TOPIC: Painting

OUCH!!! price of painting

thanks for all the help.
I have a new topic as i recently took my boat up for painting but i was BLOWN AWAY at the price.
Im thinking about painting it myself as i could buy the sprayer myself for the price of the paint job.but i have never painted a boat before and i dont want to mess up as i have been sanding for two years now.
not sure if this would be a good idea to paint it myself as Im not a painter.
I have four pieces to paint as it also has a hard top.
any help is appreciated.
I know this would be a process but wow this is just a 16,' bell boy.
Thanks

p.s. I have all the screws, and hardware off the boat and most all the sanding is done.

Bellboy33,

Have you considered a "roll & tip job"?? = I cannot handle a spray rig either but with modern paints that have good luster & will "self-level" to some degree, "Roll & tip" is an acceptable technique for a "using boat".

yours, satx

Ive never rolled or tiped but or sprayed but just put allot of time on this boat i cant believe the price to get it painted but its a boat.

Bellboy33,

You might also check out local community college & technical school shops for doing a professional job.
(Here in San Antonio, we have at least 4 schools that have "collision repair" departments that do work on customers cars/trucks/boats. St Phillips College here charges 50.oo plus the cost of materials to paints such vehicles.)

St. Phillips College does GREAT (though SLOW) body & paint work. = It may take 90 days to get your job done, as their work is NICE.

yours, satx

i don't know what you consider a lot of money, but i had my mantaray sprayed for $750..two tone, by Maaco, but i supplied the paint. petit easypoxy..my buddy did the primer. :

That is a great idea. Macco spray without the crappy Maaco paint - perfect!

I have to remember that for future projects.

My father was in the auto body business for 55 years. We primed my boat in the driveway after all the body work was done, which really cut the cost when it came time to spray the color. The boat was done at a body shop in a paint booth...cost of paint and labor, $600.

Thanks for all your input, I just don't have connections with body shops, I was thinking about rolling and tipping myself, I will check with macco but kind of scary as I have heard some bad work there. All your input is apprechated.

Jamestown Distributors and even YouTube have some great videos on the roll and tip method, and several of us here have been reasonably successful with it as well. I too considered just buying the equipment needed for spraying, but opted for the more "user friendly" method.

If you (or a buddy) already have experience spraying, then rock-on with that method IMHO.

You can get EXCELLENT results using Rustoleum Pro Acrylic Enamel paint using the added hardener. You can also use the Majic Tractor Paint sold at Tractor Supply. I used it on my boat and have helped dozens of others use it to paint their boats with GREAT success. It cures out to a very hard, durable HIGH GLOSS finish that you will be proud of. It can be sprayed or rolled on. I like the Roll n' Roll technique. This link will "Show and Tell" you all about using the paint.

Here's a link to 2 videos showing the Roll n' Roll technique. The Key to success is to use an almost dry roller to go back over the paint just as it's curing to remove the left behind bubbles. Doing this will yield a Spray Like finish. Also you must use the Ultra High density foam rollers to apply the paint and only roll until you HEAR the paint start to crackle from getting sticky and then move on so you don't lift it from the surface. Also do light, multiple coats to avoid the bubbles. After a few attempts in areas you'll get onto the technique and it becomes second nature and is quite easy to do and quite effective.




Scroll down to Post #238 to see the Painting info.

forums.iboats.com/forum/boat-repair-and-restoration/boat-restoration-building-and-hull-repair/394579-1961-lonestar-flamingo-splashed-w-pics/page16

Thank you for the info, I have started priming the inside of my boat with epoxy prime-kote on my second coat, I was wondering if a one part polyurathane would be ok to use? Or should I go with a two part ?
That's for any information.

I think I'm going to try tool and tip method, maybe interlux?

There was an excellent episode on this subject on "Ship Shape TV" this weekend, using Interlux paint and the roll and tip method. If it's not on in your area, they also have a website where I think you can view past episodes. If you don't find it there, youtube almost always has them eventually.

Thank you!!!

Anyone have any luck on these DIY paintjobs on a tight budget?
What brand paint/ primer/ fairing compound did you end up with?
Local purchase or a good website?

How much paint did it take to paint your boat?(guessing the normal fiberglassic is a 15-18ft?)

You might want to look into Spraying Gel Coat over the Roll and Tip method.

There are a lot of Video's on line that go into detail of getting it done.

Basic are to sand the surface with 80 Grit, fairing compound where needed and sand again....Washing with Acetone.

