Thanks wood, Te be honest I was shocked with how good it came out! I think the real test will be when I stretch it over the seat.

Re: 98 Stingray Paint and upholster Restoration Input Wanted

I got a lot more upholstery done today here are a few pictures. I haven't put the seats back together yet but soon I will.

Re: 98 Stingray Paint and upholster Restoration Input Wanted

The plan is to do the first coat of paint tomorrow morning! I will post pictures. Going to finish the other side vinyl pieces tonight.

Re: 98 Stingray Paint and upholster Restoration Input Wanted

Wow! Really nice job with the vinyl. I have to redo mine in the next few years. It actually needs to be redone now, but I just want to get out and enjoy the boat for now. Thanks for the step by steps, it doesn't seem as hard as one might think.

Re: 98 Stingray Paint and upholster Restoration Input Wanted

MCNPathfinder said:

Wow! Really nice job with the vinyl. I have to redo mine in the next few years. It actually needs to be redone now, but I just want to get out and enjoy the boat for now. Thanks for the step by steps, it doesn't seem as hard as one might think.

Click to expand...

Thanks for posting! Been kinda scarce in this thread! lol

Yeah its not to bad, The parts that dont need sewing are easy to do its the sewing that takes me the most time. That and taking apart the original because they can go a little staple crazy. I took out at least 5000 staples and believe me my fingers where killing me! lol