Advice on Paunting and Waxing

[goofeyfoot]

i am buying 33' boat in the next week. Fiberglass. Was thinking about sanding and painting and waxing it myself. Is there a good beginners guide for that? Never have done it. Also, what equipment and gear do you need?

Thanks.

Michael

 

[Brian S]

Not sure about this paunting of which you speak... I've heard it said that once you start painting, you will always be painting. And you can remove gelcoat oxidation and polish with very satisfactory results: Here's the bible on polishing a boat http://forums.sailboatowners.com/index.php?threads/tips-for-a-great-buff-wax.117266/ That being said, there comes a time when that gelcoat won't be brought back, or has had too much removed. At that point, painting is an option. One of the popular paints due to its hardness and shine is a 2 part polyurethane such as Awlgrip. I have read several articles over the past 3 or 4 years in Good Old Boat magazine about people using a "roll and tip" method to do their own Awlgrip job. That being said, some feel that 2 part poly is too hard and difficult to repair chips and scratches, and prefer to paint with regular old alkyd enamel. Also, I'm pretty sure that Awlgrip does not recommend buffing or waxing their cured paint. I could be wrong about that.

Keep researching, and decide what is best for you.

 

[rgranger]

... and prefer to paint with regular old alkyd enamel.

I'm in that camp... but it probably does depend upon how bad your gel coat really is. Try buffing with a good orbital buffer and quality compound first. You might get lucky and at the very least, you will have gotten all of the loose stuff off before you paint and can consider that a good sanding.

I have purchased and restored 7 sailboats so far... made a lot of mistakes and learned what I like and what works for me and my skill set. There is more than one "right" way to paint a boat and more than one "right" opinion on what sort of paint you should or should not use. So take this advice for what free advice is worth..

I have had very good luck with oil based rustoleum and roll & tip. (Not the spray can stuff) But I have also purchased more expensive marine paint and it looked a tad better. A lot more money... a tad better. You decide. The first three attached pics have an expensive marine grade paint for the top sides and deck and rustoleum as the bottom paint. In the last two pics, the topsides and bottom is all rustoleum. All was done roll & tip. What I have come to like about using rustoleum is the fact that I can always find a color match years later when I slam my boat into a pylon and scratch the hell out of it....


The secret to a good paint job is the preparation step. You have to get ALL of the wax off before you start sanding or buffing. If you don't, you will push the wax into the sanding scratches and never get a clean surface. Pressure wash, let dry and then get about 6 rolls of paper towels and a few cans of acetone from Lowes ... stand up wind so you don't kill your liver and start wiping down your boat... then buff and sand, then a quick pressure wash again to get the grit off. The paint will look great and will last 10+ years before it starts to break down from UV. If you scrimp on the prep stage, you will get strips of paint that come off in one season (due to way between the new paint and fiberglass). Ask me how I know....

 

[Siamese]

You'll get so much more useful help if you're more specific. What are planning to paint? Bottom, topsides, deck, interior?

If you're planning to wax your topsides, I would suggest you check out marinehowto.com for what MaineSail has to say about waxing and prepping for waxing. You'll find a lot of information that pertains to compounding and polishing, and you can disregard all that for what you've asked. Just see what he has to say about cleaning the topsides and waxing.

So, let us know what it is you intend to paint.

In general, boats are a much different creature than a house with regard to how particular you need to be about your techniques and materials. That's probably why you're asking in advance. Something that seems to be true on boats is that the smallest mistake, or use of the wrong materials can bite your wallet extremely hard. Like using Windex on flexible vinyl windows.

 

[Brian S]

If you're planning to wax your topsides, I would suggest you check out marinehowto.com for what MaineSail has to say about waxing and prepping for waxing.

The link I posted above is to Maine Sail's article "Tips for a Great Buff Wax" which probably should be renamed "How to Polish and Wax Your Boat." He tells you why you should avoid miracle products, and why you need to sand, compound, polish in multiple steps, etc.. And also I can tell you an orbital polisher like what you buy from an auto parts store will not get the job done. Makita 9227C is the way to go, with proper pads and polishes as outlined by Maine, and not the cheapo Harbor Freight polisher. Ask me why I gave away the HF and kept the Makita!

This picture shows the shine I got, before waxing. I should have gone one more polish step with the foam pad. I will this season.