Choosing Topside Paint Problem

[liveincolor]

Before I put my boat in the water I need to touch up the topside paint, however, I have no idea what paint is on there now and I've read here in a few threads that its not so good to paint over topside paint with that of a different kind (one part over two part and vice versa). That leaves me with the problem of choosing a topside paint. The area that I'm retouching is down by the waterline, the hull is dark blue, but the PO used some inferior paint to make a white stripe just above where the bottom paint ends and the topside begins. The paint flaked so badly that it is mostly gone and you can see the dark green color of the hull that it was before being painted dark blue. Or should I just sand the whole hull down to the dark green gel coat ? (Really don't want to do that...so much work ! )

[MarkSF]

I think what I would do is paint a new, slightly wider, white stripe over where the old one was! The issue is paint compatibility. Awlgrip, two-part polyurethane, and one part, do not play well together. Do you know what the PO used for the white stripe?

The dark green is not gel coat, it's probably Awlgrip if it's original to the boat. In that case, the dark blue stuff should be Awlgrip too, otherwise that should have fallen off too.

[liveincolor]

That's a good idea, I considered doing that. I don't know what the PO used and I have no way to get in touch with him. So a good, educated assumption would be to go with Awlgrip ?

EDIT: Why is Awlgrip considered to be so hard to work with ? Is it something as an ameteur I can handle ?

[MarkSF]

I think it's hard to get a great finish. But with a bootstripe, I think an OK finish will be sufficient.... you could brush it on and avoid a lot of safety gear that would be needed for spraying.

If you're not in a hurry, why don't you paint a patch and see what happens for a few months?

My advice is all well and good, what you really need to do is very carefully read the instructions for the paint, and follow the recommended prep to the letter, don't cut any corners.

[liveincolor]

Originally Posted by MarkSF

I think it's hard to get a great finish. But with a bootstripe, I think an OK finish will be sufficient.... you could brush it on and avoid a lot of safety gear that would be needed for spraying.

If you're not in a hurry, why don't you paint a patch and see what happens for a few months?

My advice is all well and good, what you really need to do is very carefully read the instructions for the paint, and follow the recommended prep to the letter, don't cut any corners.

Thanks, will do.

[tommays]

Were about on the southshore ?

There is nothing easy about any two part paint and its certainly way to cold and very humidity dependent as water vapor kills the gloss

I have worked with everything successfully both spray and roll&tip and even the easy to use one part requires a lot of time to get a worthwhile result

[liveincolor]

Originally Posted by tommays

Were about on the southshore ?

There is nothing easy about any two part paint and its certainly way to cold and very humidity dependent as water vapor kills the gloss

I have worked with everything successfully both spray and roll&tip and even the easy to use one part requires a lot of time to get a worthwhile result

I'm in Amityville. What do you recommend I use to repaint my bootstripe ? I won't be using a sprayer, just the good old roll and tip method. Any tips for getting an acceptable finish ? The rest of the hull is a bit lackluster in character too so no need for a stunning finish, just something OK will do.

[tommays]

I work right up the block in N Amityville as soon as the weather clams down i would be happy to take a look and give my two cents

[liveincolor]

that'd be awesome ! Thanks