Proper paint for older fiberglass driftboat?

[fishin62]

Could any of you tell me a good paint that will make the old lavro look nice again? thank you.

[Sliderite]

Good thought but have you tried removing the oxidation from the fiberglass? If the boat has been out in the elements(especially sun)there will be alot of oxidation on the fiberglass. The once bright color becomes very dull colored. You need to remove that oxidation and the color should come back. Try a polishing compound or even a fine rubbing compound for bad areas. Check with a reliable fiberglass boat dealer before proceeding. Either way ... you are looking at a bunch of physical labor to bring it back.
Don't forget to keep it polished or waxed once you have put the labor into the boat.

[ 02-01-2003, 07:38 PM: Message edited by: Sliderite ]

[MarlinMark]

Marine grade enamel.

Mark :cheers:

[dampainter]

sand it down, mask areas then spray it with an epoxy primer with a polyurethane topcoat.

[NEUTRON]

Why....spend the time and money, ugly boats catch more fish.

[TeamFCS]

Fishn62, I repainted my entire fiberglass Santiam Drifter 3 years ago and got all my information from a local paint store that specializes in automotive paint. They told me exactly what to use and how to do it. It was really easy. Just need a good quality spray gun that you could rent if you don't have one. Take your boat with you and have them take a look. I did the outside and sprayed a bedliner inside and it turned out great. Got so excited that I even painted the trailer. It turned out really good and total cost for the entire project was under 200 dollars. Jerry

[TeamFCS]

Fishn62, I repainted my entire fiberglass Santiam Drifter 3 years ago and got all my information from a local paint store that specializes in automotive paint. They told me exactly what to use and how to do it. It was really easy. Just need a good quality spray gun that you could rent if you don't have one. Take your boat with you and have them take a look. I did the outside and sprayed a bedliner inside and it turned out great. Got so excited that I even painted the trailer. It turned out really good and total cost for the entire project was under 200 dollars. Jerry

[DK]

Like Dampainter mentioned, epoxy primer, Ditzler DP-40 i suggest you can even get it colored to reduce the mil thikness of the top coat, then us a poly urethane color coat Del Glow by Ditzler also followed by a clear coat i believe its Del Clear, when it comwes to cleaning use bon ami on the scuff marks and they come right out with out hurting the shine,done a couple boats this way and 10 years later still look like new you won't regreat it, painted for over 10 years if you have any questions feel free to e-mail me, Doug

[suckerfish]

fishin62,

You should first identify what kind of finish is on your boat. Is this a marine gel-coat or paint? I am going to asume its gel-coat. Like mentioned above you can polish the finish with PPG DRX25 buffing compound. This will be labor intensive but shoulds yield good results. If you indeed want to refinish the boat there are several steps that should be followed to acheive proper adhesion(Note; adhesion is most important).
First you need to wash the boat inside and out with warm soapy water(dish soap). After the boat has been washed and rinsed you are ready to begine. Wipe the entire area that you wish to refinish with PPG DX330 Wax & grease remover. With lint free wipes saturate one rag and apply the DX330. Before the DX330 flashes(evaporates) take the dry wipe and pick up the DX330. You are going to mop the DX330 on and mop it off with clean wipes. Change out "clean wipes" often as needed. The idea is to keep from spreading contamination from one part of the hull to another. Once you have DX330 the entire hull you are ready to move on. Next you will need to scuff the entire area to be finished with a scuff pad(3M 7447). Making sure you scuff the entire area and paying close attention to all edges. This is where the mechanical adhesion process takes place. It doesn't hurt to scuff the area several times. Once you have scuffed the entire area wash the entire hull with hot soapy water. After the hull has been washed and is dry inspect hull for any areas that might have been missed with the scuff pad. If the hull looks to be thourghly scuffed you are ready to mask off the parts you wish not to get over spray on. Use good quality automotive refinshing tape. Generic tape will allow solvents to penetrate and loosen the tapes adhesive making it a pain to remove later. After the hull is masked off, repeat the DX330 treatment. This will remove any grease from your hands(Natural body oils).
Okay the fun part. Get yourself a spray gun. Make sure the gun will leave a good pattern. Using cardboard and reducer test the pattern. The pattern should be even and about 8-10" wide. Once you familerized yourself with the gun you are ready to put the primer coat( please follow all the manufactures directions to a T, and use a Charcoal filtered reperator). PPG DP epoxy primer is a very good undercoat. DP comes in many colors and sprays out nicely as a sealer. Before you start spraying run a tack cloth(sticky rag) over the surface you plan on refinishing. I also go over the masking paper and tape to remove as much dirt and airborn particles as I can. Okay mix you DP(allow enough time for product to mix). After the product is ready to go, spray the the hull and give plenty of time in between coats of primer. The primer should go on wet but not run. Once the primer has flashed(you can tell this by the way the primer looks, it has lost most of the shine) you are ready for another coat(two coats is usually enough). DP epoxy has a 24 hour window, this means you must apply a topcoat within 24 hours otr you will lose amost of the chemical adhesion. After 24 hours you must scuff primer and apply aditional primer. After primer is dry and given the proper cure time. take another tack cloth and wipe the entire area off(using light pressure). Okay make sure the gun was cleaned out and flushed with thinner or reducer. After the primer is cured you are ready to apply top coat. You can use a single stage finish or use a base/clear finish. Single is easy and better with solid colors. I like using PPG Concept urathane single stage or DBC base with 2002 clear.
I would stick with a single stage. Mix paint, catylist, and reducer according to the manufacture. Follow all directions and ask for product information sheets. There are info sheets on all of the products mentioned above.

PPG(Ditzler)

DX330 Wax & grease Remover
DP epoxy primer
DT Reducer
DU 5 catylist
PPG Concept urathane paint
3m 7447 scuff pads
tack cloths
lint free wipes
3m automotive refinishing masking tape
Resperator Charcoal filters
and a temp about 75 degrees with little hunidity and pleanty of time to apply finish.

Good luck

sucker