Restoring A Rare Bird Part 9 Painting the Deck & Hull

Phase 1 of 2 about refinishing the "Rare-Bird" project, this episode includes priming through painting, next phase will be block sanding the clear-coat, buffing , and applying the new graphics. For a more complete understanding of why we are painting this boat see the comments below. Remember to SUBSCRIBE, and "click the bell" to get notifications of new videos as they come out. Thanks for watching, I hope our videos help with your ski boat project.
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[@rontanis1024]

The reasons considered before choosing to paint this boat:
1) ALWAYS exhaust all possibilities of restoring the original gelcoat, in this case to was already too thin and beyond restoring, several areas were tried, only the black dash was salvageable.
2) COST - Re-gelcoating cost 2-3 times more that quality paints for material and labor.
3) GELCOAT, is designed to be spraying against a mold surface, the backside comes out rough and textured and is designed to have fiberglass laminated to it, when a boat is pulled from the mold the "mold-side" is slick, sealed and very glossy. Refinishing a gelcoated surface "out of the mold" which is what we have here is a very different scenario than "in the mold" In this case the basic body work is the same, no primer would be used, but gelcoat would be sprayed directly over the old gelcoat but the finish will be VERY textured and will then require sanding typically starting with 180 grit through final polishing....VERY LABOR INTENSIVE. When done the new gelcoat will look good but will not last as long as the original because it is not "sealed", all the pores have been sanded open. This is commonly seen in a new boat that looks perfect, but 5 years later you may find factory patches or repairs that begin to appear, this is because the patched area is not sealed like the surrounding gelcoat.
4) PAINTING: Decks and hull sides have been successfully painted (think expensive go-fast boats) for years. The trick is to use quality paints and then add clear over the top to give that deep gloss look AND improve UV protection. I do not endorse any specific brand of paint to use but a quality Urethane primer, paint and clearcoat all from the same mfg. to assure chemical bonding is recommended. (These are all automotive finishes found a auto-body supply shops, we use paints that Jeff Gordon endorsed for years on his #24 Chevy) Good suppliers will have a special "color matching camera" that can analise and formulate a perfect color match, we did that on this boat particularly on the pink that was hidden and protected under the vinyl graphics.
5) DECISION: We choose Urethane paints for this project.

[@davesenor3146]

Ron, really like the video and the whole series of videos!! I appreciate the fact that you do not endorse a particular brand of paint, but would you please tell me what brand you decided to use on your project? We are in the process of resorting my sons 86 SeaRay will be doing much of what your show in your videos. Thanks again!

[@adams6998]

If not for budget concerns, would you have used the same automotive refinishing materials for the hull of the boat? Are their any cons to using automotive refinish products for this application?

[@rontanis1024]

There are no know products other than gelcoat for under the waterline, I have tried a few none worked, unfortunately gelcoat a bottom is very $$$

[@richvandervoort2950]

What was done to fix the gel coat blisters?

[@rontanis1024]

Blisters on this boat were numerous but small and stabil, have been there for 20+ years, and the boat is no longer kept in the water. I did not paint or do the hull bottom, the blisters remain (budget concern) On the hull sides the blisters were limited to the lower hull sides (waterline) I sanded them down, re-sealed with gel-coat, sanded and primed, painted (all part of the "body-work")