[Grampian1989]

Hello all, Amateur here looking for some solid advice....

The gelcoat on my grampian is old and hazy... Cracking and just all around worn n weathered. I can't afford to go crazy and repaint the entire boat hull & deck... Nor do i want to start the project and remove all the hardware attached to the deck....

Can i repaint the deck with foam rollers and tape off the deck hardware? What sort of prep would i have to do to make this a one weekender job? Will the paint peel if i just roll on a new coat of gelcoat? These are my questions, lets fish for answers....

PS - Bought the boat for 500 big ones, and intend on keeping her for at least another season. I just want to make her prettier on the outside!

 

[killarney_sailor]

Yes, you can paint it. The more stuff you take off the better the finished job. If it is for one summer I would leave it as is. If it is worth doing, it is worth buying proper marine payment meant for deck use. These require more care than latex house paint but are not beyond a careful amateur's ability. I have used Signature Finish paint that you get direct from a guy in Florida who provides very detailed instructions and all the bits you want. Certainly this is not the only way to go. Check the websites for Interlux and other marine paints.

BTW, if you are going to paint no-skid you want to add a compound to the paint. These range from very coarse to finder. You add it to the first coat and put an extra coat of paint without grit on top.

 

[paulk]

You can prep and paint in a weekend, but the results will probably look like you did it in a weekend. To REALLY tape off the hardware and ports so no paint gets on them will probably take a whole morning or more (depending upon the size of the boat). Sanding and prep for schlock paint and really good 2-part polys are pretty similar and should probably take about a day. Less finnicky paints don't call for a solvent wash and have wider temperature/humidity windows, so you can slap them on pretty quickly. The problem is that less finnicky paints don't last as well, so you might expect to need to do it all over again in a season or two. We used 2-part polyurethane and had to wait for the temperature to warm up, the air to dry out, and the wind to stop blowing before we painted. It took weeks. The paint has held up about 10 years, however. If you don't want to have to do it again soon, do it right the first time. More recently we have had reasonably good results from Interdeck nonskid paint - but it hasn't been on for ten years yet.

 

[Ulladh]

Try just a really good cleaning. The deck may not look so bad when clean in full sun.

I paint my deck with a one part urethane every two to three years. Most one part paints will last a few years if the surface is well prepared and manufacturer recommended primer used.

One day to clean and prep, one day for primer one day for finish paint.

Year two or three, clean and finish paint one day, I have never had paint peel off, wear away yes but not peel off.

This will not be as good a finish as a two part coating, but not bad for a $500 boat.

 

[ABH3 Boyer]

Marine grade gorilla grip non-skid worked very well for me. Everything that I wasn't replacing got taped off. Wipe the clean surface down with a solvent like MEK and roll it on. It looks beautiful and comes in every color under the rainbow. Made my 1977 boat look like new. Also is holding up better than anything I have ever used.

 

[Barquito]

Would be difficult to prep the deck, and tape all the hardware in one weekend. Let alone, painting multiple coats. Also, if you haven't checked the price of marine paint you may be shocked. OTOH, I am going to paint my $500 boat soon, b/c I don't want it to look like sh!t, or at least I want it to look like a different color sh!t.