Repainting an old Sunfish

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baldo1954

Member
I have had an old (1974?) Sunfish for a few years and would like to "spruce it up". The previous owner put a pretty poor paint job on the deck changing it from green to a now faded red. I would like it to have a shiny red color, don't want to try to go back to the original green. Do I strip all the old paint off it? If so, how? What would be the recommended paint and application process to get a shiny red look?
 
I did similar work on a boat 2 years ago...I would definitely strip off the old paint...you can get away with hi-gloss paint on the top deck...the bottom of the boat is a whole different story. If you intend to touch up the bottom as well, let me know and I will tell you about my experience with that as well. good luck, should be no worries on the top deck...if you are planning on doing anything inside the cockpit, I would recommend a different paint...you want more of a textured paint and less glossy, otherwise you won't have as good of footing inside there.

sanding is the best way to remove the old paint...be prepared for lots of hand work, i don't recommend using any powertools to sand, hand sanding is the way to go...

I used a one inch roller to apply the paint, and hand-painted the tough to get to areas.
 
if you are going to dry sail the boat you can paint the bottom with pettit easy poxy paint. sells for about 30 bucks for a pint which will give you about 3 coats on bottom. i would probably put a primer on first and fill in all gouges with marine tex. a 12 dollar jar will probably do it. the bottom will look as good as new. easy poxy would be even better for the top side. sand it enough to rough up the gel coat, prime it and then easy poxy. if you are not a perfectionist i think you will be happen enough with it. easy poxy has teflon in it and it shines almost as good as gel coat. you can do it. also save a little white from the bottom paint and pull of the coming, sand it and paint it. you will be amazed how well it will look.

preston
 
I think I'll just do the deck this year. Would like to try the easy poxy paint. Don't really want to sand all the old paint off by hand. How about an orbital sander? What grain/weight of sandpaper would be best?
 
Yeah, you can use an orbital on the top deck, be very careful near any of the drop-down points like the maststep, centerboard trunk and cockpit; be careful not to chip the gelcoating on the corners at those areas.

As far as the weight/grain...i really am trying to remember...i believe i stayed in the 150-400 range...you may be able to get away with going down to 80, if areas have deep scratches. Basically, all your looking for on the top is a smooth surface...techniques and perfectionism in not critical since it is not the part of the boat that is in the water.
 
i think i would sand it with 80 just enough to scratch it so the primer will stick. then go with easy poxy for about 3 coats. keep a little back for touch ups. i can of easy poxy should be enough. do not count on the paint filling in cracks or gouges. i would fill in those areas with marine tex. see details on box and easy to use. oh yeah paint on a good day. 70 degrees plus and no chance of rain and put on 1 coat per day no later than about 3:00 pm. if you paint much later than that it will not be glossy. good luck, you can do it.
 
Okay, i'm a newby here and trying to figure a few things out...
1) Do you sand down to the point that the spider cracks are no longer visible before you put down the easy epoxy / paint?
2) what about larger cracks/nicks?
 
go ahead and sand down the spider cracks and use marine tex on the deeper gouges. marine tex is about like putty and can be worked in nicely. let it harden and then sand. be sure to wipe down with acetone before painting to remove residue.
 
Paint question...

1) Considering the Sunfish is a fiberglass/foam build... How dark of a paint should one paint the boat? If painted too dark one could up with a 2nd 'cure' of the fiberglass or even damage the foam blocks. (Anyone ever jump up on the hood of a dark car sitting at the launch ramp parking lot after a long sunny day? OUCH! :) ) I wanted to do one boat Dark Blue with the white stripes and the other a Red with the white stripes. Obviously one advantage of a slightly darker color would be heating up the boat such that with an inpection port the boat would air out / dry quicker.

2) Any reccomendations on a brand of paint? Interlux? etc?

Thanks in Advance!
 
i have used petit and had good results. i doubt color will make much differnce. just take of the covers of the ports when not in use and should vent well and be dry as toast inside. to me the boat looks best in white but i guess i am a traditionalist.
 
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