Spray your single color gel in 4-5 coats adding thinner, then wax and DuraTec High Gloss to the last coat...Let cure, sand and buff like hell.

I will be using both a solid base Fighting Lady Yellow and a Clear with a custom blend of Orange/Copper Flake then more cleat gel.

Check out a few U Tube vid's that get into the details.

Karsten

I watched quite a few on the roll and tip. . haven't yet decided to have a practice project(saw a demo on a surfboard) or to just practice with the primer when it comes time.
Was trying to stay away from the spraying, though roll and tipping the primer all over and white under and inside, while paying to have the deck sprayed with color has crossed my mind.
That's the most important surface you'll see is the deck and whatever isn't white..

My current setup is outdoors not friendly to spray.

Hi, I ended up using two part interlux primer then followed with interlux two part perfection for the inside of my bellboy turned out great I found out using a foam small roller putting on a very light coat then tipping it off with a brush worked great I put two coats of primer then two coats of perfection paint. I just beat the cold as I was fighting the temperature. I will post some pics soon.
I'm going to roll and tip the hall when it warms up. Any suggestions on using a bottom paint? As my boat will be in the water for 5 to 10 days once a year.
I have not found a cheap way of painting besides doing it myself and taking suggestions from everyone here that's done it in the past so thanks for your input.
Have a Great Christmas.
Bellboy

Thanks bellboy
What kind of brush +price did you use to tip? The general consensus seems to be a high dollar (possible beaver hair). They seemed to be around $50. . I did see someone using a $2 foam one. I'm guessing that ain't right

Hi I did buy a China brush but I did not use it as I found varnish brushes work fine at a fraction of the cost.
I also tried a foam brush but I did not like the results. I ended up throwing several brushes away but was able to get a few clean enough.
I found out by putting no bigger then 3x3 area with a high density foam four to six inch roller two very light coats (this prevents runs and minimizes sanding) then tipping with a brush just once and not playing with it and just moving on works best.
Putting a primer helped paint flow good with great results. Hope this helps.

So for painting the hull anyone every use two part prime-coat then perfection by enterlux? Not sure if this can be used below the waterline? Thanks again in for everyone's input.

roll n tip worked well after a little practice. i used two part above water line perfection looks like it was sprayed on very happy.

I had great results doing roll and tip with foam roller and foam brush. The foam brush didn't leave any marks as long as I kept it wet, but not full of paint. The key was getting it on and dry while the humidity was low. If I tried it on a humid day, or if the dew started to set before it was completely dry, it would kill the gloss. When I got it right, looked sprayed on great!

This is all something that takes a bit of practice. Roll & Tip, or spray with your favorite paint, does not matter - need to practice. Paint a wheel barrow, mailbox, garage door (side door), anything to get time with technique.

Interlux Perfection two-part works very well. But so does Tractor Supply Mystic enamel thinned with acetone (or MEK) and adding catalyzed hardener. Perfection will be harder surface in the end (polyurethane), but the Mystic is easier to apply in some cases.

If spraying anything cut with MEK or Acetone (which help the paint "bite" into existing fiberglass), you must use an outside air supply (like Hobby Air) and that can cost as much as a paint job ... Hence the roll & tip crowd which does not require it

I've done both plenty of times and have gotten comments about breat spray job for a roll & tip ... Just practice

Thanks for all the replies, I can tell you now I'm glad I rolled and tipped saved me a bunch of money and I'm very satisfied. I can now share and give anyone some tips as to what helped me.
I used interlux perfection for above the water line as that's is the what the perfection is designed for.
I put two part prime coat three coats I could have done two. This gave me some practice. I started with some nice brushes but then decided to try some foam throwaway brushes.
I ended up using foam brushes by the time I got to the perfection the trick is to use high density foam rollers about four or six inch as these don't hold a lot of paint. Put a very thin coat about a three foot area then tip using a throw away foam brush after about 12-15 min grab a new foam brush and maintain a wet edge, let dry then after next coat move to about 300 grit. Only tip one time with very light pressure just to remove the air bubbles and leave it alone if you try to go back you will have to sand the lines out.
I gave three coats of perfection it turned out very nice.
I found out that a expensive brush left paint marks and I had better luck with foam brushes not the cheat ones from home depo as the foam brushes from the marine shop were more dense and left better results.
I thinned very little as it was only about 65 degrees.
Follow perfections instuctions and you will
Get great results I will post some photos soon.

I used 2000E bellow water line followed with performance epoxy paint that turned out just fine but perfection above waterline turned out excellent.

Bellboy