Lake Boat Repairs

murt75

Hi everyone,

I've started doing up a 16ft lake boat, sanding the timber which is all in pretty good nick, no rot, and re-staining with Sadolin Exterior Wood Protection, but I haven't got a clue what to do with the outside of the hull. The material on the surface is flaking off, see pictures, I thought this was the gelcoat, but I'm not so sure now, its a very thin layer and looks like it could be a lacquer of some sort. My plan was to sand this off and paint it with a Pre-kote undercoat and Toplac finish coat, but I've been told that toplac is no good if used under water and I need to use navigator antifouling paint, but I've also been told that this will oxidise if out of the water for extended periods of time, which it will be, and it only seems to come in three colours, none of which match the boat. Can anyone let me know whats the best way to get this boat back to having a decent looking finish? It will be stored in a shed or under a cover on a trailer when not in use, which will only be a couple of days a month during the fishing season, hopefully, if I'm let out!

Thanks,

Murt

[IMG][/img] Boat2 by Murtol, on Flickr

[IMG][/img] Boat1 by Murtol, on Flickr

The ally cat

murt75 wrote: »

Hi everyone,

I've started doing up a 16ft lake boat, sanding the timber which is all in pretty good nick, no rot, and re-staining with Sadolin Exterior Wood Protection, but I haven't got a clue what to do with the outside of the hull. The material on the surface is flaking off, see pictures, I thought this was the gelcoat, but I'm not so sure now, its a very thin layer and looks like it could be a lacquer of some sort. My plan was to sand this off and paint it with a Pre-kote undercoat and Toplac finish coat, but I've been told that toplac is no good if used under water and I need to use navigator antifouling paint, but I've also been told that this will oxidise if out of the water for extended periods of time, which it will be, and it only seems to come in three colours, none of which match the boat. Can anyone let me know whats the best way to get this boat back to having a decent looking finish? It will be stored in a shed or under a cover on a trailer when not in use, which will only be a couple of days a month during the fishing season, hopefully, if I'm let out!

Thanks,

Murt

[IMG][/img] Boat2 by Murtol, on Flickr

[IMG][/img] Boat1 by Murtol, on Flickr

It's a fibre glass hull I presume?

murt75

The ally cat wrote: »

It's a fibre glass hull I presume?

Yes it is, sorry I should have mentioned that.

fergal.b

It looks like some sort of lacquer or varnish it's definitely not gelcoat I have toplac on my hull as I don't leave it in the water for more than a few days at a time and have no problems with it.

murt75

fergal.b wrote: »

It looks like some sort of lacquer or varnish it's definitely not gelcoat I have toplac on my hull as I don't leave it in the water for more than a few days at a time and have no problems with it.

Thanks fergal. So if i sand whatever it is off, then use the pre-kote and toplac, is there any fear of these not adhering to the gelcoat? Would it be possible to get a good finish by sanding and using a rubbing compound and forgetting about new paint.

fergal.b

You will have to cut into the gelcoat with 80-100 grit paper to give the primer something to bite to but if you think the gelcoat is good under the lacquer it would be best to power wash it off or use a scoring pad to clean it. The gelcoat is very thin so you don't want to dig into it with anything to rough, clean a small bit on the hull and try the rubbing compound to see how it comes up because once you sand it to paint you can not go back to a gelcoat finish.

murt75

Thanks again fergal, I'll try it on a small patch and see how it goes.

fergal.b

I use G3 rubbing compound you should be able to get it from any motor factors.
In my link below crackerbox the last few photos are adding primer and the first few coats of paint I still have a few more to do before I do the final finish.

murt75

fergal.b wrote: »

I use G3 rubbing compound you should be able to get it from any motor factors.
In my link below crackerbox the last few photos are adding primer and the first few coats of paint I still have a few more to do before I do the final finish.

Absolutely beautiful boats there fergal, your a very talented guy, cheers.

fergal.b

Thanks. It's just like doing an airfix except you have a bit more saw dust

fintyflanagan

Hi, my uncle has a blue Morris fibreglass boat and wants to paint the inside of it. Some friends are advising him to use concrete garage floor paint. This is for the inside only which is not smooth and will give a great key. Ronseal have a product sold in 2.5 ltr which will allow for a few coats. Anyone got experience of paint a fibreglass boat?

fergal.b

fintyflanagan wrote: »

Hi, my uncle has a blue Morris fibreglass boat and wants to paint the inside of it. Some friends are advising him to use concrete garage floor paint. This is for the inside only which is not smooth and will give a great key. Ronseal have a product sold in 2.5 ltr which will allow for a few coats. Anyone got experience of paint a fibreglass boat?

Hi and welcome, some garage are epoxy based and will do the job but may not be as waterproof or UV protected, for a few quid more I would go for something like International Interdeck http://marineparts.ie/deck-paint/




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fintyflanagan

Hi, seen these International paints alright. The cost of 750ml is putting my cost conscious uncle off. Have researched the epoxy alright and seen the uv bit. I'll have to check it out a bit more. Thanks for the reply.

fergal.b

fintyflanagan wrote: »

Hi, seen these International paints alright. The cost of 750ml is putting my cost conscious uncle off. Have researched the epoxy alright and seen the uv bit. I'll have to check it out a bit more. Thanks for the reply.

If the boat is a bit rough and ready and your not after perfection Im sure the cheeper option will do the job, just give it a bit of a sanding and thin out the first coat by about 10% it should have a good bond.





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