Painting fiberglass ?

Stuarth

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Jul 21, 2013
Messages
39
Hi looking to paint cab / cuddy on my wee fiberglass fishing boat

Think the guy I bought it from painted it when he was drunk with a hard paint brush and the worst paint ever ,

Going to rub it down then just roller paint on can any body suggest what paint to use , do I need primer and what's gell coat ? Thanks !
 

Woodonglass

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Dec 29, 2009
Messages
25,927
Re: Painting fiberglass ?

Gel coat is a polyester resin specially formulated for increased viscosity and non-sag properties. It incorporates pigments for desired color and contains additives for controlling flow-out, gel and cure times. Most high quality marine gel coats use ISO/NPG (Isophthalic/Neopentyl Glychol) resins, which are higher quality polyesters. They are stronger and more durable than standard polyester resins (orthophthalic). All fiberglass boats come from the factory with this as their primary coating. Your boat has gelcoat on it but it may or may not have been painted over. You can re-apply gelcoat or paint over the gelcoat. Your choice. applying gelcoat is a bit more problematic for the typical user but can be a DIY'er project with some study and research about the subject.
 

jbcurt00

Moderator
Staff member
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Oct 25, 2011
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25,043
Re: Painting fiberglass ?

You can re-apply gelcoat or paint over the gelcoat. Your choice.

I know WOG & GT know, but just in case Stuarth doesn't: You can't gel over paint. To re-gel, you'll have to get the paint off.
 

Woodonglass

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Dec 29, 2009
Messages
25,927
Re: Painting fiberglass ?

Sure you can...It'll fall off in about 2 minutes but you can do it!!!!:D:eek: JBC makes a very good point, A good way to check if it's paint is to use some acetone or xylene on a rag and hold it on the surface for a few minutes. If it's paint, it'll wrinkle and peel. If it's gelcoat, nothing will happen.
 

Stuarth

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Jul 21, 2013
Messages
39
Re: Painting fiberglass ?

Thanks guys , not as simple as getting a tin of paint and a roller
 
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