Sail Boat Painting

[apalumbo]

I have been given a small (a little larger than a Sunfish) sail boat that needs some minor repair and minor painting.<br /><br />Can anyone answer this/these painting questions for me?<br /><br />1.The sailboats topside is a blue, I think its a gel coat, with an area, I think its a v shaped breakwater ridge, that is painted white but wearing off. The white is painted over the blue.<br />Can I use an oil based white paint to give a new coat to the wearing off white? or do I have to purchase a $20 can of boat paint to do the same.<br /><br />2. I would also like to paint another area (topside over the blue) a 20" X 4' area white also. Can I get away with normal oil based paint?<br /><br />My concern is cracking, peeling, etc...<br /><br />Thanks,<br />AGP

 

[jimfj]

Re: Sail Boat Painting

I have repainted several boats and had great results. The 21 foot columbia was painted with Interlux brightside polureathane and the sunfish was painted with a couple different kinds of paint even spray paint. The bottom line is the prep work you do. even spray paint from the hardware store will look good if what you are painting is preped right. If you want you can email me direct at jhiebl@everestkc.net i can answer more of your questions there.<br />Jim

 

[Columbia]

Re: Sail Boat Painting

I'm with jimfj. Good advice. If you have gouges in the fiberglass, think Marine Tex for repairs, easy to use and easy to paint over. <br /><br />Hey, I owned a Columbia 21 in the early 70's and recently saw it again in use as a sail trainer at a rental place. It was a good boat and a great daysailer. I powered it with a 1946 Johnson 5 horse with no reverse. We used to pull up in front of the cross current slip, then throttle down until we backed in. Lotsa fun in those days.