Hull paint for trailered boat?

[fusc1]

Hello,
I have a 1986 14' Sears Gamefisher Tri-Hull fiberglass or FRP. The boat was kept in the water and not taken care of from what I can tell. The gel coat has completely worn away inside and out, there are fibers poking through so much it looks like it was painted with sparkles and you get the itchies after your in it.

I read as many posts as I could find about bottom paint, fiberglass paint and topside paint, but the last post was over a year ago and only one of them really was along the same lines as my problem. (http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=387069&page=1)

I don't have alot of money to get the boat redone professionally, I asked a few shops around me and was given numbers in the thousands, I only paid 500 for the boat.

Are there any new products out that I can use to paint the entire hull with? Inside and out? Should I put a sealer on first or will the paint do that for me? As I said the gel coat is pretty much gone, so I think I have to seal it before I paint it. The boat will be trailered all the time so I need something hard so it doesn't rub off on the bunks.

I want the boat to look good, but I have to do it with a brush and roller, can't spray it and I don't have a lot of extra money around to buy super expensive products with.

Any ideas are appreciated.

Thank,
Anthony

 

[Q_ball]

Re: Hull paint for trailered boat?

I'm not an expert by any means but ive been reading on this site for two years now while doing my restoration and almost ready to paint. Rustoleum is by farr the most common inexpensive way to paint from what ive learned. they have a marine and industrial lines, the industrial is not as hard and takes longer to cure but most are adding a hardener to it.
You would only need a bottom paint(anti-fouling) if it was going to stay in the water more than a few days at a time. you would start by sanding and making any repairs then washing and clean with acetone or other solvent depending on what paint you choose. roll-n-tip or roll-n-roll is actually the preffered method for most of the expensive paints that i have researched.
ive decided on rustoleum industrial with a catylist hardener now that i finally found some, found Cal-Ranch has another brand then what everyone else here uses but should work just fine.
search "rustoleum", you could read for yaers on the subject but some posts have pics of finished project and i am impressed. i included some links below but im sure others will join in.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=283361
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=494942&highlight=rustoleum
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=367111

 

[oops!]

Re: Hull paint for trailered boat?

woah,,,,,,hold the phone.....lets see pics first.

its not just as easy as running a roller with paint over the hull.

 

[saltwaterbluefish]

Re: Hull paint for trailered boat?

Yeah, roll and tip is not as simple as it sounds, but it gives decent results. Basically you do a one foot section at a time. You use a small foam roller. Roll on the paint in a small section. If you are in a hot climate, 1-2 feet is all you are going to be able to do or else it will dry to quick. After you roll the paint on, you very quickly take your brush (needs to be of high quaility and numerous bristles so you don't see the brush marks as bad) and brush very lightly at a 45 degree angle down. All this time you have to make sure you are in the shade, no wind, and you are not kicking up dust). The foam rollers from walmart work decently as well as the premium brushes they have. Just practice in small areas and once you get the hang of it, it'll look much better. the pics below are using interlux brightside with roll and tip.

To get a decent paint job, you need atleast 1-2 coats of primer (the same color as your top coat would be preferred). Next lay down one thin coat of topside, wait for the required time, wet sand (320 i believe, but every paint is different), wipe down with solvent, and roll n tip again. I think it is recommended two thin coats, followed by a normal coat. Of course, i deviated from this and put 5-6 coats.

Rustoleum is the cheapest. Around $10 a can for the topside paint and $20 for the primer (all quart sized). I have heard that it is not as hardy as some of the other paints and it also takes a little longer to fully cure. I prefer interlux brightside. http://www.boatersland.com/intbrightsideg.html they have a prety good deal on the gallon size in white. Although you do need some to flatten the gloss, if you are using it inside.

For the bottom paint, Petit unepoxy is the cheapest and an be used on trailered boats. Although the type of bottom paint needed really is based on if you use it in fresh, salt, or brackish, so need a little more info before saying that is the best for your situation.

The cheapest way to get out (although the end result may not be the best) is to sand the hull with a random orbital sander (80 grit followed by 320; $50-70 for all of that)), wipe down with solvent. Apply the primer ($20 a quart and since you have a 14 foot should be plenty). Sand again. Apply three coats of rustoleum (2-3 quarts should be enough, $30 total). Add in painting supplies (brushes, tape, trays, etc), and it will cost you around $150-200 to paint your boat.

Below are some pics of my boat after roll n tip and before. I was doubtful at first, but it gives a nice finish.

 

[fusc1]

Re: Hull paint for trailered boat?

Thanks for the info so far. I will try to get some pictures posted tonight, the boat is used only in saltwater back bay mostly on the NJ coast.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Hull paint for trailered boat?

