Opinion on just painting rough surfaces?

[neilpride]

1 Question: What does anyone think about just leaving my fiberglass rough as well and painting it over in the areas that it shows?

2 Question: Any opinions on that?

Third and last question: Could I just paint this stuff over?

This is not about resale value, or at least you have not specified it in your first post.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

As far as quantity of fairing compound, it wouldn't take a whole lot to just fill in the texture. You're not trying to fair it to a smooth, even mirror finish. Being a hair wavy or something is fine, you just want to fill to the high spots of the fiberglass weave (and nothing more). Applying and lightly sanding a high build primer might be enough to do it (basically sand until you're starting see the high spots of the weave through it, letting it fill the lows.

At which point I will have an anaphylactic reaction and have to go to the hospital.

Also, this adds hundreds and hundreds of hours of sanding work I’m not willing to do.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by neilpride

1 Question: What does anyone think about just leaving my fiberglass rough as well and painting it over in the areas that it shows?

2 Question: Any opinions on that?

Third and last question: Could I just paint this stuff over?

This is not about resale value, or at least you have not specified it in your first post.

Thank you. Several other people seem to have understood pretty well throughout the whole thread. We had quite a discussion on it for a couple of pages. Now it’s down to thoughts on how to do it which isn’t what I asked.

[Chotu]

Clarifying: looking for opinions on what people thought about boats like that. what they thought if I did that like MarkJSmith did. Which we did discuss earlier.

I can think of a bunch of users in this thread that I had a conversation with about this very topic. And then it kind of went off the rails into how to do it. Which wasn’t the question.

[Matt Johnson]

I wouldn't worry about the resale much. As stated before, enough production performance boats have that level of finish on million plus dollar boats, and they find buyers all the time.

Here's a TS50 as an example:

[bdgWesternMass]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Did you see the pictures in the first post? It’s a different kind of rough. You’re not picturing the right thing. It’s smooth to touch, it’s just bumpy and lumpy.

Before I moved in I sponged down exactly half the boat interior to get dust out. One sponge did the whole thing.

If it’s that smooth just paint it.

[team karst]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Ooof.

That’s 97 degrees in the salon and no wind math.

I am down a generator right now in south Florida sitting in a greenhouse.
…
Have I mentioned how much I hate this heat? Lol I cannot wait to get out of here. The heat is just awful. Makes you stupid.

Sitting here cooking alive waiting for my generator part.

Weird. We r same latitude of PB and been under a thin blanket every nite since late jan.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Matt Johnson

I wouldn't worry about the resale much. As stated before, enough production performance boats have that level of finish on million plus dollar boats, and they find buyers all the time.

Here's a TS50 as an example:

Attachment 272015
Attachment 272016

Thank you! That’s good to know.

And sorry everyone. I think the heat really got me in the middle of the day. I actually had to put on a cooling vest. I was overheating earlier. Big time.

I got unreasonably frustrated for no real reason in this thread. It was the heat. It really affects me pretty bad when it gets that hot. But finally that piece for the generator is in and I can pick it up in the morning.

Also, a seabreeze finally kicked up this afternoon and it cooled down. It got up over 100 in my greenhouse/salon.

But yes. What you are showing in these pictures is exactly what I’m thinking of doing.

Hoping to do quite a bit better on the cabinetry and accents than these pictures though. That way the really nice cabinetry and accents will take the eye away from the painted surfaces anyway and make them look purposeful.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by team karst

Weird. We r same latitude of PB and been under a thin blanket every nite since late jan.

I have been under some pretty heavy blankets and an electric blanket many nights. Daytime temperatures have been cold. But then again I was in Tampa.

Up until last night, I had a thin blanket every night also. And a sheet. Last night was a little bit warmer at night so it was only a sheet.

But today with no wind? Scorcher.

Totally different weather inland versus on the ocean. And West Coast versus East Coast.

There’s usually a 10° temperature difference between Clewiston and where you are for example.

And the sea breeze is really it. If you have absolutely no wind, it gets hot. Especially in a catamaran salon that’s all windows. I was cooking earlier today. Roasting alive.


Once the air rising up inland in Florida from the heat made enough of a vacuum to start pulling air from the Gulf of Mexico toward the center of the state, the Seabreeze finally kicked in and now it’s fine.

[nwh10]

Originally Posted by Chotu

It might be time to throw a switch and try to steer this thread back in the right direction. It seems to be going off the rails like they usually do.

I’m asking about resale value. I don’t really care about any other stuff, even though I’m responding.

That’s the opinion I’m looking for.

That's a very tough question to have an opinion about without seeing your boat or lots of good photos of it. And the opinions would only be good for now. Who knows what buyers are going to be interested in 10-20-30 years from now?

I think you should try painting a test area like we talked about. If you like it, keep going. You have so many other projects that take precedence over covering fiberglass. (Notice I didn't mention fairing, which you can't do.) If, when everything else is done (when exactly will that be?? lol! it's a boat, so never!), you get really bored or the paint bugs you, then you can cover it with beautiful vinyl or whatever. To be concerned now about resale value, especially when you have no immediate or even short-term plans to sell the boat, is a waste of energy.

