[creelclmsn]

Ok I have the 1978 Venture 21 I am going to repaint this month. I am using Rustoleum Marine Paint... Which I know most of you don't like but I am not spending hundreds of dollars on paint for a boat I paid $500 bucks for. Anyways I want to know if you guys would recommend the roll and tip method or should I use my Graco X7 Pro airless paint sprayer? Which would you guys recommend? any pictures of your guys roll and tip jobs would be great!! Thanks for the help!

 

[SHNOOL]

I dunno the 1 part easy poxy, or brightsides are only slightly more money, and give a nice finish (and should last about 5 years).. However, I've heard good things about the Rustoleum Marine Paint... it provides nearly as good a finish as a 1 part from the other vendors... I expect it'd only last 3 years or so, but eh, what the hay....

Roll and tip works pretty well. If you take your time and thin properly. Remember the goal should be a 10 foot paint job, meaning the boat looks good from 10 feet. IF you are already an accomplished sprayer, then have at it... use the proper thinner and you should good. I think the preferred sprayer is HVLP.. but I tried it (and used to paint houses for living) and couldn't get a good coat (might have been my compressor though, not big enough to provide the volume I needed I bet).

I'd experiment a bit with it before you apply to the boat.

Oh a final note, your paintjob is dependent upon how good a base you put down. A good primer will help.

 

[appick]

I did our hull topsides 4 years ago. I used roll and tip while using the Interlux Perfection. Due to me not following directions and painting in direct light I had bad streaks on the first coat. The next coat I shaded the entire boat with tarps. Then rolled and tipped a second coat and got a finish that I suspect most people would've been happy with (not me!). Coat 3 was better yet but still some stroke marks.

Finally I ditched the $45 badger brush and just used the foam rollers I'd been using to apply the paint. I would load up the roller, then roll out a set area, the go back over it with the now paint deprived roller slowly and knock down the bubbles. This coupled with a good amount of thinner and in suitable weather conditions (not windy, not too humid, not too hot or cold) gave Magnificent results. You can't tell it isn't a sprayed paint job.

Now that being said I doubt you'll get anywhere near as good a finish with Rustoleum as I got with the Interlux Perfection. However I'm a do it one time and do it right kind of guy. If I invest my time in a project it's going to look good and be done the the best of my ability. For the extra $120(guessing) it's going to cost you to paint that small of a boat, I'd spring for the good paint. The two part epoxy LPU style paints are so much harder/scratch resistant ect I won't bother with a single part paint again. I even painted my dinghy with the same paint. Some experts I talk to are saying about a 10-15 year gloss life on the LPU paints.

 

[creelclmsn]

Great pics! I cant believe that is a roll and tip job either.

 

[appick]

I had a neighbor that got inspired by my boat painting prowess. He decided to use an airless sprayer... It turned out to be a disaster. It came out to a VERY rough uneven surface. He claimed he was using the recommended amount of thinner but man what a crap show. He's since tried to wax it and it's so rough he can't get all the dried wax out of the surface, if that gives you an idea how bad it is.

There is another boat a Tartan 34C that tried a similar airless sprayer with better results, but it's still about a 100 yard paint job, not a 10ft. Rough and bumpy texture. I've never played with the airless sprayers and don't think I'll bother.

I've used HVLP guns on motorcycles and cars and am pretty decent with them. However, without makeup air respirators and suits you CANNOT SPRAY LPU style paints. I've been told the vapors created when spraying can catalyze in your lungs which isn't good.

 

[appick]

Great pics! I cant believe that is a roll and tip job either.

Thanks! We hear that ALOT. Inf fact I think I should be reimbursed by Interlux for all the sales work I've been doing for them the past 4 years. Or at least a good discount on the paint for my next boat! lol

 

[appick]

Remember whether you use good paint or cheaper paint it's still the same amount of work with the prepping and sanding. Of course as was mentioned earlier you'll need at least 1 or 2 coats of primer whatever you use. I sanded with I think it was 220 between all coats of epoxy high build primer to get a nice smooth surface. Then with 400 wet for the topcoats and finally 600 wet before the last topcoat.

 

[Mr. Bubs]

Here's my Macgregor, roll n' tip with Rustoleum:

Make sure to thin the paint and add a little enamel hardener.

The paint has held up well for about 3 years now.

 

[bljones]

roll and tip is the way to go. Bubs is correct on thinning, but a tip i picked up - keep a squeeze bottle of thinner handy to thin the paint as you go, especially if you are painting in warmer weather- thinner flashes off in the tray.

 

[Mr. Bubs]

roll and tip is the way to go. Bubs is correct on thinning, but a tip i picked up - keep a squeeze bottle of thinner handy to thin the paint as you go, especially if you are painting in warmer weather- thinner flashes off in the tray.

Jones is right about that. When I painted mine I mixed up small batches, no more than I could use before flashing.

 

[jhock]

I agree with everyone else, roll and tip won't give you perfect results, but you paid $500 for your boat, so you probably aren't looking for a showroom finish. From a few feet away (which is the distance most people will view your boat), it will look great if you follow the advice already given.

