I have been thinking about painting the decks on my Hunter. A few questions I have are A) what should be done about gelcoat crazing the very fine little stress crazing b) what about larger cracks say almost the thickness of a dime c) can I paint witha brush and have it turn out nice and even without streaks or must it be sprayed Thanks Dave
Deck Paint
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All cracks and crazing
must be repaired before painting. Open the cracks with a knife, clean and fill. When the filler has set and the surface is finished, you can paint. I would recommend Awlgrip. It is a two part epoxy and requires a two part epoxy primer, but it is worth the effort. With the appropriate brushing thinner, Awlgrip is easily applied with a foam roller and tipping, if necessary, with a brush. The awlgrip website gives all the necessary directions. Jim
must be repaired before painting. Open the cracks with a knife, clean and fill. When the filler has set and the surface is finished, you can paint. I would recommend Awlgrip. It is a two part epoxy and requires a two part epoxy primer, but it is worth the effort. With the appropriate brushing thinner, Awlgrip is easily applied with a foam roller and tipping, if necessary, with a brush. The awlgrip website gives all the necessary directions. Jim
gulfstar44
I had a gulfstar44 that was total by hurricane rita, but i painter the deck with emeron paint, the same type used on aircraft, it healed up very great for 4 years bebore rita, the stress cracks, i used the same white grout that you use bewteen tiles, it worked, if a shower can take lots of water and ware, so can a boat, try it, IT WORKS BILL
I had a gulfstar44 that was total by hurricane rita, but i painter the deck with emeron paint, the same type used on aircraft, it healed up very great for 4 years bebore rita, the stress cracks, i used the same white grout that you use bewteen tiles, it worked, if a shower can take lots of water and ware, so can a boat, try it, IT WORKS BILL
wow...thought I'd heard it all
Open it with a knife? Use mortor (tile caulk)? Virtually every boating magazine has written something about how to repair cracks. Most say the same thing...Tap the area fitst to see if rot is inthe area. Mark the hollow thud areas with a magic marker. Define the rot area. Fix those areas. Then, for the cracks, drill small holes (NOT TO DEEP) at the end of each crack, to stop the cracks from growing. Then using a dremel tool, route out the cracks. Fill them with epoxy. Sand and paint. Use tip and roll for best results.
Open it with a knife? Use mortor (tile caulk)? Virtually every boating magazine has written something about how to repair cracks. Most say the same thing...Tap the area fitst to see if rot is inthe area. Mark the hollow thud areas with a magic marker. Define the rot area. Fix those areas. Then, for the cracks, drill small holes (NOT TO DEEP) at the end of each crack, to stop the cracks from growing. Then using a dremel tool, route out the cracks. Fill them with epoxy. Sand and paint. Use tip and roll for best results.
Hull and Deck Repair
The first thing you should do is buy Don Caseys book Sailboat hull And deck repair or better yet his new Sailboat Maintenance Manual. He will guide you step by step.I jut bought mine from Amazon.com and had it in a couple of days. Wally
The first thing you should do is buy Don Caseys book Sailboat hull And deck repair or better yet his new Sailboat Maintenance Manual. He will guide you step by step.I jut bought mine from Amazon.com and had it in a couple of days. Wally
Lots of variables
We painted our decks because they had lots of cracks and crazing. We used a 2-part polyurethane: Interlux Interthane Plus. A trial of one part poly (Brightsides) lasted about three days - it simply couldn't handle the abuse our decks get, so we went with the more durable and longer-lasting 2-part. The surface preparation, which includes primer coat(s) took care of almost all of the cracks and crazing on our 1981 boat, which had been raced hard. A couple of spots where repairs had been made by the previous owner needed some filling and sanding before applying the primer. It has now been five years since the paint job, and we need to go back and do some touch-ups. It took about five to six weeks to do our 36 foot boat, what with sanding, washing, dewaxing, dewaxing, taping, priming, sanding, dewaxing, priming, sanding, dewaxing, painting the nonskid and flat final coats, and waiting for the right weather conditions. Follow the directions and spend twice as much time putting on the masking tape as you think you should.
We painted our decks because they had lots of cracks and crazing. We used a 2-part polyurethane: Interlux Interthane Plus. A trial of one part poly (Brightsides) lasted about three days - it simply couldn't handle the abuse our decks get, so we went with the more durable and longer-lasting 2-part. The surface preparation, which includes primer coat(s) took care of almost all of the cracks and crazing on our 1981 boat, which had been raced hard. A couple of spots where repairs had been made by the previous owner needed some filling and sanding before applying the primer. It has now been five years since the paint job, and we need to go back and do some touch-ups. It took about five to six weeks to do our 36 foot boat, what with sanding, washing, dewaxing, dewaxing, taping, priming, sanding, dewaxing, priming, sanding, dewaxing, painting the nonskid and flat final coats, and waiting for the right weather conditions. Follow the directions and spend twice as much time putting on the masking tape as you think you should.
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