Here is a pic of my boat.
http://www.hostedimage.com/usr/1000/...ports1_003.jpg
its a 21' Cheetah speed boat that needs paint...unfortunately,all of the quotes I have recieved are out of my price range...So i came to the conclusion of sanding it myself,primering it and doing a krylon camoflauge paint...Yeah,i know...It may look like $%*& but i cant afford a 5K dollar paint job right now...The best i can do is about 3K..What does everyone think?Just leave it as is and wait or sand it down and primer it?Or just scrap the project =(
Painting a boat is a LOT of work. Once you actually do it you will see where you money goes when you pay a painter... That said....
Paint it yourself... There is LOTS of help available in the "Paint" thread in the "How To" section. Or you can ask here... I am no expert but have 2 backyard paint jobs under my belt now... 2nd one came out amazing for a $1000, back yard, dirt lot paint job...
Thanks for the info Spoton..My gel coat is cracking and i dont have any hull or any fiberglass damage..What is the best way to sand and prep the boat?Thanks for your help
EDIT:Where can i buy primer and paint for the boat and what do you suggest for a sprayer?
Thanks for the info Spoton..My gel coat is cracking and i dont have any hull or any fiberglass damage..What is the best way to sand and prep the boat?Thanks for your help
EDIT:Where can i buy primer and paint for the boat and what do you suggest for a sprayer?
If you go to the "How to" section, Billy B set up a thread for questions like yours. He is one of the paint guru's on the boards and is the man for all your paint questions.
Good luck with your project.
Thanks for the info Spoton..My gel coat is cracking and i dont have any hull or any fiberglass damage..What is the best way to sand and prep the boat?Thanks for your help
EDIT:Where can i buy primer and paint for the boat and what do you suggest for a sprayer?
Billy B is THE paint man here on the boards... Venture on down to the v-drive section and take a look at the thread about "Hater's boat" OMG, what an awesome paint job... but Billy B paint jobs like that are $$$.
Where are you located? You can buy all your supplies at an auto body supply house... Sand your boat with a DA sander, keeping the pad FLAT, avoid the temptation to go up on an edge to go faster, finish with 220 grit, Use a good catalyzed primer, sand some more and spot putty (not bondo, use the good stuff from the body supply house) any imperfections (large imperfections use catalyzed kitty hair, hand block sand some more at 220, then 400 wet. You may need to prime and repeat a few times... once you are happy with your blocking, spray a coat of primer sealer. Lightly color sand the sealer coat with 400 wet then apply your base coat... we used Dupont Fulthane as recommended by Billy B. It is a single stage automotive paint (as opposed to a 2 stage paint that requires a clear coat) that was easy to spray and glossed up real nice with a wet application... Mask out any graphics you want and spray again... color sand any orange peep you have and buff out with 3M compound, also available at the body house...
Mask EVERYTHING that you don't want paint on, we used the more expensive Harbor Freight gravity feed HVLP gun but I think that a better gun from the body supply house may have yielded better results in terms of some of our orange peel issues. Make sure you have a good air filtration system on your compressor, nothing sucks more than to be spraying along and have a drip of water fall onto you freshly painted surface, screws things up real nice. We ended up wrapping a rag around the air joint to catch any drops that made it past the desicant container at the gun handle but still had a couple drops make it into the paintMake sure you do not paint if there is any moisture in the air, condensation SUCKS big time... Lots of color sanding and buffing to fix that mess...
the key is patience and a lot of hard work. Trust me, once you do it you will REALLY appreciate not only the skill of the professionals but you will understand that the $$$ they charge is completely fair and that they aren't ripping you off... I know I learned a new appreciation for the pro's.
Thanks for the priceless information Spotondl!!!Looks as if ill be buying the things I need in order to paint the boat this weekend..When you say a DA sander,what does the DA stand for =X..Sorry,i know a dumb question haha...Can i use an orbital sander and/or a belt sander?Also what grit sand paper should i use to take off the gelcoat?Sorry for all the questions,i wish money wasnt a thing or else my boat would be at Billy B's shop as we speak :hammerhea
EDIT:Im located in Pasadena
Belt sander? :2purples: :2purples: :2purples: God no!!! you will ruin your boat... DA sander means Dual Action... It is both an orbital and a random side to side motion... You can buy one from tool house or the body supply house for around $50... Just ask for a DA, they will know exactly what you are talking about...
This is in NO WAY a weekend job... even a pro cannot get er done that fast... You should not have to sand through the gel coat. If it is not bubbling or flaking off the gel coat is probably your best substrate... In fact, sanding through the gel is NOT recommended... I cannot tell from the picture but is your gel metal flake? What grit you use depends on what you are trying to do... 80 grit is REAL aggressive, 120 is better... just make sure you end up with a 220 finish for primer that way there is enough tooth for the primer to adhere... you can get an adhesion promoter as well but it is yet another step in the process... and for you paint coats you want a 400 finish.
I am in Tujunga, pretty close by... If you want I would be happy to take a look at your project and get you the part numbers for the materials we used for our project..
Thanks for the help Spoton,when would you be free to check out my boat?I know its not a weekend project,i should expect 1-2 months to have a quality job or atleast i hope hahaha...Ill be heading to harbor freight to pick up the DA sander today or tomorrow..If you want,you can give me a call on my cell so we can meet up and maybe you can check out my boat....818-201-4311 and ask for Jon..Thanks once again
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