I just bought an overnighter with shoddy bottom paint (i believe it is ablative). I don't moor the boat but dont have the patience to remove it. Is there some kind of paint i can put on there that isn't so expensive? Can i just paint over the existing paint? They used blue which looks terrible, i want to go over it with black but the marine stuff is expensive and i dont want to have to do it again. Any ideas on this? thanks.
Painting Over Bottom Paint
- Thread starter Clockwork
- Start date
Hull work is a pain and a lot of boaters hire the job out. Its all about cost.
In addition, you can buy 60 dollar paint or 260 dollar paint.
You can paint over the existing or completely remove existing.
The difference is 1: how much drag the hull has 2. how much growth the hull will have and 3. How much paint will buildup over time.
Yes you can pay more than you should but you also get what you pay for.
If the cost of bottom paint is a big concern, you are in for some big surprises. Boating ain't cheap.
In addition, you can buy 60 dollar paint or 260 dollar paint.
You can paint over the existing or completely remove existing.
The difference is 1: how much drag the hull has 2. how much growth the hull will have and 3. How much paint will buildup over time.
Yes you can pay more than you should but you also get what you pay for.
If the cost of bottom paint is a big concern, you are in for some big surprises. Boating ain't cheap.
i'm up to speed on the cost of boating, this is my 4th. hard to get excited about paying for something like bottom paint though. maybe i havn't shopped around enough but it looks to be several hundred dollars even as a DIY.
Clockwork said:
Good, I was concerned
It's not just the cost, it's the job. It is about the worst boating task there is especially if your boat like mine is on a trailer in the off season. One of the reasons that I went to CSC was to get two seasons out of a paint job. I need that extra time to forget that last time I said "never again!". It could be worse though. Ablative does wear off and basic sanding is easier although messy. A lot of my friends use inexpensive hard coat and after a while their hulls look like alligator skin and worse.
For my small boat, 20 footer, I figure it costs me $300 in materials, 2 days of labor every other year and one day of labor the alternate years. That includes, paint, sand paper, tape, rollers, brushes, paint suit and new cartridges for my respirator. One gallon of bottom paint gets me two full coats, and about a quart left over for second season touch up.
Either go cheap and do it often (with a lot of sanding work in between) or go expensive and do it less often. $200/gal paint is worth every penny if you've ever spent time with an orbital sander and a Tyvek suit.
You say you don't moor the boat, so will it be on a trailer or lift? If so, pay particular attention the the paint label where it says "Max dry time before launch". Some paints are not not designed for trailer use and degrade when they dry out. You want something w/ "unlimited" dry time.
You say you don't moor the boat, so will it be on a trailer or lift? If so, pay particular attention the the paint label where it says "Max dry time before launch". Some paints are not not designed for trailer use and degrade when they dry out. You want something w/ "unlimited" dry time.
I would scrape or blast that old paint off. I decided to go the route of painting black over the old blue but this year I started scraping it off. I am finding allot of hidden damage under the bad paint job. I am kicking myself for not doing this when I got it 2 years ago. I found spots that were filled with regular auto body filler and painted over. If the paint is flaking off you may find it comes off easy with a stiff scraper. Then you can fix any damage, sand and barrier coat and bottom paint. I have decided I will leave it gelcoat provided I can fix all the friging damages areas.... :bang Hoping to get it all of it off by the end of March in time to start on my transom.
