My recently-puchased 1966 Sunfish came with a poorly executed, poorly aged top paint job. I'm planing to just enjoy sailing the boat this summer, then putting some time in during the winter to get it looking a little better. I've read through all the thread on gelcoat wet sanding and/or top paint and think I would be able to do a nice job. If the gelcoat looks good underneath, I think I'll just wet sand to try and restore it. If not, I'll probably do Interlux Brightside or similar with the proper prep work.
Main issue is going to be removing the old paint. It is flaking in areas all over the bow, but is pretty solid around the cockpit and stern. Not sure what kind of paint it is, but definitely was laid on thick. Since it's flaking so badly, I don't want to just paint over it. Determined to do the job right. I took a pass at it with my orbital sander and 320 grit paper, but it wasn't really removing much material. My main question is how low of a grit I can get away with without damaging the gelcoat underneath the paint. Also open to anyother suggestions to deal with it!
Main issue is going to be removing the old paint. It is flaking in areas all over the bow, but is pretty solid around the cockpit and stern. Not sure what kind of paint it is, but definitely was laid on thick. Since it's flaking so badly, I don't want to just paint over it. Determined to do the job right. I took a pass at it with my orbital sander and 320 grit paper, but it wasn't really removing much material. My main question is how low of a grit I can get away with without damaging the gelcoat underneath the paint. Also open to anyother suggestions to deal with it!
