[Dutch180SE]

Hey guys, i have a question.. I'm really thinkin about taking my boat apart this winter and respray it in black ( now it is white ). My brother in law has a spraybooth at his job and after 6 million calls agreed to help me out if so... Did you guys ever heard of a respray like this or is it complete nonsens ? It doesnt cost me really anything more then a couple cases of beer for my bro and his employer and the paint offcourse..


Any opinions ?




best regards from Holland

[SEMIJim]

I think it's hard to beat the factory finish for durability and functionality. If you want to do this just because you'd rather have a black boat than a white one, then there's not much to say, other than to recommend you study the paints available real carefully before painting over the gel coat. Once you do it, you're stuck with it for the life of the boat.

I would suggest you read carefully these two threads:

Awlgrip on the hull...good, bad???
Tips For Compound, Polish & Wax

Personally, if I was going to paint I'd go with Imron or Alwcraft 2000. But if my gel coat merely needed TLC, I'd stick with that.

Jim

[Dutch180SE]

Aloha Jim, thanks for your reply... It took some time for me to awnser but i mailed some paint manufacturers and wanted to wait for there opinion.

The short version: youre right

Repainting would be a real pain in the ass.. As far as i understood the technical blabla the main reason is that clearcoat for under the waterline doesnt excist.. The kind of paints you suggested where a good option so thanks for that Jim
The paintjob and rebuilding the boat after is finished isnt my real concern, the attention the paintjob definitly will need to keep it "clean'' every season ( rubbing fenders etc.) is a little bit too much for me.. So, i will stick to white

Thanks again for the good advice..

Groeten uit Den Haag

[lmodelboy]

Well I would advise not to do it. I looked into it and was told by more than one professional that it will not take to the boat as you would think. It would after 6 months start to chip and actually be scratched away by something as easy as a nail. I was told to re gel coat my boat the same color by a gel coating specialist not a paint or a place that would do cars or anything else. My Boat is a 1997 and I rub it with wax and much more and it keeps a really nice shine. You gota remember that is your boat is white now and you paint in black when you start to lose the paint you will see white under it... Not too nice =) Hope this helped

[Hyperryd]

I did refinish a previous boat and it worked out great. First, let me say that I would only refinish the sides and back, not the bottom of the boat or the top. The reason is the sides see very little physical contact. The bottom rubs the trailer and the top has people and/or gear dragged accross it, even when you are careful. My next boat was a solid red boat and keeping the factory gelcoat from scratching/scuffing from the trailer and people walkin on the gunnels drove me nuts. I love solid color boats, but the upkeep is a lot of work

I used a PPG single stage marine paint and marine primer that was required to use with the paint. It came with a 10 year warranty on the paint if used with the proper primer. It came out beautiful and I had it for three years after that and never had a problem with it. The paint wasn't cheap, but with proper prep work and good materials you should be fine.