IMO, a sprayer greatly increases the opportunities for error, and unless you are a pro it isn't worth the risk. Rolling and tipping is surprisingly easy once you get a rhythm down.

I've used Brightsides and System Three WPU in my projects. I would presume that the Brightsides would be closer to Rustoleum products. If so, I would highly recommend that you have someone help you with the tipping. The paint can dry very quickly with only a slight temperature shift, and if you haven't tipped it yet, the only options are to leave it or sand it back off.

I would also recommend a method that I picked up off this forum: Dip the tipping brush in your chosen thinner and then shake it off with one or two quick motions. This leaves the ideal amount of solvent in the tipping brush to glide over the paint without causing any streaking. It worked brilliantly for me.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

 

[Rapp]

I painted a boat I built and used the roll and tip method and was very pleased.One mistake I made was to not roll and tip the primer.My paint job came out looking great but if the primer was smoother the top coat would have been also.Remember also,spraying you lose a lot of paint and unless you're good at it and have good equipment,it can come out bad.

 

[SHNOOL]

before:

after roll and tip brightsides.

 

[sulli]

I have seen a few boats painted with Rustoleum and they look good, one of the best ones used Valspar 4625 Enamel Hardener added in the last coat, really looks good.
Roll and tip is the way to go DON'T airless spray

 

[creelclmsn]

How much paint do you think I will need? I have two gallons of Navy Blue and two gallons of Primer... I will look into the enamel hardener.... Man these Roll and Tip jobs look fantastic!! I think you just made my decision... I have painted my mantel and all the doors in my house with the sprayer and I have also painted my jeep with it... But the jeep was a flat color and the doors and mantel we obviously not as shiny as a boat paint job. But I see what you guys are talking about with the sprayer leaving raised places... I had planned on doing a lot of prep work, sanding, priming and sanding again. You guys have done great jobs I hope mine turns out as good. has anyone painted their deck? I got a gallon of White to redo the deck with, Do you roll and tip it as well or can I just roll it on? Should I prime it or do you think sanding and painting will be fine? Thank you again for all the advice!

 

[Barquito]

One of the things you pay for with slightly better paints, is the ability of the paint to self smooth. You will have some brush strokes with roll-tip. Stick with light colors, and you won't be able to see them. The brush strokes will self-level some with good paints. I would also point out that all the prep in the world will not make your job look good if the paint doesn't go on well. Take some pictures!

 

[sulli]

I would definitely prime first on all surfaces, it is not merely an extra step. Primer is designed to grip the surface and give succeeding coats a better grip.
One should sand the primer, I usually use 120 grit, then wipe several times with a solvent soaked rag, making sure not to wipe back and forth. You want to clean the dust, not spread it.
I used 3 thinned finished coats, sanded with 400 wet between coats, when I did my 35' CC cruiser, on top of 3 coats of primer. I used Petit Easypoxy 1 part. Everyone in the marina thought it was sprayed. It looked like glass and that was 1958 ChrisCraft wood boat.
Regarding the Enamel Hardened I do not know if it should be used in only the last coat or all finish coats. A call to the manufacturer might help or they may tell you it is only for their products, but I have seen it in Rustoleum. I was told it was a 3 year old paint job, still looked great.

 

[appick]

Yup any time you lay paint over another surface other than compatible paint you need a primer... for the most part. Some paints say no primer is needed but usually will tell you that you'd get better adhesion with a primer.

I painted my decks with Brightsides with the epoxy primer underneath as it said it was good for stabilizing crazing gelcoat. The epoxy primer has done it's job well. What I'm not so happy about was using the Brightsides. I find it too soft for use on deck, I think I would've been much happier if I'd used Perfection on the decks too. The brightsides scratches easily from foot traffic. Where the bottom of the hard dinghy being run up on beaches all summer long still looks good 4 years later.

Also there is a small section on deck that had water trapped on it and frozen over winter storage. I laid my mainsail battens on deck and the yard didn't block up the front of the cradle enough to get the water to the back scuppers. It lifted the paint in a small area where the water pooled. I have a section of my bow that is Perfection that got painted a little below the waterline. 4 years of all summer below the water and no signs of seperation or the paint failing yet. Had I used it on the deck I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have failed so easily. Oh also the whole hull of the dinghy which stayed in the water all season for 3 years shows no signs of failure or lifting.

 

[SHNOOL]

On my 25 foot boat I used 4 quarts of red paint with no primer (mistake, I should have primed)... but I also did about 6 coats of paint (probably could have gotten away with 3 coats if I had primed, I had trouble covering my cove stripe which was blue on white).... keep in mind I wet sanded between coats. I also threw away an entire painted side by attempting to spray it.

I used a very small portion of white for the boot stripe, I bought the quart can and had 3/4 left over. 4 coats of white.

 

[bljones]

our 23 footer took a gallon of primer and 3 quarts of paint on the topsides, and two quarts on the deck and cockpit.