Let's Talk Hull Painting

[anotherT34C]

I wouldn't spray your hull, personally. The Spindrift 43 has those nice fake wood planks that make DIY painting via roll and tip very easy, while at the same time, making spray more difficult (at least at my skill level).

[Captain Anthony]

following

[MicHughV]

I seem to recall thinning my boat 2-part urethane paint down...I believe it was MEK thinner....not sure than you can apply a two-part polyurethane straight from the pot with a roller and brush...without thinning it down....a spray gun will almost certainly require a thinner..it's all coming back now...

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

I seem to recall thinning my boat 2-part urethane paint down...I believe it was MEK thinner....not sure than you can apply a two-part polyurethane straight from the pot with a roller and brush...without thinning it down....a spray gun will almost certainly require a thinner..it's all coming back now...

This is correct. Most paint systems have a spray reducer and a roll and tip reducer. You want different viscosities for different application methods.

You can’t roll and tip well without the roll and tip reducer.

[HopCar]

You’re in Florida. Lots of sunshine UV to break down the paint. Go with a two part poly for longest life. Awl Grip is a good choice. Most professional applicators know how to put it on.

If you were going to apply it your self, I’d recommend Interlux Perfection. It is very easy to apply if you use the method that Port Townsend Boat Works recommends.

[darylat8750]

The fake planks makes the rolling way easier. On my Ocean Alex. my friend who is VERY good with a roller rolled, I tipped and another experienced painter watched from the ground, supported us (like kept clean brushes available for when my tipping brush loaded up) and watch for missed spots. We took about 1/3 of the hight and went all the way around the boat each time. The "plank" grooves made a perfect place for the laps and only doing 1/3 at a time made keeping a wet edge easy.
A year later a guy that had run the paint shops for Gulfstream business jets told me the paint looked good.

[mvweebles]

Originally Posted by Creedence

Absolutely loving the replies, thank you all for the feedback. I especially love the pictures, please keep those coming!! (Even if they do make mine look far worse by comparison)

I am very pleasantly surprised to hear ~$3000 figures being thrown around. I originally budgeted $25,000 for this job, and even the $300 per foot was a welcome surprise. At the very least, it sounds like my budget is at least realistic with sufficient room for surprises. As you mentioned, MVWeebles (awesome boat name by the way) I'm sure there's going to be a good bit of gouge and ding repair needed before they start painting.

Ol' girl has a lot going for her, but the hull aesthetics really do her a disservice. Keep the discussion going, I'm taking it all in, and appreciate the feedback. Trying to learn this through Googlefu is overwhelming as it's difficult to separate the truth from the hype.


Based on the feedback so far, I may have found a yard for the service locally, they specialize in sprayed application of Awlgrip, but I'll keep looking for options as well.

Thanks for the props on boat name. Previous owner let his adolescent kids name the boat so she came to us as "Shy Platypus." She's a round bottom boat that's incredibly seaworthy, so Weebles seemed like the right name. That was almost 25 years ago. Since then, I met a good friend of the original owner who uses to take the boat down Baja from Newport Beach fishing. They guy was so impressed with the boat that he ended up buying Willard Marine. Boat was also a committee boat for the Newport-Ensenada race several times (still has a small plaque inside). Had I known the boat had such local history, I would have reverted to her original name Taras.

Back to hull paint. I was stunned when I saw the post with $3000 for a 38 footer. That simply doesn't sound plausible for a professional job in a decent yard, so my guess the Post had something else in mind. There is a lot of prep plus Primer plus sanding between. I just can't imagine that can be done with 30-ish man hours, plus haul/block. Cheaper than I've seen in Mexico where labor rates are in the $20/hr range.

Peter

[JPA Cate]

What's the best product going these days? Single part, two-part, etc? We had the hull painted professionally, with 2 part LPU automotive paint, roughly 11 yrs. ago. Just the Hull. It is still glossy.

Best brand for the job?

Our color is "Chevy White." Don't know the brand. It is not Awlgrip.

I've spoken to a couple folks and I'm hearing somewhere in the neighborhood of $300 per linear foot. Is that about right, or is that figure wildly off base? For us, it was a little over that, back then.

Does anyone here like a particular yard in the area for this service?

Anything else I should be aware of or thinking of?
Have you already tried using TSRW or PolyGlo on the hull? We used Poly Glow on an older hull that had been over polished, and it looked quite well afterwards. Requires renewing annually. It is a combination of a wash and a polymerizing topcoat. Easy to apply, and can be done in the water. If you have not, why not give that a go, it will save you $$ for whatever else pleases you?

Paint is fragile, in a way gelcoat is not. Repairs take highly skilled folks to get the color match correct. Although, we had saved some of the paint and catalyst and our repair came out very well. It has to be kept air tight, and ours was in a dark place, as well.

If you change the cove stripe color to navy, if it gets a scratch, the primer or the old color will show through.

Good luck with it, whichever way you go.

Ann

[tomrealest]

I had Alwcraft 2000 done on my topsides 10 years ago.professionally. I wash the boat alot and I was not happy with the wear.I usually use Alwgrip and I have Always been happy with it

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by tomrealest

I had Alwcraft 2000 done on my topsides 10 years ago.professionally. I wash the boat alot and I was not happy with the wear.I usually use Alwgrip and I have Always been happy with it

Yes, Awlgrip is much harder and has much more chemical resistance

[acem]

I'm watching this as I think mine needs painted as well.

I'm an experienced amateur with automotive paint. I read that sv siren used imron. Is that the same as automotive imron? Imron is a very tough paint.

Does the rolled on paint come out glassy?

I assume all paint is removed down to the gel coat?

Thx-Ace

[markguthrie]

My only advice is NOT to use Progressive Marine in St. Pete. They did good work but I was gouged on the cost for the bottom job and lights. And get this, they didn't get my underwater lights completely underwater. Had to get her hauled again and relocate one of the lights...really???

On a related topic, I am looking for DIY yard to do the bottom myself this time... any Tampa Bay area, even up and down the coast is recommended.

Mark

[VChild]

I can tell you the price per foot for cabin trunk and deck area depends on the complexity due to masking and/or removing hardware.
This was about $400/ft. Removed all hardware including winches.

Awlcraft "Stark White" (4 coats) before new teak went down and after new teak.

Lots of detail and deck fittings. Some boats you just don't want to paint twice. Wax once per year. Plenty of paint thickness for unlimited future buffing as needed. Not too worried about chemicals spills on my boat. I don't use them.
Wash with Awlwash made by Awlgrip.

[kmacdonald]

Looks great VChild. That's the expensive part.

[VChild]

Originally Posted by kmacdonald

Looks great VChild. That's the expensive part.

Thanks!
Yeah definitely more expensive than painting topsides.