$100 Boat? Yes, Please!

[ColorMePink2011]

Yeah, I paid $100 for a boat, trailer and motor. I saw the potential. The diamond in the rough, if you will. This boat was ugly as sin, I didn't know if the motor ran, all the wiring on the trailer needs replaced. But it was a hundred bucks. I'm a 28 year old mother and wife. I want to (A) have my own boat and (B) teach my kids that if you want something bad enough and have the patience and dedication, you can surely have it. and (C) I love the idea of a challenge new project! Now with that said, here's what I know about this boat:
It's a 1990 Tidecraft Four M (I had never heard of it) 16' bass boat
The motor is a 1977 Johnson 115
I have stripped the boat of everything. All compartment doors, the hideous aged green carpeting, the (very damaged) rub rail, the cleats, pretty much everything that needed to be stripped off so that I can paint this thing.
All fiberglass repairs have been done.
All minor dings and scratches have been epoxy'd and sanded to flush.
I've already decided on the metal flake colors that I'll be using and where I'll be ordering them from, What I need help with is this:
Do I need to completely sand off the clear coat that is currently on the boat, or just enough to rough it up? There are several spots that have already been rubbed down to exposed metal flake prior to my purchasing the boat.
Also, I need a little clarification on whether to choose the clear coat, gel coat, and all the other options. (Even after weeks of reading forums, exhausting google search, countless YouTube videos and just a ton of research, I'm still dumbfounded). And do I need a primer?
With as little as I paid for the whole set up, I don't want to spend a ridiculous amount of money on the paint alone. I'd like to keep my cost under $200 (if that's even reasonable)
The metal flakes I have found come in 8oz. I'm wondering how much I need to buy to cover the whole boat, inside and out.
I would love as much advice on the painting aspect as anyone is willing to give. If you're still reading this, thank you!
I'm going to attach a couple pictures so you can see what I'm working with

 

[Scott Danforth]

Welcome aboard

your tidecraft is a fiberglass bass boat. I would have the stringers and transom checked. you mentioned the fiberglass repairs were already done. can you be specific on what was done.

you may want to read link #14 of the following forum http://forums.iboats.com/forum/boat...r/295740-how-to-s-and-other-great-information. not to scare you, however to make you educated on fiberglass boat restoration

no, painting a boat for $200 with metal flake isnt reasonable. however Woodonglass has a tecnique for painting your boat for as little as $100 with solid colors. http://forums.iboats.com/forum/boat...1961-lonestar-flamingo-splashed-w-pics/page16

as far as pictures tutorials in this forum http://forums.iboats.com/forum/forum-rules-and-guidelines

 

[ColorMePink2011]

Thank you. As far as the fiberglass repairs, there were not many to make. It appeared that the bow of the boat had a few hard hits. Luckily the rub rail took the most of the damage. I purchased a Bondo brand fiberglass repair kit. Read the instructions numerous times and watched several instructional videos and went from there. The stringers and transom have been checked and are in acceptable shape considering the age. My husband (whom has been working on the lake for 20 years) has been overseeing me and giving some guidance and advice. As far as the painting goes (which right now is my biggest mind bog) the metal flakes that I have found are $10.99 per 8oz. The description of them says they're usually applied in a salt shaker after a clear polyurethane resin coat (or other resin options) has been applied. However, we do have a large air compressor as well as the paint guns with larger tip nozzle. (I was hoping to spray) which will be done with the assistance of my husband since this will be my first experience. I'm just not certain on the differences between the polyurethane resin and epoxy resin and all the details that I need, where to order them, how much is needed ect...

 

[sphelps]

I've never done any metal flake but my understanding is it is mixed in with the clearcoat and sprayed over a solid base coat ... Then more clear with no flake sprayed over that .... Hopefully someone with more knowledge will chime in ...
Welcome aboard and good luck !
ps ,, Need some pics please !

 

[Scott Danforth]

remember, painting is the last thing on a boat. your boat was made with poly, so no reason to go to epoxy unless a prior repair was done with epoxy, however if all the fiberglass work has been done, why are you worrying about resin types?

 

[gm280]

WOW, I read all the comments and your initial post. There is a lot to cover and I haven't even seen your project boat yet. You need to post lots and lots of pictures of everything. That includes an over all picture of your boat and then a lot of closer up pictures of it and your repairs thus far.

As for the metal flake option, that isn't going to be as easy as you may think. The typical metal flake boat finishes you see, were done when the boat was initially being make in the molds. To duplicate that is not an easy job for even a seasoned experienced painter. One you realize what it takes, not even counting in the cost, you may reject that idea for a nice solid colored or even a two tone type finish.

Before doing much else, please post your pictures for us to guide you in the right direction so you can accomplish your dream boat at the lower possible cost. There are tons of great experienced iboaters on these forums that has covered most anything you could possibly even want to know.

So post the pictures and let's see what is going on. JMHO

 

[briangcc]

Let's see if this works...

About the 13 minute mark Frisco goes into how he touched up a small section of glitter on his boat. If doing a whole boat, process becomes much more expensive due to materials.In a nutshell, basecoat (in his case gel coat), clear coat with glitter (in his case gel coat with glitter mixed in), and then finally clear top coat to seal it (in his case clear gel coat).


Caution: Frisco has a lot of boat related videos up there but there are others that are non-boat related that may be difficult to watch.


Under $200? I don't think that's realistic based on your goals of a glitter boat...unless you know someone who can get you a very hefty discount on paint supplies.