[followme21]

I want/need to repaint the side of my 92 crownline. It of course is fiberglass with a gel coat on top of that. I really only need to repaint the 16" or so stripe that goes down the side of it. Has anyone ever painted a gel coat? I am wondeing if I can use automotive paint/primer? Base/Clear? or if some sort of additive needs to be added to it? or marine paint? Any advise would be great.
Thanks

[da34guy]

Originally Posted by followme21

I want/need to repaint the side of my 92 crownline. It of course is fiberglass with a gel coat on top of that. I really only need to repaint the 16" or so stripe that goes down the side of it. Has anyone ever painted a gel coat? I am wondeing if I can use automotive paint/primer? Base/Clear? or if some sort of additive needs to be added to it? or marine paint? Any advise would be great.
Thanks

Ain't no differant then paintin a Corvette, or any other fiberglass car.

Just wipe down real good b4 ya shoot, as sanding fiberglass creates much more static electricity.

[OLNOLAN]

Hey 21, If you just need to repair the stripe section, a single stage urethane may work out good for you. I did a major transom repair on mine a while back and had to repaint the stern area. I used PPG single stage urethane in the closest color match I could determine from the samples(Pearl White). I used the recommended primer from PPG, and followed the instruction sheets supplied by the paint store as far as prep, number of coats, spray technique, etc. Here is a recent photo of the ~13-14 yr. old paint. olnolan

[Runnin'OnEmpty]

Originally Posted by followme21

I want/need to repaint the side of my 92 crownline. It of course is fiberglass with a gel coat on top of that. I really only need to repaint the 16" or so stripe that goes down the side of it. Has anyone ever painted a gel coat? I am wondeing if I can use automotive paint/primer? Base/Clear? or if some sort of additive needs to be added to it? or marine paint? Any advise would be great.
Thanks

If the paint is below the waterline, or the boat stays in the water all
summer, then you should use a paint containing biocide or use a biocide
additive. Awlgrip is a good boat paint brand.

If not, then an auto urethane will work fine. No problem in painting over
gelcoat, just prepare it for paint as you would normally. Just don't sand
through to the fiberglass fibers.

[followme21]

Thanks all, thats what i was hoping to hear.. It is above the water line and does not stay in the water all summer.

That looks good OLNOLAN, I see you have thru hull exhaust, my wife and I dont agree on the the need for it. I want it .. she of course doesnt see the need to spend $1,000 on captains call. Is your captains call or is it open all the time?

[DanielC]

DO NOT PAINT YOUR BOAT! Use gelcoat on it.

You can probably get color matched Gelcoat from
http://www.spectrumcolor.com/
or
http://www.minicraft.com/retail/crownline.htm

Cleaned properly, gelcoat will stick to gelcoat. Paint will fade differently than gelcoat.

If it was easier, or better, or cheaper to paint boats, somebody would do it. No boat company to my knowledge does. There must be a reason why.

[OLNOLAN]

The only time mine is quiet is at idle in the water. Exhaust is Kodiac individual runner manifolds(aluminum) As soon as you hit the pedal in gear it goes from mild to wild. See this post for sound;(click on boat to start) olnolan
Eliminator Hot Boat Video(Driveway Run)

[mitmaks]

I've painted boat for a guy last year. It was in acrylic enamel with hardener. He didn't want to spend too much money on it. I've put down 2 coats of vinyl primer and then shot paint over it. Came out pretty decent.

[OLNOLAN]

Daniel C. is correct in the fact that you can spray gelcoat and the fact that its the best and most correct way to repair or re-gelcoat the entire boat. In my case I just needed to refinish the stern section. I didn't know how to mix or shoot gelcoat. Then when I went to look at color samples, there were about 28 or so different pearl whites. The PPG lady allowed me to take the whole ring home to match it. They didn't do gel coat so I settled for the hard urethane. If this fellow is just fixing the 18" stripe on the less expensive route maybe urethane is the ticket. Mine only has one nick in about 13-14 yrs, ****ing rock from the lawn mower. On the sides of the boat it might get nicked up alot faster. Food for thought. olnolan

[jcclark]

Originally Posted by DanielC

No boat company to my knowledge does. There must be a reason why.

You're talking about fiberglass, but remember that ALL aluminum boats
are painted. And they're painted by the boat companies.
and they hold up just fine.


No automotive paint is rated to hold up on a boat that stays in the water.
I even asked the DuPont people if they made any and they said no.
But for a boat that stays in the water only a few days at a time at most
then auto paint works pretty good.
Use a urethane over epoxy primer and it'll hold really good.
Even on fiberglass.
I did my aluminum boat that way and it's been really durable
and held up better than I even hoped for.
I've seen fiberglass boats get painted too and they held great.
But only on trailered boats, not stored in water more than a week at a time.

[DanielC]

Working with gelcoat is not hard, it is just different than painting. Most gelcoat is a polyester resin based product. You most likely have worked with a polyester based products before, it is called body filler. Bondo.

Like i said before, gelcoat sticks to gelcoat. You can get properly matched gelcoat. Some paints will stick to gelcoat, but not as good a gelcoat does.

Gelcoat on a boat is typically .020 to .040 thick. Paint is about 1/10 of that. It is very common on a boat to lightly sand and buff minor surface scratches out. It makes the boat look new. A minor scratch can even be just buffed out, no filling necessary. If you put paint and primer on a boat, the next time the boat is buffed, they will be chasing the line where the paint is applied over the gelcoat.

