Topside painting - Lessons learned

NYCSAILOR · Post by **NYCSAILOR** » Fri May 14, 2010 5:48 am

THANKS! great advice!

It took a while but I am over the "make it perfect" attitude and into the "just get 'er done" and in the water attitude.

From the research I have been doing...I come to the same conclusion as you re: Pettit. I want this job to go easy with a satisfactory result.

I will begin "prep" on the hull this weekend and then look to paint w/in the next two weekends.

I will check on the web for some reviews and comparisons between the two.

How did you ROLL ... up and down ( vertical) or across ( horizontal).

How much did you do at a time ? did you roll right across in one stripe bow to stern?

Also, how did you get tight to the rub rail ( with the roller or did you "cut in" somehow with the brush) and how did you prevent getting a "edge" did you have to do the whole boat in one continuous effort. non-stop?

I know... I ask a lot of questions but this all helps... since you actually did this recently.

tgentry · Post by **tgentry** » Fri May 14, 2010 6:06 am

Jamestown Distributors has some good videos on painting.

We rolled up and down, it seems to work better with the shape of the hull, but in places where horizontal worked we did that. Tipping takes care of any roller ridges so don't worry about it. Just doing a couple feet of boat length at a time. Tipping about a foot behind where the roller is working seemed to get the best results.

You want to work your way all the way around the boat so that you work with a wet edge. We started with the transom then worked up one side wrapping around he bow and then back. By starting and ending at a "corner" like the side to transom joint you avoid the dry edge ridge.

By going horizontal with the roller along the rub rail you can get in there pretty good, and the the tipper can sort of cut in as they tip. This was one of our big mistakes, I cut in first, then we painted. We ended up with a ridge.

NYCSAILOR · Post by **NYCSAILOR** » Fri May 14, 2010 8:08 am

thanks for the quick and complete response...I am getting confidence that this won't be so terrible....

What size (width roller(s)) did you use and they make a big deal to use the dense foam ones... are those the very low pile black foam ones?

tgentry · Post by **tgentry** » Fri May 14, 2010 8:34 am

We used regular low pile (3/8" I think) rollers from Lowe's with no problems.

NYCSAILOR · Post by **NYCSAILOR** » Fri May 14, 2010 9:43 am

I do have to say, I keep looking at the pic in your avatar and I like the way it came out... I really like the blue what color is that on the easyepoxy chart? and are you goin gto add a cove stripe ( sticker or paint -- what color...

I was thinking of going with gloss white.. and navy cove stripe.

It is probably more work answering my q's than it was painting it

but I really appreciate all the advice..

tgentry · Post by **tgentry** » Fri May 14, 2010 10:53 am

Thanks for the compliments. The boat looks good from a little distance but due to wind and the cutting in mistake it's not as good as I'd like. I painted the engine cover in my windless garage with leftover paint and you would swear it was sprayed on.

The color is Electric Blue.

I already have the boot stripe (the one that seperates top and bottom paint) half done. It will have a red center with white borders top and bottom.

I'm also planning a shear stripe (the one up near the rub rail) to be the same but thinner, but probably won't do that one until the boat comes out of the water.

Now if we can just get my sign painter the weather to agree on a time she'll finally be wearing her name.

NYCSAILOR · Post by **NYCSAILOR** » Fri May 14, 2010 12:11 pm

are you painting the stripe, if so how -- you use tape, a level, a laser?

I called a few sign painters and they all just a order decals.. still looking for a guy to really paint it when I am done.. unreal... I might as well oder my own name "sticker" on line, stripes too, but I would surely prefer to paint it.

I see that the easyepoxy can also be sprayed on with a airless painter --- I have one of those that I use to spray shutters and rattan furniture around the yard and it got me thinking about using it but Idoubt the boat yard would be happy with that....

Your help really put this job w/in reach and I am excited to go for it....

tgentry · Post by **tgentry** » Fri May 14, 2010 12:35 pm

On the boot stripe, I scored the original gelcoat strip with a utility knife just prior to painting. The scored line shows, barely, after the paint giving me a guide for masking.