Roll n' Roll is a LOT easier than Roll n Tip and in my opinion yields superior results. Rustoleum with the additional Acrylic enamel hardener from Tractor Supply yields a HIGH QUALITY and VERY DURABLE finish that will stand up to years of use. Check out these guys results. This is my Hull. I worked about 20 hours on filling gouges, holes and scratches and then applied two coats of primer and three coats of High Gloss Pettit EasyPoxy using the Roll n Roll method.



http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=309879&page=23

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=475888&page=9

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=287390&page=11

 

[fusc1]

Re: Hull paint for trailered boat?

As promised here are some pics. Of course since I want to take pictures outside its hazy and overcast...
I used BarKeeps Best Friend to get rid of the water line on the outside, it all looked like the bottom with the rust color.
This is a repair the PO did.

The bottom

Outside



Transom

Inside, top is painted white with something
Hope these come out right, I'm new at this...

 

[fusc1]

Re: Hull paint for trailered boat?

I took the boat out this morning, sparkles like metalic paint.

I want to say thanks to everyone that offered up advice. I am hoping I can wait until the end of the season to do the work.

Another question I have is a Marina near me does soda blasting, will the soda blasting take off whats left of if any the gel coat on the hull?

Thanks to everyone.

Anthony

 

[arks]

Re: Hull paint for trailered boat?

If you've already got glass fibers showing, the LAST thing you should do is soda blast.
Give it a good rough sanding, fill any damage, re-sand and paint it. If you ever intend to keep it in the water for the season, I'd recommend a 10 mil epoxy barrier coat "sealer" before the topcoat.

 

[fusc1]

Re: Hull paint for trailered boat?

Thanks arks,
I trailer the boat every time it never stays in the water. Do I still need the barrier coat sealer? I thought that was only for boats that are docked long term.

Thanks.

 

[arks]

Re: Hull paint for trailered boat?

No, you don't need a barrier coat but it is definitely worth doing if you plan to keep the boat for awhile.
I'm currently restoring a Wellcraft -that will live on a trailer- but will be applying a barrier coat up to the waterline. Why? Because it provides the best protection for the hull.
There's tons of info on the web about barrier coating, but here's one I think sums up the pro/con decision:
"Applying an epoxy barrier coat is no small job. If done right, a long lasting barrier protects the hull from water intrusion and prolongs the life of the hull. The theory behind an epoxy barrier coat involves keeping the hull laminates dry by application of a non permeable barrier, in this case epoxy. It is thought water intrusion is a cause of fiberglass deterioration that appears in the form of "blisters." Without getting into the chemistry behind blister formation, we'll leave it at blisters are not good. Although this hull showed no evidence of blisters, keeping a hull healthy is every boat owner's goal.

A lot of things can go wrong when applying a barrier coat. If you fail to prep the hull right, the epoxy wont stick to the hull. If you fail to layer the epoxy onto itself properly, the epoxy layers won't stick to each other. If you don't prep the cured epoxy surface properly, the boot stripe and bottom paint won't stick to the epoxy. All in all, there are at least four layers involved and all must stick to the one below. Any adhesion failure won't become evident until months later when it's too late to do anything about it. Also, if the hull wasn't completely dry (free form internal moisture) when you started, you'll actually seal moisture in rather than keep it out. That would be very bad indeed. There are also safety concerns. While sanding and exposure to dust can be minimized, it can not be avoided entirely; buy and wear a good dust mask or respirator. If you don't wear a dust mask or respirator, the bottom job may out last you."

I want to add that I refinished the bottom of my 34 footer a couple years ago. Sanding and scraping were by far the toughest jobs. The application of the barrier coat and bottom paint was actually quite easy by comparison. The key to a good job is to read and follow the directions for the product. Here's the thread with pics: http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=451204

 

[imraan47]

Re: Hull paint for trailered boat?

check mine out...used brightside poly paint from interlux....come out really nice and is still on there. very easy to clean and it all cost me under $50.00

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=481672

 

[fusc1]

Re: Hull paint for trailered boat?

Thanks for all the info. I will probably start the prep and repainting in the next few weeks as time (and money) allows. While I was researching this on the internet I found this site for paints does anyone have any experience using their stuff? http://www.topsecretcoatings.com/cstore/pc/viewcategoriesMarine.asp?idCategory=92

Thanks for all the help so far,
Anthony

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Hull paint for trailered boat?

I thought you didn't have a lot of money. You can paint your entire boat with rustoleum and it will last for years for less than $30 bucks.

 

[fusc1]

Re: Hull paint for trailered boat?

Good Point Wood...Ironically I hear the same thing from my wife quite a bit...Rustoleum it is.

Thanks everyone for the help and when I get time to do it I will post pics of progress.

Anthony