Paint removal or Paint over?

[aguynamedchris]

Hi - I'm wondering what some of your experiences have been with painting and/or restoring gelcoat on some of these classic boats I've seen here. I'm starting with the Skagit 20 which has been completely primed and painted with some kind of bulletproof while marine paint. I scratched a bit of it off to uncover some of the original white and red gelcoat here [ame]http://i1065.photobucket.com/albums/u382/SNAP_Victoria/Skagit%20Boat%20Restoration/IMG_0818.jpg[/ame]

which are the colours that I'd like to restore her to. However I don't know the condition of the original gel coat and at the same time we are talking about a lot of paint to remove. I"m interested to know what some of you have done - painted over or stripped off the old paint and what the results or pitfalls were of your choice.

[Steve_Kiesel]

Chris, I'm not an expert on the subject, but here is what I did. The topsides on my Seafair looked like it was painted with a broom. Runs and sags everywhere. I decided to take it all off. It would have been impossible to get a smooth surface out of that old paint. Plus I was certain the old paint would fail over time.

I used Citristrip to remove the old paint. Non toxic, plus it smells good. It's a messy job. After I got down to the gel coat, I roughed that up before applying the primer.

At the time, I didn't have any place inside to paint, so one of the guys in the club sprayed the primer and paint. Turned out real nice.

Do a search on the forum. There are several discussions on preparing for, and applying the paint. By the way, nice find. Have fun with it.

[aguynamedchris]

Thanks Steve, I'll have a look around and see what other info there is on the forum. When I got this boat I found the spray gun used to paint this boat actually left behind - they certainly didn't go lightly, there are drips everywhere and no taping was done so there is paint on all the trim and window frames too. It's really a huge mess. When i first got it home I used a little acetone on the paint to see if that would soften it but it seemed to have no effect at all. I don't know if that's because the acetone evaporates too fast (I was applying with a small sponge) or if it's because the paint is immune to that particular chemical. Either way I'd much prefer to use something less toxic to clean up the topside.

[Tim_Mattson]

Chris,
You could use the splashwell/Transom for a test......either wetsand or vacume sand thru the old to reveal the gelcoat ,or you can scuff it all up and use whatever is there for a base.
A good painter once told me "Good paint is the best primer...".
Used to always prime but have had some good results with using a light layer of topside coating to start,then do 1-3 layers to get the finish you desire.
Priming will double the cost of materials but we call it a "barrier coat" when applying to the bottom of moored boats.Sounds as strong as it is.
If any cracking or repairs are visible,then scuff and prime or remove and prime if not sticking or flaky.
Some boats will hold a higher value to purists if done in Gelcoat ,but that is best in hands of (higher) paid pros.
If using the citris strip ,buy a comfy new 6`` putty blade and soften the edges with fine file and emery cloth to avoid leaving gouges all over.
TimM

[Helmar]

The least expense is going to be using a orbital sander and some Good sand paper.

I fill and feather with Evercoat Lite.
Every paint company will want to sell you primers but like Tim, I have found that even the sanded Gel coat makes a good primer depending on what paint you use.

Some paints will go on and lay down to look like it was sprayed on too.
Its hard to beat a sprayed job, but some of the tip and rolled jobs with good paints, look pretty darn close..

:TwoCents1:

[TheBronze]

I tried the citristrip on the 404. It was a huge pain in the ass with slow results. In the end, 60 grit on a hand sander or an orbital will get you back down to the glass. Just be judicious in your use and don't go too far!