DIY Painting?

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Tanqueray

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I"ve been for the past few years contenplating getting rid of the Blue on the sides of my boat. Unfortunately I"ve talked to several shops and all I seem to be able to get out of them are statements like,,,,,,
"Bring it over and let me take a look at it"
(It"s not Trailerable)
"Couldn"t tell you exactly but I WILL tell you that it"s gonna be expensive"
(Okay....Expensive means what? $3,000.00 or $30,000.00?)
"Well I"m not sure but it won"t be cheap"

"Can we make arrangements for you to take a look at it when I pull it for the winter and have it blocked next to my house being that it"ll only be a 5 minute drive from your shop? Then maybe in the spring instead of re-launching it I can have the fellow that hauls it for me bring it to your shop instead to have the work done?"

"Gee.....I don"t know because that"s our busiest time of the year. Why don"t you call me when you get it out and maybe I can get over there in January or February"

I am so sick of these Bull**** answers that I have now decided to maybe take a stab at it myself. I"ve heard tell that there is a Marine Paint available that smooths itself after application if prepped right and is actually brushed on? Anybody heard of it? How hard is it really to do? Can an amateur get it done?
How expensive is it?

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I"m thinking I might want to repaint the blue above the rub-rails in white?
 
Where are you located in New York? There is a guy in Poughkeepsie who is painting a big sailboat now and has rigged a nice cover for it so its like painting "inside."
 
I painted a boat with Interlux Toplac (which is the self leveling paint you are referring to)and it was absolutely flawless, like it was sprayed on. It held up fine for the last 3 years and, even though it's a one part, I wouldn't hesitate to use it again. Surface preparation is always the key on any quality paint job. The argument is always made about the difference between one-part and two-part paints and their longevity, but, if you are doing the work outside (yourself) and not skilled with two-part paints, the ease of a one-part can mean the difference between perfection and disaster. With the Toplac, Interlux recommends two coats. I can tell you from experience, the first coat goes on flawlessly; the second coat, not so good. I ended up sanding off my first two-coat paint job (a lot easier sanding than with two-part) and repainting with one coat. I did use a two-part primer (Interlux barrier coat).
 
Toplac and Brightsides are the two really nice one part paints that look great and hold up well. Both can be rolled/tip by application and do not require to be sprayed to get a good outcome. They seem to switch occasionally as to which is the premier paint in the lineup. I gather that Brightsides is now the recommended paint.

I have sprayed brightsides and rolled brightsides. I'd have to say that the roll job was my best. Spraying just takes that much recent repetetive experience to keep up with. You will need to prep and prime as well of course to get a good job.
 
I have a steel boat that I've just repainted from the rub rail to the flybridge. I used Pettit Easypoxy, purchased from our host. It turned out great, is easy to apply, and dries to a brilliant shine. My preference would have been a 2 part paint, but I would have to strip all existing paint and start from scratch. I used a 7" foam roller to apply the paint, and then lightly tipped it with a 4" fine china bristle "Yachtsman" brush. Many people ask if the the paint was sprayed.
 
Well this is sounding like good news.

Now I"m sure I"ll think of all sorts of questions that are going to sound stupid but keep in mind that I"ve never done any painting like this before.

So I guess I would obviously start by removing the black tape stripe at the top of the blue coloring where it meets the white.
I"m sure the surface needs to be cleaned with something before the primer goes on so what type of cleaner would you guys recommend? It probably has to be roughed a bit also so what should I be using? A buffer with a special type of disc?
 
You could use a heat gun to soften it and scrape with a plastic scraper. Or use one of those eraser wheels. After you decide whose paint you'll use, download the msd sheets, and prep instructions for that brand. You should use only the cleaners and solvents they recommend as compatible with their product. I would not risk using hardware store variety solvents. As someone else mentioned, the prep work is everything when painting. Take your time, pay attention to the details, take no short cuts and you'll get a fine job. Watch the weather when you paint. If you're outside and paint too late in the day, dew can settle on your fresh paint and dull the shine completely. I know this first hand. When you tip the paint lightly wet the brush with brushing thinner- not too much! Work small areas- no larger than 24"x24" at a time. With a little practice you'll develop good technique and avoid overlap marks. Good luck, and let us know how it turns out.
 
Thanks for the super quick reply. I"m pretty sure this is going to be a Springtime Project before launch but I guess that with my limited knowledge in this area it"ll be best to really study up on this over the winter. Then again......what would happen if I tried an area now and then maybe ran out of time and/or weather and finished it in the spring? Would there be a drastic color difference due to sitting over the winter?
 
I've done just that myself. You cannot detect where I stopped and restarted.If I were you, I'd consider prepping now- removing cleats, hardware, stripes etc., then sanding, filling, fairing if necessary. Then put a good primer coat on. Cover it for winter, then in Spring lightly sand, clean, then paint. You will probably need 2 coats of paint.
 
IMO it will take more time than you expect so consider working all winter as temps allow. Painting should be done on dry warming days out of direct sun so some provision for shade may be required. Increasing temperature whil painting causes lowering humidity so earl in the day is better thn later e.g. 10 -1 PM. A primer is necessary otherwise; the blue will show through any color. Priming is a good opportunity to practice technique as well. Excellent washing, a chemical cleaner and sanding with fine grained wet or dry followed by wash and or chem. clean. Use all products from the same maker and paint family for best results. Absolutely remove every hint of silicones sealers.
 
The Blue showing through is exactly what I"m concerned about. Do the primers also come in different colors and if so what color would you recommend? When sanding....How do you know when enough is enough?
 
Many coatings are amazingly transparent so most primers are gray to provide a neutral base for the new color. In the auto world, a darker primer would be used under a dark color but I don’t know if they are used under boat paint except Imron which actually is an auto truck paint.. If you are going white or lighter, grey primer will probably be what is recommended. Primers are designed for good "color hold out" and two or three coats with some sanding will probably be needed. Adding some color to the last primer coats may help as well.

The makers have good information on their web sites.

I went looking for some details and found this excellent tutorial on painting cars. Same techniques and processes are involved with boats.
 
As you near the end of the process you may decide to hire a pro to spray the color coats.
 
Once it's sanded and prepped, which could take a week or so, you'll paint the boat in one day.
 
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