I want to change the hull color of my Buccaneer 180. Do I remove all paint, prep and repaint the ENTIRE hull, then apply bottom paint or only repaint above the waterline and reapply bottom paint? Thanks!
Painting
- Thread starter mrudman850
- Start date
What shape is it in? How is it used? Do you trailer or does she sit in the water for months? Your best bet is to take her down to the fiberlgass and repaint the entire hull. If you trailer, you can use something like EasyPoxy over the entire hull, including the bottom. It can spend several days (maybe up to a week) in the water with no adverse effect. If she's wet for long periods, I'd sand and paint to just below the waterline, then paint the bottom with an eco-friendly ablative. I used HydroCoat and have had really good luck with it. Hard ablative, easy clean up, stands up well to trailering. But if the bottom is in rough shape, you should sand all the bottom paint off, add a barrier coat of epoxy, then the bottom paint. One thing to keep in mind, if you don't know what paint was used, you need to stay away from the 2-part epoxies. They don't play well with some paints and could really mess you up. You'd want to go with a singe part epoxy like EasyPoxy. I hear some folks rave about Rustoleum too.
Don
Don
I think you are getting some partially bad advice above. If your hull is painted now (not original gelcoat), then you can sand what you have and apply a primer over the old paint that is compatible with the paint you wish to use and paint on the new color. If your boat has the original gelcoat, then you can also sand, clean and prime and paint. If you leave the boat in the water all the time, you don't want to use a two part (or one part) polyurethane paint as it will blister with prolonged submersion. It is wonderful paint as long as it doesn't sit in the water for long periods. It is not guaranteed below the waterline. If you frequently launch and retrieve your boat, so it gets wet for short periods of time, then polyurethane paints will work. A 2-part linear polyurethane paint like Awlgrip or Awlcraft has the best color retention, gloss retention and abrasion resistance of practically any other paint on the market, but it is expensive. It holds up to sunlight and will not oxidize quickly. Two part epoxies, unlike the comment above, are waterproof and are good below the waterline, but they don't hold up to sunlight as well, so they tend to oxidize or get dull quicker. If you leave your boat in the water, then you might wish to apply antiflouling bottom paint so that the waterline is an inch or two above the static waterline. Then you can use a two part polyurethane above the waterline on the topsides (hull sides). It might get wet, but will not be wet for long periods of time and so will hold up beautifully. A paint like Awlgrip is very aggressive and so could lift a less noble paint underneath it and that is why you need to apply a primer coat of 545 epoxy primer as a barrier. Hope this helps.
You don't need to put topside paint on the bottom - if I understand your question. So the second option you posted is what I would do.
As BB said the polyurethane paints shouldn't be applied where they will be subjected to moisture. There are numerous cases in which shrink wrap holds enough moisture to the paint that peeling can occur.
Unless you are really into getting the best finish as a point of pride, or just enjoy the work, I would consider a one part epoxy carefully applied. I did my Bandit 15 topsides with Brightsides and had good long lasting results.
As BB said the polyurethane paints shouldn't be applied where they will be subjected to moisture. There are numerous cases in which shrink wrap holds enough moisture to the paint that peeling can occur.
Unless you are really into getting the best finish as a point of pride, or just enjoy the work, I would consider a one part epoxy carefully applied. I did my Bandit 15 topsides with Brightsides and had good long lasting results.
Get away from thinking "hull" ... think "topsides" and "bottom"... now go read the manufacturers instructions for their topside and bottom paint... If you're simply changing the color of your topsides you can paint right over the existing paint or gel coat.... do NOT sand down to bare fiberglass unless you are repairing the fiberglass... the key is to use the preparation and primer recommended by the paint manufacturer.. if you follow that.. you'll be good... then it's just a matter of application technique.... but you'll most likely end up rolling and tipping...