Who's painted their boat and regretted it?

I can't decide whether to paint my boat or not.<br /><br />I don't like the dark mustardy top deck colour but it's very serviceable.<br /><br />I'm a lot less keen on repainting since I revived the finish. The gelcoat was chalky but I've revived it well enough by rubbing it back with 1200 wet and dry and cutting and polishing it. It'll look a lot worse after 15 minutes on salt water. The differences in colour in the picture are from reflections. <br /><br /> <br /><br />The only reasons in favour of painting it are to get a colour I like and to clean up the hull, which isn't too bad for a boat of its age (35+ years).<br /><br />Against that is the probability that it won't be as resistant to knocks and scuffs as the current finish. I also won't get the same level of finish as the current one without an awful lot of work as I've done some auto painting and antique furniture restoration and know what it takes in preparation to get a really good finish (I'm not saying I got really good finishes, just that I know what it takes!). It's also hard to get the sharp edges on colour separation that's there at present. I could avoid that by doing the top deck in one colour but I like the current two tone arrangement.<br /><br />I've read the recent threads about repainting and don't have any problems with the painting part of it, although I'd spray it rather than roll and tip. <br /><br />What I'm particularly interested in is whether anyone has painted their boat and later wished they hadn't because the new surface didn't hold up in service or had other problems? If I revive it a bit more and fix up a few blemishes and take care of it there's probably no reason this finish won't last another 35 years.<br /><br />Any thoughts welcomed.

Re: Who's painted their boat and regretted it?

Did not take the time to prep my boat correctly when I painted it the first time. Every imperfection looked like a sore thumb. So I repainted and took the time to make sure everything was done to the highest quality. This time I was happy. Would never do it again. Lots of work.

Re: Who's painted their boat and regretted it?

remember if you make a color change and get the slightest dock damage it will really stand out

Re: Who's painted their boat and regretted it?

That looks like a G3. I would keep the original finish...classics don't look "original" with modern super high gloss paints anyway. <br /><br />I painted and regretted. On top of that I changed from red to blue. After a few years it gets trailer or dock rash and little scratchs show the original red color. I knew better at the time but took a chance because it was an old beater boat. That was 20 yrs ago and now it's a classic. The original gelcoat would be nice to have now. Gelcoat is much more durable than any paint, including expensive 2 part polys. You can buff out scratches in gelcoat but can't do that with paint. <br /><br />Here's a recent pic of the boat in blue. Rolled and tipped in Brightsides CC Blue. It's a 40 yr old 17' Cobia SeaQueen.<br /><br />

Re: Who's painted their boat and regretted it?

Bill,<br /><br />That is one heck of a cool looking boat. Got pics of the cabin?<br /><br />Mark

Re: Who's painted their boat and regretted it?

Thanks...it's a very small cuddy cabin and open in the back for easy day cruising access. Here's the interior minus cushions.<br /><br />

Re: Who's painted their boat and regretted it?

kool boat man, nice resto job as well

Re: Who's painted their boat and regretted it?

Thanks all.<br /><br />I figured paint wouldn't hold up as well as gelcoat. <br /><br />I think I'll live with the current colour.<br /><br />Saves me a heap of work, too.

Re: Who's painted their boat and regretted it?

Good morning BILLP,<br />What did you paint the inside of your cabin with?

Re: Who's painted their boat and regretted it?

All the white was painted with West Marine's SeaGloss semigloss white...single part poly. Very similar to Interlux Brightsides. I used single part semigloss to help fill and hide the gelcoat cracks and imperfections. I didn't want to do a showboat resto and spend lots of time priming and sanding.

Re: Who's painted their boat and regretted it?

BillP - Your Cobia sure brought back some memories. I had one just like it back in the early 1970s except mine had a white hull with an aqua top. It had a big 1960 something 75 hp Evinrude V4 with push button electric shift. The "cabin" was a good place for stowing life jackets & coolers but not much else. Yours is in great condition.

Re: Who's painted their boat and regretted it?

So Basically it looks good if you stay the same color due to Dock rask and nicks and such.<br />Painting is prep intensive. Gelcoat or recoat is the best but it is terribly hard to do.

Re: Who's painted their boat and regretted it?

Realgun, you are in ABQ? i just noticed.<br />i am the guy the Fiberform, and was going to cut the bow etc. I have started to bring the gel back using MARK42's article, and good grief!! it is amazing how well that stuff can come back to life. i am EXTREMELY glad i did NOT try and paint. I didnt like my red color either, but when its shiny, it makes anything look better.

Re: Who's painted their boat and regretted it?

My take? Unless you paint the whole boat and redo the inside, it will look like a 90 year old lady fresh out of the "Beauty Salon" with perfect hair over all the wrinkles.........

Re: Who's painted their boat and regretted it?

Originally posted by Robby6950:<br /> My take? Unless you paint the whole boat and redo the inside, it will look like a 90 year old lady fresh out of the "Beauty Salon" with perfect hair over all the wrinkles.........

Click to expand...

I agree. <br /><br />I've decided to go the other way, which I think will involve a lot less work and be cheaper, but produce a decent appearance that is more durable than a repainted one.<br /><br />The main work is to rub back and polish the hull and topsides gelcoat; install a new dash fascia to cover up the missing gauge holes and faded and scruffy woodgrain decal; install new gauges; repaint the badly chipped steering wheel; paint the control box which is currently an unpainted dark yuk aluminium; repaint the boxes under the seats; touch up the paint on the floor; get the worn brightwork rechromed; get some off-the-shelf upholstered seat cushions to cover the plain plastic seats or maybe just vinyl dye the plastic seats; recover the side bins which are scruffy and stained; vinly dye a few rubber and plastic fittings; maybe a new windscreen or I might trim the current one and flame polish it if I can get good enough to do that; fix up a few small areas of damage; and get some missing chrome trim for the stern.<br /><br />It's mostly my labour, but the labour is nothing to what I'd have to do to prep it properly for paint, plus I'd still be doing all the work I'm going to do anyway.<br /><br />The overall result should be a boat that's like an old pair of shoes that's been reheeled and resoled and shined up. Very presentable and useable but if you look closely you can see the creases and scuffs on the uppers, but nobody gets down to shoes or boats to look that closely in normal use.

Re: Who's painted their boat and regretted it?

Tinkerer wrote:<br />

paint the control box which is currently an unpainted dark yuk aluminium

Click to expand...

Ya know, if you mean bare aluminum, it would be interesting to put it on a buffing wheel and see if it comes up all shiny. A coat of clear paint would help keep its gloss.

Re: Who's painted their boat and regretted it?

Originally posted by Mark42:<br />

Click to expand...

Ya know, if you mean bare aluminum, it would be interesting to put it on a buffing wheel and see if it comes up all shiny. A coat of clear paint would help keep its gloss. [/quote]<br /><br />I tried that with the flywheel and other bits of aluminium but the results weren't brilliant. I wasn't using proper buffing wheels or compound so they might come up better if done that way.<br /><br />In this case I'd prefer a white box as it goes better with the rest of the boat.