Painting the hull/color change

[Fearless]

I'm dying to repaint the hull on my '79 DS, as it looks like a somewhat frosty orange creme popsicle. My spars are black, my engine is black, and my sons and I have a penchant for pirate lore, so we're thinking of painting her black. I'd also like to repaint the deck and cockpit, white, with gray textured areas.

I've looked at posts about careening and otherwise making the hull accessible for repair and painting, but I've yet to see any posts about precise painting advice.

Specifically, I'm seeking info on:

-Prep
-Paint types or brands
-Any pitfalls to changing hull/deck color
-Best techniques

Thanks for any experience and knowledge you can share.

[psness]

I did it last year. Also have a 1979 DSII that was an ugly orange. I researched posts on this forum for instructions and it came out great. This web site is fantastic.

One thing I didn't have to do was careen my boat since it has antifoulant, so I only painted down to the water line. I did the hull white and the deck/cockpit an off-white silvery blue color (ended up looking a lot like the hull color) and the textured floor areas a dark blue. Also did the 3" stripe just under the gunwale the same dark blue. I have "after" pictures on this site and will try to upload "before" pictures at some point.

http://forum.daysailer.org/forum/album_person ... user_id=11

It was very time consuming. After patching and filling scratches with marine filler, I lightly sanded everything then a wipe down with Interlux 333 (after every sanding). The cockpit area was very tough and hard on my back. First went a coat of primer, then more sanding, then two coats (again sanding in between). I used a roller (thin spongy type) and brush (tipping) technique and was worried about brush lines, but the paint is self-leveling and came out great. I was very pleased. Use good paint. It makes a difference. I used Pettit, which is more expensive than Interlux or West's store brand, but it was top quality. I used Interlux for the dark blue and it's not as good (in my opinion)

This year I am stripping the antifoulant and will be painting it. I am going to try to do it without careening (just paint around the trailer pads then move the boat slightly.

I was told dark colors on the hull tend to show more of the creases and imperfections of filling and ding repair. Black would look awesome, but I think the lighter colors are more forgiving.

[Phill]

Think very hard before you decide to paint. I have a 1966 DS1, that was all blue, deck and hull. When I first got her, she was very very faded. But I noticed that when the old gel coat got wet, the color came back and looked pretty good. I tried different ways of buffing out the old oxidized gel coat. but nothing was satisfactory. Someone recomended "Penetol". it is a paint additive that you can find at most good paint stores or home improvment store. There is an instrucition on the 1 qt. can that outlines gelcoat restoration that I found was very acceptable. ( if you decide to try this post another question on this forum about it and I will be more specific about how to get the best results with "Penetrol.

However, after 13 years of ownership, I decided to repaint Lollipop. After three months of preperation and sweat, the project was complete. She came out great! But, if I had it to do over again, I WOULD NOT PAINT. I can no longer leave her unattended at a dock, and this is a BIG Pain. No matter what kind of paint you try, it will not be as tough as gel coat. I used a professional grade two part urthane, sprayed.

If you want a showy boat that you dont use much, Paint will be very nice.
If you use your boat alot, a painted boat will need touching up too often, and may even cut into your sailing time. I wish I had lived with the restored gel coat.

Just my humble opinion
phill

[jbroderick]

Phill,
Would you tell me what you know about restoring gelcoat color? I've got a pale blue DS1 I'd like to brighten up and some Penetrol I bought some time ago for that purpose but haven't had the courage to try. Thanks much.
JCB

[Phill]

JCB,

The directions on the can will work, but, after some experimentation there are a few tricks that can help create a better result. You can get a idea of how much color you can expect to come back by wetting the gelcoat.

When you apply Penetrol, It will seal the surface of the gelcoat and any stains or other imperfections. With this in mind, this is what I did:


Scrub the boat with a scouring cleanser like Bon Ami, to remove as much of the surface oxidation as possible. Make sure you do not use a cleanser with bleach in it. (counterproductive to bleach out the color we are trying to restore.)

If you have rust or other stains, try to remove them with Acetone (use gloves). If you are using Acetone near the rubber rub rails, do not let the acetone get on the rubrail. It will dissolve some of the rubber, and then you will transfer this from the contaminated rag, into the gelcoat you are trying to restore. Leaving white streaks in your finished project.

Repair any scratches you want to fix with a gelcoat repair kit. If the scratch does not go through to the fiberglass, you can just use clear gelcoat and it will be difficult to see the repair unless you are a perfectionist like me.

Before applying the Penetrol, try to get the gelcoat a dry as possible. ( this may be difficult on the Oregon coast ) the Penetrol will seal in any left over moisture and can contribute to gelcoat blistering.

I always applied the Penetrol in the late afternoon after the sun had done a final baking to get the moisture out. I also feel that the warmer surface helped the Pentrol penetrate deeper into the surface of the old gelcoat. Make sure you have a very clean surface. Any dust or dirt can get traped and sealed in the surface.

I applied it mostly according to the manufacters instructions. Rubbing off the excess after about 15-20 mins. The next day, after removing any possible dust settling, I applied a second coat, more sparingly this time.

Penetrol will not resist fading like new gelcoat. But by keeping it out of the direct sun as much as possible when not sailing, it will do a good job, and can be reapplied every couple of years, easier than a wax job. And much cheaper and easier than painting.

phill

JCB, as you are in Oregon, if you are at all interested the Northwest DS activities, please Private message me on this board. tks