I went to the auto body supply and bought the expensive plastic masking tape used for striping. Just tell them masking tape for stripes and they'll know what you need. It gives a nice sharp edge.

I didn't mark the shear stripe, but that one is really just a straight line with equal spacing from the rub rail.

I had to look hard for a sign painter, it seems to be a dieing art. I finally found one by calling the art dept at the local community college. That got me a number to call, which got me another number to call, which finally put me in touch with the guy.

Mario G · Post by **Mario G** » Fri May 14, 2010 3:43 pm

here I go giving trade secrets away...insted of the $18 dollar roll of 3m fine line tape get a $1 roll of electrical tape. The fine line is great for grafics and flame jobs but for straight stripes the electrical tape works just as well.

tgentry · Post by **tgentry** » Sat May 15, 2010 5:17 am

Thanks Mario. I thought of that, but was afraid it might not come off cleanly.

tgentry · Post by **tgentry** » Mon May 17, 2010 4:41 am

NYCSAILOR · Post by **NYCSAILOR** » Mon May 24, 2010 6:39 am

SHE IS GORGEOUS... I can't stop looking at her.... you should be so proud! what a beautiful upgrade to the fleet..

a few more details as I pull this together for MD weekend ( I hope the weather works out...

1) what brush did youuse for tipping? I hear that a cheap foam brush is best and then I read that you have to buy the best "badger hair" brushes your budget will allow..... it seem tipping is what give you close to the spray on look.

2) you project plan... the way I see it One day for patching , repairing and sanding the OEM hull. one day for a coat of primer and then two days for two coats of color, and then a fourth day for strips and name...

so a few more weekends for me... (weather permiting)

What was the best and worst weather to do this ?

Did you paint your deck too? I plan on doing this but perhaps later in teh season or with her already in the water....

tgentry · Post by **tgentry** » Mon May 24, 2010 7:35 am

1) Foam brushes. That's what the Pettit rep used on the video I saw from Jamestown Distributors, so that's what I used. No problems at all.

2) Assuming you have a random orbit sander you can probably sand the top sides in one day. I was doing the bottom too, so I'm not really sure how much time was spent where.

I would allow a whole day for patching, especially if you're inexperienced. Feather edge the blemish, patch, let it cure, then block sand to level it out.

Weather is not critical until you get to the painting stage. Then you want it to stay over 50 degrees, little or no wind and no chance of rain. Painting is the quickest, easiest step, but then you have to wait 24 hours for the next coat.

We didn't do the deck, although it somehow looks "whiter" now. Maybe next year.

NYCSAILOR · Post by **NYCSAILOR** » Wed Jun 16, 2010 5:46 am

UPDATE; this whole project became needlessly complicated and my boat is not yet in the water...

I now have a freelancer ( a pro) who will spraypaint the topsides of my boat for fair money... so this is a offer I could not pass up.

It will be cheaper he says if I buy the paint...

So.. what is the best paint for this spray application..

For brush and tip ... I was going to use one-part Interlux Brightsides since it was easy... I still might .. but if I am paying someone to spray, should I go with something harder... Imron ( just for the name?) a two part product??

tgentry · Post by **tgentry** » Wed Jun 16, 2010 5:56 am

Check with the painter to see what he is familiar and comfortable with. Any of the two parts (Imron, Awlgrip, etc.) would be good, but they are expensive.

NYCSAILOR · Post by **NYCSAILOR** » Wed Jun 16, 2010 6:12 am

thanks for the quick reply....

I was thinking Awlgrip, or Perfection but will definately go two part as I was told if you are allready paying a pro then go the extra for the two part paint ( this is how budgets get blown) as it is much harder and will last longer.

I figure I paid very little for my boat so many years ago and never maintained it ( and wasn't planning to until I wanted my wife to enter the sailing scene with me and suddenly earned that what a boat LOOKS LIKE is also important as how she sails...) I am going gloss white with a navy cove stripe and then nice name graphic like Copecetic has...

then I will splash her and then deal with the deck and interior as she floats or in the off season..

Chrysler Sailors Forum

Topside painting - Lessons learned

Here she is with name and boot stripe