Under boat painting question

[Chaparralboater]

I picked up a 1991 chaparral 18 footer. It has a painted bottom. It's not newer paint but it has been sanded..I know it is slowing me down a bit. I am wondering if I paint it with marine paint would it be better than it is now for speed or to sand it all off and go from there. I don't know where to go from or tho ! Haha..and I trailer it so I won't be leaving it in the water. What would u do? Is it worth it to get it the way it came new or just paint it?

 

[RickJ6956]

Re: Under boat painting question

Bottom paints are designed to come off over time. Applying any finish coat of any other paint will require removing the bottom paint.

Depending on what was applied, many bottom paints can be finished -- or removed -- just like any other paints by sanding with progressively finer papers, including wet sanding. Then rubbing compound, then polishing compound, then wax. You're in for some serious work, my friend!

Or, you could just rough it up and apply new coats. The speed loss is minimal.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Under boat painting question

the best short-cut, other than live with it, is to paint over it. save youir boating dollars, or boating time, so something more productive and fun than the bottom which doesn't matter to anyone but the fish.

 

[Chaparralboater]

Re: Under boat painting question

So I should just make sure its clean on the bottom and rpaint with blue bottom paint? I think its anti fouling paint. I want it silky shiny like the sides of the boat but the blue painted is not pretty or smooth. Oh well

 

[NYBo]

Re: Under boat painting question

Actually, a slightly rough paint surface is supposed to REDUCE drag, not increase it because it breaks up the surface tension of the water.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Under boat painting question

Anti-fouling paint is a special purpose paint that is very expensive. It's called "bottom paint" for short. You do not want bottom paint. You want plain old paint that you happen to be putting on the bottom. May as well get something cheap since no one will see it but the fish and it will probably come off eventually. With something basic you can touch it up.

See if a local body shop is getting ready to do a big paint job and see if they will hit your bottom while they're at it. As long as it's not a school bus....

 

[Beefer]

Re: Under boat painting question

Anti-fouling paint is a special purpose paint that is very expensive. It's called "bottom paint" for short. You do not want bottom paint. You want plain old paint that you happen to be putting on the bottom. May as well get something cheap since no one will see it but the fish and it will probably come off eventually. With something basic you can touch it up.

See if a local body shop is getting ready to do a big paint job and see if they will hit your bottom while they're at it. As long as it's not a school bus....

Just bought bottom paint today for my new boat... $160/gal., and that wasn't the most expensive by far!

I think school bus yellow would be good... could attract a school of fish

 

[Chaparralboater]

Re: Under boat painting question

I want to avoid bottom paint if I could. It looks ugly to me. The boat has seasoned bottom paint on it now. How far down would I have to get it to be ready for something new? Do I have to prime before I roll the paint on? I saw some YouTube videos of some nice bottoms turned out by rolling method. I dint know..

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Under boat painting question

If you go the route of removing the old paint you have a lot of treating the bottom before you paint it. Removing the old paint is expensive time consuming dangerous and difficult. That's why, if you can't just live with it, paint OVER it.

 

[Chaparralboater]

Re: Under boat painting question

F it I'm just gunn a give it a good sand to make sure it's smooth and even and paint over it

 

[bowman316]

Re: Under boat painting question

f sanding, just power wash the loose paint off.

the paint it with topside fiberglass paint.
bottom paint would be a waste of money

 

[lakegeorge]

Re: Under boat painting question

I have owned many boats over the years and most of them had bottom paint on them, the only thing that I ever did was power wash the bottom and then roll the paint on.
I never had a problem doing it that way and neither did anyone at our Marina, that I'm aware of.

 

[Chaparralboater]

Re: Under boat painting question

Great. Thanks for the power washing tip..power wash and topside paint it is..thanks guys

 

[thedukeryan]

Re: Under boat painting question

Like mentioned above a bit of texture on the bottom isn't gonna be slowing you down any. If you want it gone here are some options I have used in the past. one is soda blasting or sand blasting with a corn based grit. Be VERY careful when blasting the stuff off. I never had any problems but you can trash your hull if not careful. The problem I have ran into is primer under the paint as well as heavy sand marks. I have had no luck blasting the primer off. If you don't wanna blast it off you can use graffiti remover from walmart or auto stores. It takes the stuff off pretty easy but you will need plenty of it and paper towels. You could try airplane paint strippers but I would be extremely cautious since the stuff will melt plastics and other materials. I Kryloned the bottom of some hulls after removing the bottom paint and it worked great. Sounds kinda half *** but really did look good and holds up awesome.

 

[thedukeryan]

Re: Under boat painting question

Forgot to mention that on a lot of car parts I have sprayed them down with airplane paint stripper or graffiti remover and then taken them to the car wash and blasted the stuff off. I would give it a shot but if using the airplane stripper either test it on something or be VERY careful!

 

[Chaparralboater]

Re: Under boat painting question

So I should get graffiti remover from walmart..I actually was holding it today and put it back. And then remove the paint with that? Or power wash loose paint then use that stuff? Then topside fiberglass paint..

 

[thedukeryan]

Re: Under boat painting question

Spray the graffitti remover on when dry. I would pressure wash off any loose paint and the spray the grafiti remover on once dry. Let it soak in and the power wash it again. Once you spray the grafiti remover on let it sit until ready to spray off. It should start bubbling and getting kinda tarish looking. You may wanna get a few plastic putty knives to peel the paint off. It may take several trys to get it all off. Depending on the size of your boat it may be easier/cheaper to have it blasted off. If you get it all off and it still looks bad tape it off and paint it with Krylon Fusion. I'm pretty good at rattle can but it isn't rocket science. Just clean it, tape it and spray it. Use short bursts with a sweeping motion to get a smooth coat. Don't just soak it or it will spot and run. The fusion paint works great. I have used it on hulls and vinyl and it is tough stuff.