Should I paint with a roller or a pneumatic spray?

[ringorock]

I am about to start painting my boat and wondering what will get me better results. Would a spray make things easier and give me a better result than rolling?

Also, should I prime the old gel coat after fairing and sanding before laying down the color? I'll be using rustoleum topside.

 

[tpenfield]

Unless you are an experienced sprayer, 'roll & tip' may be the way to go to get a smooth finish.

 

[gjm27n]

Last two boats I restored, I sprayed. I also used an acrylic urethane, the Rustoleum is good for some things but I've never been happy with it for any large area. I also like to use an epoxy primer sanded smooth. Use your thinned Rusoleum to practice with spraying some old cardboard.

 

[jbcurt00]

Hundreds of members have used oil based enamel w great success on both fiberglass and aluminum boats following the details found here:

https://forums.iboats.com/forum/boa...lamingo-splashed-w-pics?p=5172021#post5172021

FYI, no real advantage to the Rusto topside paint line, just more expensive.
A painted boat needs to be trailered and not ledt in the water for long periods.

if you have a tractor supply or ace hardware local, those lines often offer more color choices then Rusto. Many Ace hardwares can cuztom tint their oil based enamels.

Adding the enamel hardener aids in smooth finish, quicker drying and curing and improves final paint hardness/scratch resistance.

 

[Chris1956]

Use a polyurethane marine topside paint for best shine and toughness. Other paints are not made for boats, and will turn out to be inferior in finish quality and toughness. Follow instruction on paint for use of primer or not.

I have had real good results with Interlux Brightside and a roll and tip application method. There are cheaper marine polyurethanes, however, I have not used them.

 

[gm280]

The best finish is always the result of the best prep work. So if you are looking for an amazing show room finish, you have to put in the time to prep the surface for that type shine. And that means a good quality primer base for starters. That primer surface has to be as flawless as you want the final results. If you can see or feel any imperfections in the primer, you will absolutely see and feel them in the final finish, guaranteed!

I personally use PPG primers, base coats, top coats and even clear coats for everything. The easy of application makes them worth their money. Wet sanding a quality two part primer will give you a surface to shoot any top coat that looks amazing.

Look at all the new vehicle on the road these days, those are using quality type paints and if that is the type final finish you want, start the prep work towards that finish. It sounds a lot harder to accomplish then it actually is.

Every paint job has to be prepped. The real work is doing that for any type finish. It is where you want to go with that prep work that makes the difference. JMHO

 

[GSPLures]

Spraying is not to difficult (I used to paint cars for a living) prep work is the most difficult part. The most important part of spraying is to make sure the air pressure and tip is correct for the paint along with proper thinning. Keep the gun at an even distance with proper overlap and it will come out good. If the paint allows you can color sand between coats then finish with a good buff and it will come out looking great.

 

[ringorock]

Thanks, everyone. I ended up doing both. I started by spraying, but my work was splothcy. I came back around and rolled and tipped it, and it came out amazing. I should have done it from the start. Roll and tip was also much quicker for us. I thought the opposite would have been true.

 

[GSPLures]

Im glad it worked out, have any pictures would love to see

 

[ringorock]

Im glad it worked out, have any pictures would love to see

I'll post them up once it hardens, and I have it right side up again.

 

[ringorock]

Im glad it worked out, have any pictures would love to see

Here ya go. We'll be doing a million things differently next time, but this turned put great for us first timers.

 

[gm280]

What's not to like? Looks good to me. Your setup is not that different then mine. About the same size and nothing wrong with your paint job.

There are always multiple ways to do most any job. When you ask a question about doing anything, you will get a variety of answers about how that person did theirs, or something similar, using their opinion and ways. But that doesn't mean that is the only way to do the job. So you read, understand and select the way YOU like best from the variable answers.

I like spraying myself because it is easier for me to accomplish knowing the paint will be touch dry in less then 10 - 15 minutes. So my type paint would not work out doing rolling and tipping. To do that type painting requires the paint to remain uncured for a longer time so you can tip the paint and allow it to flow out for the shine and smooth finish. So neither way is the only way or the only right way...

Nice job in my opinion... :thumb::thumb:

 

[ringorock]

What's not to like? Looks good to me. Your setup is not that different then mine. About the same size and nothing wrong with your paint job.

There are always multiple ways to do most any job. When you ask a question about doing anything, you will get a variety of answers about how that person did theirs, or something similar, using their opinion and ways. But that doesn't mean that is the only way to do the job. So you read, understand and select the way YOU like best from the variable answers.

I like spraying myself because it is easier for me to accomplish knowing the paint will be touch dry in less then 10 - 15 minutes. So my type paint would not work out doing rolling and tipping. To do that type painting requires the paint to remain uncured for a longer time so you can tip the paint and allow it to flow out for the shine and smooth finish. So neither way is the only way or the only right way...

Nice job in my opinion... :thumb::thumb:

Thanks. Here are a few things. Like an idiot, I thought paint would be self-leveling and make up for my **** poor sanding of resin at the bottom of the boat. I know. People can't see it but still. Another is that we'll be using water proof graphics moving forward. Although we taped the eyes and arms up, the white paint still bled enough to appear as an amateur job. We'll keep it though as a reminder of how far we'd come in future restorations. Next time we do a trailer, I'm going to take my time. In my impatience to go fishing again, I gave the trailer a 220 grit sanding job. I should have went more aggressive to remove all the pitting. We aren't selling this boat. It'll be with us until it sinks, so I don't care. Last, I should have sanded the fairing compound better and tried harder to get it to perfect shape. Oh, well. First time.

 

[gm280]

One thing you will learn doing any project. There is no such thing as a "perfect" job. YOU will always know about the flaws and things and try to do the next project better. It is a constant learning curve and sadly you never get to perfection. But that doesn't mean you won't try. As good as some of these projects look on pictures, if you were to ask any one of them if they have flaws in their project, I bet you would get a 100% YES! So your known flaws will be your secret. That is how it works... The fact that you know about them means you will do things differently next time. And that is how the learning curve works!

But 'til then, happy boating and fishing!

 

[Chris1956]

What kind of paint did you end up using? I would have expected a Marine Polyurethane to be self-leveling. That is what makes the roll and tip method work. You roll out the paint to get it spread evenly. Then you tip it to remove the roller marks. Then you let it self-level to bring out the smooth finish and shine.