Topside paint

[SantaCruzS2]

Greetings everyone.....

Has anyone painted the top of their boats?

My S2 is starting to show her age, and it was recommended that we clean the top of the boat and paint it.

The top of the boat shows cracking and its just, like I said, showing her age.

Thoughts?

 

[RichH]

Painting is probably the very last thing you should do to a boat as there is no paint on the planet that can withstand the rigors of the boating environment as well as simple gelcoat. Gelcoat can be deep-cleaned, buffed back to showroom shine/brilliance, and even resprayed (spot repair or entire sections) ... all can be a DIY project if you are 'clever' and fastidious.

Once you paint a boat you are forever committed to constant paint and repaint .... and many 'boat paints' do not 'repair' very well. A boat that is painted, even with the super-exotic paints used on mega-yachts ... will have lower resale value. If you paint the topsides you then must be exceedingly careful if you ever 'cover' the boat for long term storage ... as a too tight shrink wrap application will promote high humidity conditions that can cause the paint to lose adhesion.

Id recommend and suggest that if your boat is beginning to look 'sad', then first attempt to buff-out the gelcoat with extremely fine polishing compounds (not with the coarse abrasives found in the typical 'boat rubbing/cleaning compounds') and using a variable high speed autobodyshop buffer and knobby foam polishing pads. (do websearch here on SBO for MaineSails method of 'gelcoat polishing' as a good example of buffing, etc.). Gouges, scratches, and cracks can be repaired using gelcoat repair, etc.; if your gelcoat is tinted you can purchase computer color matched gelcoat. Gelcoat is usually quite thick and the dull faded / oxidized surface can simply be removed by buffing. There are some precautions so that you dont 'burn through' down into the fiberglass matting layers under the gel - most buffing descriptions are detailed and carefully explained procedures (such as MaineSails description in the archives).

There are also clear acrylic compounds that are applied over gelcoat to temporarily restore shine and flatness; but, ultimately these need to be removed (with labor) and should only be deemed 'temporary'. Their usage wont approach the dazzle, shine and satisfaction of well buffed-out gelcoat.

 

[Napa Ed]

Oh the doom of constant paint and repaint. Like every ten years or so. Probably won't have the boat that long. Santa Cruz location so no shrink wrap fear mongering there. Which has lower resale value, a crazed gel coat or 5 year old LPU? Cost of painting is lower than gel coat replacement. It's a boat. Go sailing. You want to make it a fetish, knock yourself out.

New LPU in 2002 on a 1978 O'Day 25. Still gets mistaken for a new.

 

[tommays]

Well

I think if give and idea about how much time OR money it took in prep (which is massive as you took the boat pretty completely apart) in your your really nice looking Oday people would realize its not like painting a house

 

[TimCup]

yes. lot's of us have painted our "topsides".

many more have painted the deck, including me. my boat's gelcoat was shot- way too many pits and pinholes, not to mention chips, nicks, etc. painting with 2-part paint is a vialble option, an option I chose after failing with gelcoat. Yeah, I know, it can be done "easily", but not by me. Clogs from the gelcoat kicking too fast was bad, but nothing compared to it not kicking for 2 days. After sanding off twice, I got paint. it's been 3 years, and still llooks 1000% better than the old gelcoat.

Check the archives, there's at least 100 different posts, including how-to's.


cup

 

[Maine Sail]

I have

I currently have an acrylic urethane (Alwlcraft 2000) painted hull and it looks beautiful but if I had my druthers I'd go back to gelcoat any day of the week. While my paint will look good for a long time, I am far from the norm in terms of care and maintenance. If you are at a dock be prepared for gouges, fender chafe and other, clean through the finish, marks and mars.

I vote for a good gelcoat reconditioning and just live with the crazing. To do paint the right way is very, very time consuming and tedious. I would strongly advise against using any one part paint as it does not withstand the abuse that a two part does and the cost difference is minimal in the whole scheme of things.

I watched a guy with a classic old Bristol have the yard fully repaint the topsides with a one part marine paint. In the end he saved about $350.00 - $400.00 on the materials cost of the paint on a 10k job.

The bottom line is he was back in the same shop four winters later for a full strip of the old paint, prep and re-paint, this time with AwlGrip.. The bottom line is he spent over 20k in four years painting his boat when he could have spent 10.4k, the first time, and had it last 15+ years.

 

[Steve Dion]

I agree that gelcoat is the preferred finish on a boat. LPU and the other quality paints are usually too expensive for the average owner to consider. Gelcoat allows you to use most any cleaners to remove dirt & stains.

Getting the gel coat reconditioned with some of the products on the market is a much better approach. If it does not work you can always go to plan B (paint). If nothing else the prep work will be a lot easier once the gelcoat has been properly cleaned.

 

[Napa Ed]

Cost of either material done properly is expensive. Think twice before jumping in. Depends in part on what you have to cover up. I had a number of areas ground out and patched. The materials used under paint are easier than what you have to do for a gelcoat replacement. Gelcoat is the s**t but not always possible for the same money.

 

[gettinthere]

"topside" vs "deck"

I've confused this myself several times; the "topsides" are the side of the boat hull above the waterline. The "deck" is the horizontal surfaces of the boat above the toe rail.

Topsides are easier to prep as there isn't too much hardware to fuss with. But the vertical surface makes runs more likely. Scraping against pilings, etc can put big, difficult-to-repair gouges into the paint.

Decks are more difficult to prep as there is a lot of hardware to deal with plus non-skid areas to mask off. If all foot trafic is on the non-skid, then good paint will likely hold up well on deck.