Question on painting a boat?

Question

I'm thinking of getting a fiberglass boat from Craigslist. It looks a little rough but the guy says its ready to get on the water. Is there a particular type of paint I would need to use on the outside of the boat? I know they usually have a gel coat. Is this something an amateur can do or am I better off getting a pro? If I need a pro, how much does that cost? Thanks

Answer 1

Pro would almost always be the way to go. Most paint from a can will not have the UV protection you are looking for. However, you could always buy a somewhat low cost spray gun (a lot of people are going HVLP...Harbor Freight has the gun for cheap) and have a local paint shop mix up some paint. Red will be the most expensive. In pro paint jobs it's really the labor cost that makes them so expensive. Also, you might talk with a local body shop and see if they would cut you a break if you did all the prep work. Just remember this if you paint it yourself...any imperfections in the hull will be magnified greatly when paint is put on them.

If you decide to paint it yourself, the website below would be worth visiting.

Answer 2

getting a pro would cost a fortune.

you can use a 2part or a 1 part paint--you can buy them at west marine and you can roll and tip them yourself--they have a video online at the interlux paint website that will tell/show you how to do it.

the paint is kind of expensive--it might cost you $300-400 for an average 35ft boat

we had a 30 year old boat and my husband sanded the boat (you have to know what you are doing) and buffed it out and the gelcoat looks like new now--you can look into this--it is not really hard if you are handy.  gelcoat is always better than paint b/c paint will peel or need to be redone over time

Answer 3

Don't paint it yourself. It will chip and peel and look awful! Either dont buy this boat or if it's a really good deal and you think it must be painted, leave this job to the pros!