[s/v Jedi]

Not sure if you could use this or not but I seem to remember you can use epoxy primer when the hardener isn’t amine based?

When you would use a high build epoxy primer you can get pretty good adhesion without sanding. You can even clean with something like TSP to prep it.

That primer will allow a new owner to fair over it. So on top of that primer you could use something like Rustoleum oil based paint. I’m using that.

If the fiberglass doesn’t need the filling properties of a high build primer then you can use something like TotalProtect instead.

A new owner who wishes to fair then needs to sand off the topcoat only.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Not sure if you could use this or not but I seem to remember you can use epoxy primer when the hardener isn’t amine based?

When you would use a high build epoxy primer you can get pretty good adhesion without sanding. You can even clean with something like TSP to prep it.

That primer will allow a new owner to fair over it. So on top of that primer you could use something like Rustoleum oil based paint. I’m using that.

If the fiberglass doesn’t need the filling properties of a high build primer then you can use something like TotalProtect instead.

A new owner who wishes to fair then needs to sand off the topcoat only.

Maybe. I have never tried the epoxy primer without the amine Hardner. I think we decided it was probably possible. But I didn’t risk anything. Good memory though. I’m kind of impressed that you remember this.

One thing that worked just fine on these surfaces was Bondo. I tried a little patch of that in the corner somewhere and it won’t come off. I have tried to get it off. But it’s not going to come off. I can’t peel it off with a scraper. I can’t sand it because that’s not good.

So you may have given me an idea here.

In some of the worst spots that just look really lumpy, maybe I can even them out with some judicious Bondo application before painting. Really really good application. And that I could hit just a little bit to sand it down.

And I would only do this in areas that were just awful.

Specifically I’m picturing an area by my chain places where they didn’t mask it and let all of the epoxy drip down everywhere and it’s just a wreck.

And adhesion is not an issue here. Due to the rough nature of the surface, plus peel ply in many places, it’s extremely easy to adhere things to it. Nothing falls off.

And yes. Rust oleum is amazing stuff. I have used it outside in a couple places and it’s going nowhere. It sticks like crazy and it’s pretty durable.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by nwh10

That's a very tough question to have an opinion about without seeing your boat or lots of good photos of it. And the opinions would only be good for now. Who knows what buyers are going to be interested in 10-20-30 years from now?

I think you should try painting a test area like we talked about. If you like it, keep going. You have so many other projects that take precedence over covering fiberglass. (Notice I didn't mention fairing, which you can't do.) If, when everything else is done (when exactly will that be?? lol! it's a boat, so never!), you get really bored or the paint bugs you, then you can cover it with beautiful vinyl or whatever. To be concerned now about resale value, especially when you have no immediate or even short-term plans to sell the boat, is a waste of energy.

Actually you have seen good photos of the boat. Ha ha.

You saw that front page of this thread right? That’s what it looks like. There’s no interior yet. Just that yellow and brown pattern everywhere. No cabinetry. Nothing painted, just a raw fiberglass hull.

Getting ready to build some stuff out in a little while.

Assuming I’m keeping it which I think I am, I will be starting some cabinetry this summer.

And that’s a very good point about what buyers will be interested in 10, 20 and 30 years from now.

That will be GenZ buying this thing. Who knows? Maybe they will love popcorn finish or those flecks on Jon boats. Ha ha. Fashions comes around and goes around.

Plus I am considering being one of those guys that stays on it until I die. It’s a pretty nice home. My other option would be a small cabin or tiny home type thing when I am that age where I can’t do anything anymore. But why not stay in this thing?

And if I die and still own it, then all of these worries were for nothing. My heirs can get a few bucks less on resale.

[smj]

We used an elastomeric paint from Home Depot in the head of our old Searunner 38 catamaran. It left a decent texture which may mask some of the cloth print through, but as I recall was a pain to work with. Dried to a rubbery consistency and still looks good.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by smj

We used an elastomeric paint from Home Depot in the head of our old Searunner 38 catamaran. It left a decent texture which may mask some of the cloth print through, but as I recall was a pain to work with. Dried to a rubbery consistency and still looks good.
Attachment 272045

That area looks really nice.

I was also considering as I think I mentioned up thread, maybe using a couple different colors and a pattern.

The pattern would be rolled on over the main color. The pattern would only be slightly different in color.

I guess I have some time to figure out how I’m doing it. It’ll be after the rig is on.

good to know that it is possible to leave it though. That’s really what I was asking about. To see if I was insane to consider leaving it the way it is and just painting over it.

by the way, I think everyone here would be quite surprised at how well polyester sticks to epoxy. As long as it’s not something structural.

in the pictures on the first page, that chain plate is painted over with polyester. That allowed me to come back on the boat immediately after they installed it and not have to wait 6 months. It's encapsulated in polyester.

i’ve done this in a couple areas in order to be able to come back on the boat after epoxy work was done. it pretty much sticks like paint. But better.