Re: 16' Nescher ski boat complete restore
Re: 16' Nescher ski boat complete restore
A couple of you have had questions about prep / paint, so I thought I would outline what I did.
Pre-sanding:
First thing was to pressure wash the hull, then wipe it down with Acetonte.
Prep sanding:
Since it still had a lot of spray paint on it, and it was really rough, I sanded it down with a DA (dual action sander, an air powered model....electric sanders work if you don't have a big compressor) and 80 grit. The idea is just to remove the spray paint (or what ever it was) and rough up the old gelcoat....give it some tooth. If it wasn't for the spray paint and rough surface, I would have probably gone with 120 or 220. The sander can make "dishes" if it isn't held pretty close to parallel to the surface. You won't see them, but you sure will when the paint is on. So hold it flat, light pressure and keep it moving. If it is a curve or odd shape, sand it by hand. Try to use the part of your hand that fits the shape best....palm for flat stuff, fingers for little tight curves.
Once I had the surface sanded down, I ground damaged areas with a 36 grit disk where I needed to do body work. Just like glass work, the idea is to rough up the surface so the filler will stick. After that I applied bondo....roughed it to shape, then finished it with 80 grit. That may take several coats, depending on the damage. Once the shape is right, I filled minor imperfections with "glazing compound". More or less very thin body filler. A side note, all of the products (fillers and primers) I use are catalyzed. There are several products out there that aren't and they have a tendency to shrink a few months down the road...that will make your great paint job look like crap! I finished up the glazing compound with 120. One note, leave you body work slightly "high", since there will be more sanding in the primer stage.
Primer:
Next I shot everything with a high build sanding primer, Nason Select Prime 2K (urethane based). I used it on the entire boat since it was beat up so bad. If you just have spot damage, you could prime just that area. Once it set up, I blocked it out with 120 wet. (blocking is using a paint paddle with sand paper wrapped around it to sand down the surface). The idea is that the "block" will help to flatten the surface. If you look at my post, you will see a shot of the bottom where I have sanded through areas of the primer. Those areas are "high", the primer helps fill the low areas. This will help you flatten out your body work, as well as minor imperfections in the hull. I also used a hard black rubber "squeegee' for some of the curved areas. Again, areas that a tight curves you can sand with your fingers. I did this a couple times till tell it "felt right". If it doesn't feel strait, it won't look strait. If you can feel it, you will see it. I finish sanded the final coat to the paint's recommendations, 400 in my case.
Paint Day:
First I shot a sealer coat (urethane), on the boat, DuPont Chroma Seal. This just seals the surface, and provides a uniform base color....important if you are using metallics. They have a tendency to be very transparent. After it flashed (drys to the touch), I shot the silver. Both the silver and the red are DuPont Chroma Base (Urethane). Once the silver set for about an hour I taped off the stripe. I used a 3M stripe tape (the blue plastic stuff, not the blue home depot stuff...automotive paint stripe tape) to give me a good edge. After that, I taped and papered off the rest of the silver. I used 3M 233 tape for that. Its a green masking tape that is formulated for automotive paint work....other stuff maybe too sticky and pull off the wet paint, or not stick. It isn't cheap, but it works! After that, I shot the red.
The Clear:
After the red had flashed, I pulled the tape and paper off of the silver. Once I had wiped it off with a tack cloth again, we were ready for clear. (don't push hard on the tack cloth...you can actually leave wax on the surface that will cause fish-eyes) I cleared it with DuPont Chroma Clear. If you are doing one color, a "single stage" is easier....it doesn't require a clear top coat. The base clear system works better for stripes / multiple colors.
After that you get a good nights sleep, because you will be tired! Actually I enjoyed a couple of beers admiring my work! Great feeling! This was my method, there are a lot of other great ways to paint....and I'm sure cheaper ones......I was just familiar with this method. Have no doubt, the products I used were EXPENSIVE, but the results are worth it to me. I'm sure a lot of you may not want to spend that much money, which is understandable.....the important part about this stuff is to have fun! Sorry about the novel, hopefully it will be helpful. Now back to the trailer this weekend!
