How do I wet sand a fiber glass and marine plywood sail boat hull?

Question

I need to wet snad the hull then use a mrine paint on it. How do I get water line stripe straight? I will use a heavier paint on the keel and the area below water. Are there any special addtives to combat barnacles?

Answer 1

I'm waiting to put bottom paint on my yacht. The water line is plainly visible from old agal growth. That happened when the previous owner left it UNpainted in  sea water. I'm just going to use masking tape or a snap line to mark it before I sand the bottom. Wet/dry sand paper, the type with the black color, is designed to be rinsed in water when used. That keeps the grit from being filled  with debris when sanding. One usually starts with a low number courser grit, and then uses a higher number number finer grit to finish. The person who said you can;'t sand fiber glass is  probably refering to the fact that what you are really sanding on the hull is the gel coat. Any standard marine  bottom finish will be adequate for any crusty critters. Bob,spes anchora vitae

Answer 2

Check with you marine paint shop. There are additives that cna be mixed in paint. You water sand with 600 wet o dry and use a little soapy water to sand. I use a epoxy primer and then a marine quality paint

Answer 3

you DONT wet sand fiberglass. and wet sanding is not whast is needed to be done to prep for paint.and according to what kind of paint you use ( awl-grip,,,gel-coat,,and so on) and getting ya stripe straight is according to what kind of boat you have,,and you need to use bottom paint for your bottom (head paint for head hehe ) and the bottom paint is what will protect against growth,,,and theres alot to what your asking,,,more then room here,,heh,,,try here if i can post a link,,http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/showthr...