Painting Hull tips

[alpgulden]

Hey Guys I need help.
I am complete new bee refitting my new Catalina 27.
I wanted to paint the hull with lead paint. I wanted to do a proper job so paint wont get peal off next day. But in the mean time I didnt want to sand to gel code. But while washing with Power wash the bottom paint pealed off by itself. So I have gone thought and remove the paint with power wash. I am not sure if I have done right or I have been stupid. What I am trying to understand from this moment -if you look at the picture- do I need to sand more and get to gelcode. do I need prime to paint black on top of this. What would be the sanding grid as I dont want to damage the gelcode. Do I need a barrier code?
Or should I just go straight to black paint on top of current condition on the picture.
Please advice what would I do next to get a proper result.

thanks.

alp

[Yellowtulip]

I don’t know what you mean by lead paint.
It depends on how much work you want to do. If you want to go back to the gel coat you can do so. Most people would use a scraper to do that. It’s very hard work and takes a long time. Power tools can do it but you risk damaging the gel coat. At that stage you could paint the bottom with an epoxy paint, then a primer coat, then the anti foul to do a thorough job.
Or you could sand the anti foul lightly, apply a coat of primer appropriate to your chosen anti foul and then a coat of anti foul (you call that bottom paint over there, I think.). I wouldn’t scrape unless the old anti foul was thick and flaky.

[Benz]

I would sand that with 40-grit for a little, then with 60-grit for a little more, then with 80-grit, stopping wherever I saw gelcoat. Then I would roll on two coats of COPPER antifoul. Don't use lead--first, because it's expensive, and second, because it's not meant for antifouling--it's meant to prevent rot on wooden parts. Red lead is great for primer on wooden boats, but has no value for a fiberglass hull.

[marcjsmith]

at some point, you might have to go back to gel coat. or close to it. my moody had 30 years worth of paint and it was starting to flake off in chunks back to bare gelcoat. no evidence of any blisters, so I tried to sand, and strip but i just wasn't cut out for the job and ended up hiring someone to soda blast. and then I repainted.


if you've gotten that far, might be time to take it down and start with a clean slate, so to speak.


I'm glad I went that route. I hope to stay in the water for two years before the next paint cycle.

[C420sailor]

Is this your forever boat? Or is this a stepping stone to a larger/newer boat?

If it’s the latter, I’d use a putty knife to ditch flaking paint, give her a thorough sanding with 80 grit, wipe all the dust off, then apply a nice two coats of ablative antifoul.

If you plan to hold onto this boat for a while, you may want to do a complete job. Strip the boat to gelcoat, fair any dings/voids/low spots, sand, wipe, apply an epoxy barrier, and two coats antifoul over that. Stripping can be done chemically, mechanically (scraping/sanding) or via blasting. There are recoat/topcoat times with the epoxy barrier and antifoul, make sure you stick to them. Also, if you have a lead keel, you need to apply an epoxy coat in a particular manner to keep everything from peeling off.

If your thru-hulls look sketchy, now is the time to replace.

[marcjsmith]

[QUOTE=C420sailor;3407083If your thru-hulls look sketchy, now is the time to replace.[/QUOTE]
Truer words were never spoken. Heed this advice.

If I could do it over. I would have replaced all of mine.

[alpgulden]

Hi guys

Just wanted to give update and ask some more questions. Attached is where i am at.

1. When i am working When I'm working on the Keel I have noticed a previous epoxy work And I have seen gracey colour So the next step would be fixing the Catalina smile putting on 3M 5200 Adhesive and put on protection and paint.

2. On above the water line my question is I'm planning to just buff. would that be enough or should I paint and then what would I paint if I need to

[Creedence]

Looks like you’re doing some good work, and you’re asking the right questions. This is going to be a great learning experience for you- I started out much the same way.

If I can recommend a book- consider buying This Old Boat by Don Casey. Among many other things it covers in great detail how to do your bottom job, paint considerations, prep, etc. he details how to Dry out a hull if needed, grind, fill, fare, etc.

He also discusses topside coatings and maintenance.

Given that this is reasonably new to you, I really recommend a compound and wax job, or at a push, maybe a wet sanding (to remove dead, oxidized gelcote), then a polish, followed by a wax.

You’d be opening yourself up to much more challenging work with painting the topsides, which at this point may be premature for your experience. It WILL come to you though as you take on smaller paint projects onboard so by the time your next haul out comes, you’ll be better equipped.

[Creedence]

Originally Posted by marcjsmith

at some point, you might have to go back to gel coat. or close to it. my moody had 30 years worth of paint and it was starting to flake off in chunks back to bare gelcoat. no evidence of any blisters, so I tried to sand, and strip but i just wasn't cut out for the job and ended up hiring someone to soda blast. and then I repainted.


if you've gotten that far, might be time to take it down and start with a clean slate, so to speak.


I'm glad I went that route. I hope to stay in the water for two years before the next paint cycle.

One of my favorite lines from my seller was something to the effect of “I hope you can see the opportunity you have here with all of the deferred maintenance I left. Now you can get the work done the way YOU want it!”

Not one to let a “gift horse” like that go unappreciated, I just had it media blasted to bare glass. After effecting the few repairs it needs below the waterline, I’m going to have two coats of epoxy barrier coat applied, then a few coats of hard bottom paint. I had always done ablative on my sailboats, but after speaking to a rep from Sea Hawk, they have a hard paint with better biocides than their ablative formula (for my local waters at least), so I’m going to give that a try.

[Charlie]

I would look at this page prior to making my decision on whether to buff or to paint. Many gelcoats can be repaired by merely buffing the paint out.

https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...long-6469.html

[marcjsmith]

Originally Posted by Creedence

One of my favorite lines from my seller was something to the effect of “I hope you can see the opportunity you have here with all of the deferred maintenance I left. Now you can get the work done the way YOU want it!”

thats one way of looking at it....

i would think the gelcoat would respond nicely to compound and wax. on the topsides. its a lot of work but i was genuinely surprised how well the gelcoat came about on mine. it sat for nearly 9 years untouched.

[psk125]

Leave the topsides (hull above the waterline) unpainted if you possibly can. Gelcoat is a LOT thicker than paint. It is tougher, shinier, and holds up better than paint. If the topsides gelcoat is dull, you can compound, polish and wax it. If you paint the topsides it will look good for a while, but it will get nicked, scratched, and worn. You will eventually need to paint it again... and again. Paint works on the underwater parts of a boat because it doesn't have to be shiny, antifouling needs pretty much yearly replenishment, and it wears off.