Painting

I just bought my first sunfish yesterday and it needs painting. Do I have to use special paint any top coat? What is a gel coat any help would be greatly appreciated.

Why does it need painting?

I wanted to paint over some repairs that were made to it

Do you have any tips on painting

Check out YouTube roll and tip painting. The foam roller needs to be closed foam and a 3-4 inch foam brush works well. After the first few minutes of this video you get the idea: http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=k-SGcSlNmoo&desktop_uri=/watch?v=k-SGcSlNmoo

Jamestown Distributors has the gear you'll need:http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=64

I have brushed on interlux topside and also Rustoleum marine paint. I did not thin and you could see brush marks up close. My deck's gelcoat was shot and the boats were going to the recreational fleet. For touch up on a hull, rustoleum white spray paint made me happy, considering the boat was going to get dings eventually.

Check out my blog, I painted Tilly and Buttercup, the rest were sanded and and restored with 3M Restorer:

http://sunfishsailboat.blogspot.com/p/about-east-bay-marine.html

If the spots are small, under a foot or so, you can get some amazing results brushing on gelcoat and wet sanding it. Here are the pros at Laser Performance: http:/vimeo.com/2299590

And post some pics

make sure to use a good primer too, I forgot and had to buy thinner and more paint to get the job done.

When spraying outdoors, pick a cool and totally-windless day.

On some fairly deep scratches, I've had good luck—over several seasons—using automotive "Glazing Putty": easy to spread with an old credit card, cheap, and quick to dry.