I have just aquired a fibreglass fishing boat and the outside of the cabin has been hand painted in the past a

Question

nd is peeling in places. Is there any particular type of paint I should use, and is hand painting or spraying recommended ?

Answer 1

If finances permit, hire a professional to clean,prep and paint the entire boat.
Or have it "Gel-coated".

To do it yourself
ALWAYS HAVE PROPER VENTILATION.
Mask all areas that are not to be painted.
Use a plastic scraper for the loose and peeling paint.
Use a nylon scratch pad or sand the surface LIGHTLY until it is smooth and even.
Sweep up ALL the dust and dirt before painting(wetting the floor also helps)
Spraying is better but hand painting will do.
Use an EPOXY PRIMER.
Use the BEST paint you can find.
Apply several coats of paint, leaving adequate drying time between coats.
Remove the masking tape while the paint is still SLIGHTLY tacky.
Use a razor blade for a clean, even paint line

Answer 2

Ok, depends on a few things. First for a "in-water" boat, one that sits at a mooring or slip for extended periods you want two types of paint, a bottom paint which has materials which kill off slime and other lifeforms from growing on your boat, and then the normal shiny topside paint. For topside paint you'll want to choose based on how you're applying the paint (brush or spray) but get a two-part urethane finish for durability. Petit, Interlux, and Awlgrip are good brands for marine use. Check their websites before deciding. They should all be available through a local marine store, like West Marine or your local chandlery. Don't decide on price alone - it's a pain to do a good paint job so you don't want to need to redo it next year, the type and quality of paint matters. Quality of the spray equipment and brushes used makes a big difference. Preparation of the surface (dewaxing new glass, sanding/fairing, cleaning, priming/barrier coats) makes a huge difference. In the end you can usually get a boatyard to do a good job for a reasonable price. What's on your boat now? Well for most all production boats, you almost never have topside paint, but rather gelcoat, which is something which is sprayed into a mould before the fiberglass is even layed up. So it's built up from outside in. This is a really shiny well developed surface, and paint doesn't match it. So if you're hoping to touch something up with paint, good luck, you can get close but gelcoat repair kits might be better if it's a really small fix. BTW - below the water. Bottom paints, or "antifouling" coatings (cause they keep foul stuff from growing on your boat :) ) are generally poisionous to breathe (from sanding dust), pretty expensive, filled with chemicals, etc.. And it's not expensive to have a boatyard roll these on. Because they're below the waterline the "quality" of the finish is less demanding and the paint usually only lasts for a few years anyway. I wouldn't recommending do this yourself. Interlux and the others make a lot of different kinds for different areas. Check with your boat yard.

Answer 3

Boats use a type of paint called gel-coat. It's different than auto paint, and is probably what is beneath the hand painted portion of your boat.
Since the area your talking about isn't in the water, you can use auto paint - acrylic enamel. I hope you've done some painting before, because it is tricky, but not impossible to come out looking alright.
If you don't use gel-coat, use acrylic enamel.
If you use acrylic enamel, prep. the area really well. I suggest sanding all the old paint off the area you're wanting repainted.
Take it all off, but NOT THE GEL-COAT UNDERNEATH. If you leave some of the old paint on, or sand to deep - to a spot that will look black, or if you can plainly see the fiberglass, the paint won't stick well. Sand that all off, mask off every area you don't want painted and spray it as smooth as possible. The "paint line" - where the paint stops, will probably be you biggest headache.
The advantage is once you spray that, it's basically done.
Gel-coat is the way to fix it properly, but it's very labor intensive, and if you haven't done it before, it's very difficult.
Gel-coat is very thick compared to acrylic enamel. The prep. work is the same, but once it's sprayed and dry it must be sanded and buffed to finish it.
The way one works gel-coat, would ruin auto paint - they're very different things.
Best of luck to you, I hope this helps.

Answer 4

Sand or use fiberglass paint remover only not house paint remover as it will soften the fiberglass then prime and paint> Depends how good you want it to look spray always is the best if smooth with no blemish's>

Answer 5

U can use either automotive paint or there is special RV and boat paint that will be more water resistant. And I suggest using an automotive paint gun. Make sure you mask off the areas you don't want painted