Painting an old 1974 hull

sailor1994

New Member
Hey everyone!

i know there are a few other threads like this one but i have yet to find a step by step or clear cut answer

I have an old laser that i acquired last summer and it is in pretty good condition. I can tell the previous owner took great care of the boat. The thing that really couldn't have been prevented is the aging of the boat though. I would really like to turn the old, chalky yellow, spider cracked hull into a fresh shiny white hull. The boat isn't for racing and i really couldn't care less about class legal because i don't intend on racing it ( i sail 420's, so the laser is just my fun boat) so the weight or legality of painting it isn't a worry. Im looking for an easy way to spruce up the boats appearance for cheap. I don't really like the idea of gelcoat because of difficulty and cost. I heard that awl grip is expensive, so thats out of the question. So basically im looking at 2 part epoxy paints like interlux perfection ( i heard that mentioned on here a couple times). what im really looking for is a clear cut explanation on what i have to do because i really don't want to end up messing the boat. A nice shiny result is all im asking for, i dont need any ridiculously smooth and fast finish,just a nice white finish

I dont have any spray guns so a "roll and tip" method is ideal. especially because ill be doing it in my backyard, and i dont want spray gun overspray painting my neighbors house white!

any instructions are welcome, and more than appreciated. ill post , many many pictures once the painting is complete


instructions should include what paint to buy/ what materials needed
what sanding has to be done
step by step


hopefully this thread can help alot of people like me in the future


thanks again everyone!!!!!
 
I have a 1973 green hull and it had that chalky look too. I wet sanded the bottom I mostly followed the directions for a smooth hull in the FAQ section of the forum - but I skipped the gel coat filling (I doubt I could get a good color match anyway). So it still has the scratches and pits, it's shiny and close the the original green (some say avocado) color. It took some elbow grease, but I thought it was a reasonable result for the small cost.
 
i was thinking about wet sanding it down but i really want to get rid of the yellow hull and off white deck, and get a nice shiny white boat
 
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gjyzc4c9JnE&feature=related"]YouTube - How-to Roll and Tip[/ame]

Step by Step *and* Clear Cut :)

Please use the breathing apparatus discussed. It's a life or death kinda thing.
 
seeing as they quit making it...that wopuld be a bad choice..evn if you find some you won't have repair material later.

Awlgrip is teh way to go.

and of course we could squirt it Sunday afger the regatta

gather round...talk races...drink beer. make a boat shiny...fun times.

It really shouldn't take more than three or four hours start to finish..

after the races.

Anybody who wants to watch has to have sailed in the regatta
 
I used Inerlux Brightside on my Laser - it's okay but it took well over a month (and that's in Texas) to really dry to a hard finish. I took the boat out a couple weeks after painting the centerboard and the paint was still a bit rubbery - it got kind of messed up from contact with the centerboard trunk.

On my second boat paint (just finished painting the Lightning) I was steered toward Petit Easypoxy. A lot of powerboat guys use it. PIC

I'm not familiar with Awlgrip - but if Gouv says it's good that's good enough for me.
 
Please use the breathing apparatus discussed. It's a life or death kinda thing.

Absolutely. I'm AMAZED at how good my respirator is at blocking paint and fiberglass fumes.

It would be worth it at 5x the price. Mine is the 3M painter's respirator from home depot with organic vapor cartridges - about $30. (then just buy separate goggles)
 
Awlgrip literature says it's for professional application only. Gouv is a professional; the rest of you should get one if you want good and safe results using Awlgrip.
 
Ill be ordering a 3m paint fume, pesticide respirator as soon as i can figure out what size i need!

does anyone have any suggestions on filling in all the spider cracks before i paint? will the paint fill in the cracks or do they have to be filled first? any suggestions on what kind of filler is neccesary?


thank you all so much, i wouldnt be able to fix up my old laser without all the help iv gotten from this site!
 
Some of the paints claim to fill in little imperfections but that wasn't my experience (maybe the definition of "little" is the problem).

I used THIS for fairing and filling in stuff... it would be fine for cracks - though it's hard to say without seeing the cracks you're talking about. If they are tiny, I'd probably just paint over them. If they are big enough to need filling, you typically scrape them out to make them bigger before filling them back in.
 
it las alot of spider cracks, some that are about 2 or 3 feet lon, but not deep, i actually cant remember if there are any deep scratches on the boat, its been a long winter
Ill uncover the bat when i get home and check out if the cracks are deep enough to be filled.

NEXT QUESTION:

should i use a primer coat before painting on the interlux if im painting over the gelcoat or should i just paint right over the gelcoat with the interlux
 
I think the primers are supposed to help the paint stick and also to fill in imperfections - at least that's what they say with Easypoxy. (so it's a good idea if you're committed to buying 'good' paint anyway)

The Interlux primer is called Pre-Kote.

Make sure you rub the hull down with dewaxer before and after sanding in preparation for the paint. Any mold release compound that is still on the hull from when the boat was made (which can still be there 50 years later) will keep the paint from sticking. I just used acetone, but they sell special stuff for it too.
 
thanks for pointing out the de-waxer, i wouldn't have thought to do that. You think ill be fine with just preparing the boat like you said above and painting it with topcoat or is primer really necessary (im trying to keep the cost down)
 
Not sure. I've always primed.

You know, a lot of guys on iboats.com just paint their junk with Rustoleum and it works fine. It's just a question of how far you want to go.
 
Hopefully this will be one of my last questions, if I do get primer how many coats of primer and how many coats of topcoat will I need. And iv heard that thinner is needed when you mix topcoat. Is there any guid I can follow to know how much thinner I need to mix if im going to be doing the roll and tip method
 
I did 2 coats primer, 2-3 coats color on the Lightning (2 on top, 3 on bottom). no thinning. I'm really no expert though... just a guy with a weekend project.
 
thanks, anyone think the flexing of the soft hull (its almost 40 years old) is going to be problematic for the paint (like will the flexing cuse the paint to chip or fall off or crack)
 

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