Surface Prep for Topsides Paint (Shear Stripe)

[Taychopera]

Hello! We are in the process of preparing our shear stripe for a new coat of Easypoxy. This will be our first time doing this, as we just purchased the boat last year.

The previous owner had used Easypoxy several years ago. It is very chalky at this point, coming off easily with 80-grit sandpaper. Below the previous coat is another chalked-up layer of red, which also comes off quite easily.

My husband and brother-in-law insist that, since there is no flaking or peeling, it will be fine to just scuff up the top layer and apply the new paint. I am nervous about putting new paint over these chalked-up substrate layers, though, and wonder if we shouldn't just sand them off entirely.

So, any opinions on this? If the end result will be the same, I obviously don't want to spend unnecessary time and effort on the sanding process. But if the result will be better (i.e., avoiding problems down the road), I'm happy to spend the extra time!

Many thanks,
Laura

[s/v Beth]

Laura, I just had my topsides done. They basically went down to the jelcoat. Looks like about 20 years of painting (in layers) before that. They were looking for a mirror finish on my two part paint.