Advise on sanding / painting

[vildric]

Hi!

Im new on this forum so sorry if im not at the right place.

I got this little 12' boat for almost nothing, Im a canoe guy so this is both my first boat and my first project.

I want to sand it, remove the side foam and fill the holes, repair any scratch/hole that can have in the fiberglass and then repaint it.

So here is my questions:

- I want to sand it by hand, I dont have any tools. So which sandpaper grit I need to take to remove the paint and then sand it to prepair for the painting without scratching the fiberglass?

- Which sandpaper grit I need to use to sand the excess of fiberglass after I fill to holes ?

- And finally I am on a very low budget so I would like to use one paint for the entire boat, that I can paint with a paint roller without primer, what can I use?

Thanks a lot.

 

[wellcraft-classic210]

Its often preferred ( and lower cost ) to avoid the paint and use a buffing process on the Gelcoat which is typically the outer skin over the fiberglass.

Are you sure its painted now ? If its dull Gelcoat and never been painted you can wet sand and or buff.

If its painted it may be best to scuff the boat with 220 then 400 grit & use hardened enamel like rustoleum with some additives. ( A popular low cost option )
Try reading this post for details; http://forums.iboats.com/forum/boat...1961-lonestar-flamingo-splashed-w-pics/page16

As far as advice for any repairs to the fiberglass -Its hard to say without more info - Can you post some pics showing the damage

 

[rob.s.uk]

Hi I would use 120 grit then go over it with 320. To sand off the worst of the fiberglass use a course paper say 80 just be very careful to only sand the repair. I would also use the 80 grit to key the areas which are going to be repaired. As for paint I would use a primer as the paint won't stick to the fiberglass repairs very well. It also fills the tiny scratches left from sanding and gives the paint a good bond. Paint wise you need a hard wearing paint there are many good boat paints I use international toplac.

For example exterior house gloss when dry is still quite soft so will be no good. Sanding by hand will be hard work I'm sure you will soon get fed up with it. Try to borrow an electric sander from someone it will make things a lot easier and you will get a better finish to. I know you say your on a tight budget but the better the materials you use the better the end result will be. If your going to put the time and effort into it especially if you hand sand you might as well do it right. Good luck with it and post some pictures when it done.