What to do with this darn paint?

[Slow Ride]

A long, long story about how I got here but here it is. The surface of the gel coat was destroyed by an over aggressive sander (60 grit I think). He repainted the boat white but I could see tones of scratches etc. The boat was black before I gave it to the shop that painted it. So, I decided to tackle it myself. I'm a go getter and have tackled much bigger projects, or so I thought. I sanded with 150 grit paper. Cleaned well then rolled on a coat of West Marine "High Build" primer. Sanded with 320 to what looked and felt very smooth. I was very excited at this point. Then it all went wrong! LOL. I used Eazy Poxy (black) paint and followed the instructions for rolling and tipping. At first I thought the paint was bad or just too difficult for a layman to use but later realized it had more to do with my surface preparation. Now the paint is dry but I can see every imperfection in the surface. It actually looks worse because the black is far more glossy than the cheap white paint the painter used. What can I do? I want to sand the new black paint and try again. Can I lay primer over the Eazy Poxy paint? Or, do I need to get all the way back down to the primer again. And if I can, can I also fill the bigger, deeper imperfections?

 

[Chris1956]

Re: What to do with this darn paint?

Dark colors show more defects than light colors or white. If the paint is solidly attached to the boat, you should be able to paint over it. You will need to sand it with 320/400 grit as final step. First sand with 100/150 grit to allow you to remove small surface defects. Fill deeper scratches with polyester putty, and sand smooth.

If you are painting above the waterline, a single part polyurethane paint is fine, and easier to use than epoxy. Below the waterline requires a two-part polyurethane or an epoxy-based paint.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: What to do with this darn paint?

Black is the worst color to hide anything in ANY type of bodywork/finish. Did you block sand the primer? You might get away with block sanding the current black and try another coat over the top of it.

If you are talking about the bottom of the hull I would not worry since no one sees it but on the sides I understand

 

[Triangleboater]

Re: What to do with this darn paint?

Look over in the restoration part of the forum for a bit at some of the fiberglass restorations. That will tell you a ton about paint work. You could spend hours just looking at the paint part of some peoples restorations.

 

[Slow Ride]

Re: What to do with this darn paint?

All, no I didn't block it. I'm a bit of a rookie when it comes to body work/paint. I read a bit about it and visited a local auto body shop as well as a few youtube videos. I think I'm going to follow the advice above and take it down a bit with 150 grit again and try filling and blocking. I used the Easy Poxy because it came recommended as an easy to use product that self levels. It for the most part do that but as I said above, the prep work was insufficient. The pics are of the boat when it had a decal on it. I have painted it the same way. The same surfaces are black with paint at this time vice a decal. Dave

 

[gm280]

Re: What to do with this darn paint?

All, no I didn't block it. I'm a bit of a rookie when it comes to body work/paint. I read a bit about it and visited a local auto body shop as well as a few youtube videos. I think I'm going to follow the advice above and take it down a bit with 150 grit again and try filling and blocking. I used the Easy Poxy because it came recommended as an easy to use product that self levels. It for the most part do that but as I said above, the prep work was insufficient. The pics are of the boat when it had a decal on it. I have painted it the same way. The same surfaces are black with paint at this time vice a decal. Dave View attachment 231446View attachment 231447

I'll have to say that is a pretty ambitious project for a first time painting effort. One thing you absolutely have to remember is prep, prep, prep and more prep, if you want it to look as good... It takes a lot of time and elbow grease to get finishes like that. So back up and start over with the proper sanding efforts and work it along until that primer finish is like glass, or until it is what YOU want the final finish to look like.

Paint does not cover up anything...period. It merely applies the color and sheen. You have to apply the primer and then block sand it to remove all imperfections and make the surface look flat without waves and such. I good idea to asses in that effort is to use a "guide coat". Apply your first primer coat and then buy some "guide coat". Guide coat is merely a very find powder (usually black or charcoal colored) that is applied with a little pad, DRY, over the primer to show you, while you block sand, if there are any low spots that need additional filling. After doing a few primer coats and sanding all the guide coat off, then you are ready for top coat or paint/Gelcoat or whatever you decide to do as a finish... Yes it took me a while to understand that process, but now it is a good procedure to get an amazing finish... JMHO!

 

[Fastatv]

Re: What to do with this darn paint?

Pretty much agree with gm280. When I do ( or did ) body work, I looked closely at the entire boat/car and I marked the areas that had the scratches/repairs. I would sand the scratches with 80 to 180 grit, depending on scratch location and depth, then primer only those areas. Let dry, then wet sand with 180 grit using a sanding block or paper rolled up on a paint mixing stick. At this point, the majority of the primer would be removed from the sanding, and only the scratches would show the primer. This may require doing more than once to ensure the scratches have been filled. Then after all scratches had been primed and sanded/repaired, it is at that point I would sand the remaining boat/car with 220 grit or so, wipe down with tack cloth and blow off with compressed air, then prime the entire car/boat. Then wet sand ( and block ) the entire boat/car with 320 to 400 grit. Once all dry spray, orange peel was removed, and nothing but a slick 320 or 400 grit base remains, it is then time for the painting ( but still needs another wash, tack down and compressed air blow of ). Having said this, I will also add that I never sanded, primed or did any kind of body work before I scrubbed the entire boat/car down with some heavily mixed dish washing liquid, water and a clean scrub brush and rag. I learned this the hard way by ruining some paint jobs due to fish eyes. Tho I'm sure there are paint experts on here, I would still recommend you get a basic Auto/Boat painting book, and have a good read. There really is allot to the process. Hope I helped a little

 

[Slow Ride]

Re: What to do with this darn paint?

Gents, Thanks for the advice. I plan to slow down and do it right this time. I ordered a blocking kit and a couple of sprayers. I'll keep you posted as I go through the process. That said, it's going to be a few weeks. The Gulf Snapper season opens in a little over two weeks and only lasts for 10 days. So, Slow Ride will temporarily be "The Ugly Duckling!" LOL! I never met a fish that cared what the boat looked like anyway!

Dave