Painting a Boat??? What did I get myself into??

I started sanding on my little Arkansas Traveler Runabout. My big power tools for stringer removal haven't shipped yet, so I thought I would save a litlle time and get rid of some sucky old finish.It took me almost two hours to sand a 2 by 2 foot area down to the original paint.My question:<br />Is it really necessary to take all of this paint off or can I just rough it up with 60 or 80 grit and give it enough "tooth" to hold the primer?<br />LIke I said, it's got at least three coats of paint on it, all very different colors.The latest paint job is a hideous brick color. It has no cracks,splits,etc.It does have a lot of drip from overspray,and a bunch of embedded bugs.Other than that,it appears OK.It is also incredibly thick! My concern is a chemical reaction between the old paint and the new primer/paint.If I have to remove all of this paint,it's going to take forever.Somebody needs to come and get the boat before I have myself a nice,big toxic bonfire.

Re: Painting a Boat??? What did I get myself into??

LOL. Don't loose hope. You need not strip this boat to bare wood or jellcoat by a long-shot. The sanding should be done with progressively higher grits, starting with a 100 grit or so, and ending with 400 finish paper to remove the runs. All you wantr to do is smooth-out the paint that is there, so the old runs will not be seen in the new finish. It will be all three colors when you get it smoothed-out too (feathered).<br />Finish-up the prep sanding with 400 wet-or-dry, and prime the hull with the EXACT primer recommended by the top-paint's label.<br />The results will be worth the effort.<br />And you can say, "I did my own paint work".

Re: Painting a Boat??? What did I get myself into??

Best news I've heard all month.Gives me more time to concentrate on getting all of this rotten wood out of the boat.

Re: Painting a Boat??? What did I get myself into??

Is it really necessary to take all of this paint off or can I just rough it up with 60 or 80 grit and give it enough "tooth" to hold the primer?

<br /><br /><br />The question isn't if your paint sticks to that paint..its if that paint sticks to your boat properly.<br /><br />Ive seen alot of jobs where the prep and primer is correct..but the base paint wasnt ..therefore the job failed. Its a boat by boat determination m8<br /><br />YD

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Re: Painting a Boat??? What did I get myself into??

If you want to get it off try paint stripper. Test it in a small area first, I hear some can affect resin if left on long enough. It is easier than sanding.

Re: Painting a Boat??? What did I get myself into??

If I don't have to get the old stuff off, I'm not going to.The stuff that's on there now ain't moving,at least without a lot of effort.It's hard as a rock and thick as a brick.Think I'll try and rough it up enough to get the primer to stick and go from there.I'm a little fuzzy as to whether I should use different kinds of paint for the bottom and top.The use the boat's going to get will amount to no more than a few hours a week in nice clear fresh water. No salty stuff in Atlanta.It won't be left in the water,either.I'll be trailering it to the ramp and pulling it out after use.I was thinking about the Interlux "Perfection" stuff. A friend of mine did his boat with it (top and bottom), and it looks wonderful.He slapped it on with a brush and roller,as well. I didn't realize that you could get results like that without spraying.I'm concerned about whether it will hold up as bottom paint.Would it be a good choice for bottom paint as well?

Re: Painting a Boat??? What did I get myself into??

Check Interlux web site.They have a program that will guide you thru!