DIY christmas present

[larissa1740]

HI;

My dad owns a 21ft Holiday 23. And I decided that this year for Christmas -instead of buying useless, expensive gadgets- I woud 're-do' the boat's outdated interior. (I will post pictures as soon as I have figured out a way to get the keys from my dad without him getting suspicious.)

I'm pretty handy with a sewing machine,so re-upholstering shouldn't be a problem.
My issue is that the fibreglass on the 'walls' of my dad's yacht USED TO BE white and look quite horrendous. I want to know if it's possible to somehow 'repaint' the fibreglass to make it look 'new'.
I'm a student so I don't have the budget to get a proffessional to come do it for me.

can someone pls help...

[timebandit]

Windex (the window cleaner) works wonders to remove smoke and grease and stuff from fibreglass.

Clean from the bottom up.

[larissa1740]

THX; i'll try that.

do I just spray on and wipe with a cloth? or is there another trick I should know about?

[JimMcGee]

The previous owner of my boat was a heavy smoker. Spray Nine, with one of those green scrubbing pads, followed by a wet paper towel works wonders, but you have to have everything open on the boat while you're using it to keep the fumes down.

Jim

[Faster]

And once you clean it, a coat of paint will dress it right back up again. Any of the single part "plastic" paints from Home Depot or Home Hardware etc will do a decent job in inside the boat. Ideally use Interlux Brightsides, but the hardware store paint is less expensive.

[larissa1740]

Srr, I'm South African; so just to clarify: an acrylic-style paint will work? won't the salt water damage the paint? or should I use like a special varnish?

[sailingdog]

I'd point out that Mr. Clean Magic Erasers will get rid a of a lot of things that resist other cleaning methods.

[larissa1740]

Another question: if I want to lighten/change the color of the 'wood' table in the cabin is there a specific varnish or finish I should use that won't take on too much salt/water damage?

[timebandit]

If it is smoke and grease just spray it on but start from the bottom to keep it from streaking, you may have to do it twice.

Spray it on and let it set a little and wipe it off, just like a washing a window.

Originally Posted by larissa1740

THX; i'll try that.

do I just spray on and wipe with a cloth? or is there another trick I should know about?

[Waltthesalt]

If it doesn't clean up repainting isn't that hard just tedious and time consuming. I used a white topside paint... a bit pricey but bullit-proof. Looks great. Some places took more that one coat. Best done in warm dry weather. Gotta do the masking and all the preps on the can. Expect to get yourself painted as well