Retaining a boot stripe during painting

[48dodge]

Any suggestions on retaining a bootstripe and other original striping on my Oday 222? I'm removing all existing paint from the boat and painting after some minor repairs. I would like to reuse the original waterlines which wouldn't be an issue normally, but I'm planning on sealing the boat with an epoxy primer to help fill in some small scratches. Is there anyway to do the entire hull at once or should I do the bottom, paint the bottom, seal the bootstripe, paint the bootstripe, then seal the topsides and paint? I guess I could do the bottom and topsides at one time while protecting the bootstripe then do that last.

 

[Ross]

Just mask the stripe and work around it. Then mask the new

work and do the stripe.

 

[Ed Schenck]

Usually. . . .

the bootstripe is not saved through the process. Sand, seal, and paint all the way down to the bottom paint. This finishes the topsides. No tape, no worries. Then do the bottom anti-fouling. Finally a new bootstripe. Doing the topsides first gives you a better edge at the waterline. Bottom coats are generally a little rough and hard to get a good tape line on.What method and paint are you using?

 

[48dodge]

Haven't gotten THAT far, yet

Still doing research on paints. Still trying to decide on the paint, the paint colors and scheme. I've never had the boat in the water, so I don't know how it floats in relation to the waterline, either.

 

[48dodge]

Reading Good Old Boat the other night

And Don Casey says that boatyards commonly score bootstripes so they aren't lost during the sanding process. Any idea how this is done? It looks like someone along the line has painted the bottom with a hard paint on top of the gelcoat, so there is a small physical line at the bottom edge of the bootstripe, but there's a good chance it'll get sanded away.

 

[Ross]

On wooden boats they make the score with

a knife but I don't think I would feel kindly towards that on a plastic boat. The gelcoat is fragile enough without putting grooves in it.

 

[48dodge]

Should be "This Old Boat"

Yeah, I was wondering if he was referring to fiberglass boats, even though the book is about fiberglass boats. The gelcoat has already seen better days.

 

[JungleJetJock]

Boot stripe

If you decide to redo the boot stripe with vinyl the following I have found to be the least expensive place to buy it. They also answer the phone when you call and ship quickly.http://www.lettersunlimited.com/striping.htmGood luck.

 

[RichH]

Scoring bootstripes .....

Take a long (5/8") fiberglass batten, have an assistant hold the batten firmly in place. Score the gel by drawing a triangular file (saw file) along the batten.

 

[sailaway78]

Just don't get

Just don't get too carried away on the sanding, and there should be enough of the stripe left to use it as a guide. You can sand the ridge off, get it smooth as a babies butt, and still should be able to see where the stripe was. As long as the stripe paint is reasonable decent and not flaking off, there is no reason to sand off all traces of it in order to re paint.

 

[48dodge]

It's in the gelcoat

The stripes are in the gelcoat. So, it's completely flat with the surrounding gelcoat. The bottom paint has a small ridge, but quite a bit of that is coming off due to repairing small cracks and chips prior to paint. And I'd like to go ahead and bring it all down level and start from scratch. Plus I'd still need to mark the top edge. Thanks for the idea, RichH.