Painting my fiberglass boat.

Hey guys, been a while since ive posted anything up but im starting to get my boats ready for next season and have a question for you.

last winter i re did the floor in my 1962 fiberglass boat. The boat ran great all last year.. but really doesnt look too great.

I tried my best to put some elbow grease to the outside and bring some shine back.. but the results werent really what i was hoping for.

my girlfriend and i decided we wanted to paint the boat with the same color that it already is (or close) so it looks as good as it functions.

I really have 0 knowledge on paint and im sure if i looked around here long enough i could find the info i need.. but i always like to post something up lol

so basically i just wanted to know what kind of prep work would be involved i this? what would i use to fill in the odd chips and cracks on the outside? and what are my options as far as what type of paint would be good? any tips would be more than appreciated.

anyways, thanks for taking the time to read this and let me know what you think.

Re: Painting my fiberglass boat.

Dstroud we need pictures posted of the damaged areas. You will get more responders with accurate info for your boat. We all like lots of pix!

Re: Painting my fiberglass boat.

You want to paint this 1965-6 boat?
1966 Leavens brothers Mariner Help

It's the 14' boat you decked last winter....

But I thought you'd traded up to the 17' 1972?
New winter Project

Which 1962 are you painting? Pix will always help get some responses.......

Both red, red is a tough color to maintain... Do an advanced search from the resto homepage LOTS of paint threads.....

Reference your Leavens thread, WoodOnGlass posted there, he has a paint link in his signature.........

Re: Painting my fiberglass boat.

thanks for the responses guys.

That was actually a missprint i put up there jbcurt.. i meant to put that i was re painting my 1966 fiberglass boat.. and yes its the same one that got a new floor last winter . I didnt trade it for the 17 footer, just bought a second one.. girlfriend is loving it haha

I figured i should get this boat looking good before i dig into my other project which is a 1972 17 foot grew runabout. those questions are for another time though lol my original baby needs some attention now.

as far as pics of the damages areas.. i dont have them at this moment. the whole boat it pretty bad in general though because it sat outside and un covered for 2 or 3 years before i got it.. and the leaves did a number to it. Here is a pic of the boat itself.. you can see that its faded.. but the pic makes it look a lot nicer than it actually is for some reason.

I guess my next course of action will be to buckle down and start reading through old iboats threads.. im sure theres a ton of knowledge in there for me to get started.. I also hope to here more from you guys as to what you think my best course of action should be.

thanks again for the replys.. im sure ill have a lot more questions to come. im dying for this old gal to look as good as she did back in the day lol

Re: Painting my fiberglass boat.

Have you tried wet sanding the hull? If there is any life left in the gelcoating, wet sanding will bring it back. I would try 800 grit first, then go to a 1000 and then 1200... I would not get more aggressive than 800 grit for sure unless you absolutely need it..

Or you can try "film discs" on a da sander or random orbital sander. If you go this route, I would start with the 800 grit and finish with 1000. These can be used dry, no need for water.

Imo, that hull should come to life, it just has some oxidation that you will be cutting through when sanding. I would start in a slightly hidden area to test. The stern is usually a good place to start. Be careful around edges not to sand to much off. Good luck.

Re: Painting my fiberglass boat.

I agree ^^^ except I would go to HF and get one of these... On sale now for $40 bucks. Use some medium
3M rubbing compound set the polisher on medium and go to town. First you should give her a really good bath with TSP(TriSodiumPhospate) Get it at Lowe's. Then wipe down with Acetone. I'm thinking you'll be really surprised with the results after a days work.

Re: Painting my fiberglass boat.

If you can shine it up with polishing compound, that is best. Other than that, you need to grind out any cracks and dings and fill with marine putty. Sand and then wet sand entire hull to 400 grit. If hull is left in water you need 2 part polyurethane paint for hull. If not, 1 part polyurethane paint is fine for top and hull. Spray or roll and tip are good ways to get a good finish.

Re: Painting my fiberglass boat.

hey guys, been a while since i posted. I ended up selling my 17 foot grew so i was finally able to pick up my 14 footer from my brother in laws place so i could bring it home and see what i was going to do with the paint.

I ended up buying some gelcoat restoration stuff from my local marine shop and at first i was thinking that it wasnt going to go to well. but after a couple of days and some soar arms the difference is really quite nice. Its still not a perfect looking boat or anything but I am very happy with how it turned out.

I just thought it would thank you all for the advise and I'll be posting up some pics this weekend so you can have a look for yourself and let me know what you think.

I'm also going to be picking up a new old boat on Thursday (1976 crestliner trihull) that im quite excited about I'm sure its going to need a bit of work here and there but its in great shape for its age. I'm sure I'll be back on here bugging you guys for help once i get it home lol

Anyway, just thought it would say thank you for the great help as always

Dave