Maaco paintjob

[BassCat73]

I'm really thinking about painting my bass boat. It's the 70's brown and gold fleck paint. The finish is in near excellent condition, but I'm really tired of the brown color. Unfortunately, I do not have a space to repaint the boat myself. My plan would be to do all of the prep work myself; sanding and taping things off. They would just have to prime and paint. I take this boat out a lot over spring, summer and fall, but it's only a day at a time and on freshwater lakes in the midwest. So, I'm wondering if a Maaco paint job would hold up or am I wasting my time with that?

 

[jsfinn]

Re: Maaco paintjob

I've heard nothing good about Maaco...

 

[Boomyal]

Re: Maaco paintjob

If you are going to do all the prep yourself, I'd look for a small body/paint shop. See what they would charge you to spray it.

 

[BassCat73]

Re: Maaco paintjob

Hmm, given my boating situation (freshwater, trailered boat) will automotive paint be durable enough? That's mainly what I'm trying to figure out. Another option would be to rent a garage for a month and do the painting myself. That'll cost just as much as a rofessionally autopaint job

 

[G DANE]

Re: Maaco paintjob

I'd advise you to use marine paint. My expetience is they hold up to a lot more scratched then automotive and they are designed to hold up in the wet invironment. If you like your boat now, you will be really happy with a good paint job. Like Boomyal says, do all the prep yourselves, the spray job is the least of it. TomVW just wrote an excelent thread about painting your own boat a little earlier - search for it.

 

[BassCat73]

Re: Maaco paintjob

Thanks. Yeah, I've read a lot of posts about painting, so I think you're right. I don't think I should chance painting my boat with anything, but marine paint. I've read so much on different paints, that I'm confused. Awl grip sounds too expensive for me. What is a good system that isn't super expensive?

 

[djvan]

Re: Maaco paintjob

Some have had good results with roll and tip (I think that is the name of the procedure). You roll the paint on and then use the tip of a brush ever so lightly to remove the air bubbles. Someone with experience will probably chime in.<br /><br />DougV>

 

[petrolhead]

Re: Maaco paintjob

Yes I'd go with roll and tip too, the results are great and it's quick too. Can you rig up a temporary polythene tent to paint in?<br />I would just do all the prep work outside, then put your tent up and do one or two coats of undercoat followed by two of gloss, one coat each day unless you're working in very cold conditions, follow the manufacturers recommended drying times. <br />I've had great results with both International's Brightside and Toplac gloss paints, and use their Pre-Kote undercoat. If the existing paintwork is sound just wash and sand it and go straight on with the undercoat, no need for primer.<br />These specialist marine paints may seem a bit expensive, but they do last longer and I find they cover better too making them more economical than you might think. <br />Using roll and tip you should be able to produce a finish barely distinguishable from a sprayed one.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Maaco paintjob

Basscat, I had a speedboat with the metalflake finish. I filled all the gouges, wetsanded to 400 grit, stripped it and masked everything and dragged it to a local body shop. This guy had painted many boats and he sprayed it with a 2 part poly paint (likely Awlgrip) for $400. After many years, it could probably use another paintjob. If I get the ambition to do the sanding, I will spray it myself.<br /><br />The paint guy recommended a light, solid color, since imperfections would not show as much. I chose a white with a bit of a blue tint. It was beautiful!

 

[jsfinn]

Re: Maaco paintjob

Chris1956, I'm working on restoring a 1956 Chris Craft. <br /><br />Thought you'd like to know because it's so close to your name.