The biggest issue with gelcoat is that is does not like to cure on the surface. It also does not flow out like paint. You have to sand it. You use the same skill set you use when leveling plastic filler. Once it is level, you sand with finer grits of sandpaper, and then buff it. A coat of wax, and you are done.

I have done both gelcoat repairs on boats, and paint repairs on cars. Gelcoat is much easier.

[curtis73]

Gelcoat is top notch, but labor intensive and a PITA to do.

My body man did four boats for various members of my family. Normal paint like Imron or Deltron will not do well for constantly wet portions. If there will be parts that are submerged or wet for more than about a month it will blister.

Mine blistered where it sat on the carpeted bunkers and stayed wet longer than the rest.

I plan on trying paint on the side of my Baja. The last 3 or 4 feet will be submerged at idle, but from my experience with it, it shouldn't be a problem.

[boatbob2]

Hi,i have been repairing and painting boats for over 35 years,YES,you can spray gel coat over gel coat,but why would you? for example,if i re- gel coat a 28 ft Formula,deck ,sides,and transom. ,its $7,000 to $9,000 (thats dollars) first you have to sand the hull with 80 grit,,.use grease and wax remover,2 or 3 times,(changing towels frequently) Mix your gel coat,dont catalize it too hot (or you will be buying a spray gun) thin the gel coat with STYRENE,NOT ACETONE,spray the boat a minimun of 3 coats,(4 coats is better) add WAX to last coat.leave it alone til the next day. then the fun begins,water sand with 320 grit,if the gel coat is nice and smooth,you can START with 400 grit,(i use a jitterbug) after the boat is sanded,do it again with 600 grit paper and water,(still very little shine)then grab the buffer,using 2 different compounds,buff out the boat,if it all shines the same,wax it and walk away. probably 8 to 10, 6 hour days. BUT,same boat, use grease and wax remover 2 or 3 times , i sand it with 150 grit on a DA,wash the boat mix paint 1 to 1,paint and catalist,,spray a good DUST COAT of AWL-GRIP (US PAINTS) wait 30 to 45 minutes,spray a nice wet coat,wait 1 to 1 1/2 hours,spray a second wet coat,let it get hard,walk away from the boat,the jobs finished,(Time to do job is 2 to 3 days) $2,000 to $3,000,depending on repairs needed.much more shine than gel-coat,will last indefinately without dulling. your choice,gel coat or paint...

[DanielC]

Maybe I am missing something. If it is only a 16 inch scratch that needs repair, I still believe the faster way to repair it is to use gelcoat.
If it is a 16 inch wide stripe the entire length of the boat, I still believe the best repair would be buff out as much as possible, maybe sand and buff again, and then do any necessary repairs with gelcoat.

I also believe if you are refinishing the entire surface, bottom, sides and deck of a boat, paint would be a much faster way to go.

[bondo]

Originally Posted by boatbob2

Hi,i have been repairing and painting boats for over 35 years,YES,you can spray gel coat over gel coat,but why would you? for example,if i re- gel coat a 28 ft Formula,deck ,sides,and transom. ,its $7,000 to $9,000 (thats dollars) first you have to sand the hull with 80 grit,,.use grease and wax remover,2 or 3 times,(changing towels frequently) Mix your gel coat,dont catalize it too hot (or you will be buying a spray gun) thin the gel coat with STYRENE,NOT ACETONE,spray the boat a minimun of 3 coats,(4 coats is better) add WAX to last coat.leave it alone til the next day. then the fun begins,water sand with 320 grit,if the gel coat is nice and smooth,you can START with 400 grit,(i use a jitterbug) after the boat is sanded,do it again with 600 grit paper and water,(still very little shine)then grab the buffer,using 2 different compounds,buff out the boat,if it all shines the same,wax it and walk away. probably 8 to 10, 6 hour days. BUT,same boat, use grease and wax remover 2 or 3 times , i sand it with 150 grit on a DA,wash the boat mix paint 1 to 1,paint and catalist,,spray a good DUST COAT of AWL-GRIP (US PAINTS) wait 30 to 45 minutes,spray a nice wet coat,wait 1 to 1 1/2 hours,spray a second wet coat,let it get hard,walk away from the boat,the jobs finished,(Time to do job is 2 to 3 days) $2,000 to $3,000,depending on repairs needed.much more shine than gel-coat,will last indefinately without dulling. your choice,gel coat or paint...

Ayuh,... I'm with Bob on this,...
While Gelcoat might be tougher, 'n has to be shot Alot thicker,...
It ain't worth the extra effort...
Ya gotta shoot it on twice as thick, so you can sand 1/2 of it off, to get it smooth...

I've shot countless boats, both above, 'n below the waterline with Martin Seynor Prizim paints...
It's a Great, easy to use 2-pt. urthane fleet paint...
As long as you do the proper Prep, it'll last just fine...
This is a Highliner 222 I shot a year ago, last spring,...
It was allowed to cure a week, 'n then launched for the season, tied to a dock,...
No sanding, No buffing, No polishing, No waxing...
It's the Boss's comuter boat, as he lives on an island in the St. Lawrence river, during the summer...
These pictures are After it sat in the water from late may, to early november...
The bottom paint is Rustoleum white industrial enamel...





I use the complete M/S system, their primer, 'n topcoat...
1 coat of primer, then sanded,...
1 coat of topcoat color...