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the paint is pealing...

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frants
1st Mate

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USA
55 Posts

Initially Posted - 01/05/2010 : 16:42:06

Always interesting reading the Forum. The PO painted my '83 from beige to white. the beige gelcoat must have been on sale back then

however, the fenders have been rubbing the sides and the paint is coming off. A couple of places it's the size of an open hand. I guess I have a few options: let it all peal off and try to accept the original color, touch up paint or remove all the paint for re-painting. Any suggestions?

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OJ
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 01/05/2010 : 16:58:08

The PO was really a DPO . . .

Gelcoat is far, far more durable than paint. I'd loose the paint else you'll be chasing bare spots and scratches the rest of the time you own the boat. I think you'd rather be sailing.

Good luck.

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 01/05/2010 : 20:30:27

Did you get any idea of why your (D)PO painted her? Indeed, it's a dubious plan, especially if it's just to change colors. Better to change boats. Catalina beige is not that hard to keep looking good--a lot easier than dark colors. Any contrasting paint is going to give you headaches forever.

The proper way to re-paint is to remove the existing paint, so that's where I'd start, with fiberglass-friendly chemical stripper. Then go with the original gelcoat if at all possible, and for any boo-boos that the PO covered up, see what you can do about matching the color with gelcoat patch. There are kits for coloring gelcoat patch. If you're only dealing with some gouges, keep the patch just in the gouges and you can make it almost invisible even if the color isn't dead-on.

Best of luck!

Edited by - Dave Bristle on 01/05/2010 20:34:16

Happy D
Admiral

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921 Posts

Response Posted - 01/06/2010 : 06:25:31

Fixing gelcoat is very easy. I will never paint a boat. Spraying gelcoat is as simple as spraying paint using the new additives available today.
Another benifit to spraying gelcoat is that you can do small pieces at a time and when it's all done, it will look like a factory finish.
What was done in the non-skid area?

Edited by - Happy D on 01/06/2010 07:07:42

pastmember
Master Marine Consultant

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2402 Posts

Response Posted - 01/06/2010 : 09:50:53

Easy Off Oven Cleaner will take most paint off gelcoat. Do a test patch first, if it works then get that paint off. Painted boats are for the very rich who have maintenance people do all their work. Both Catalina brown hues were lovely, the camel and the sand.

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skrenz
Captain

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USA
351 Posts

Response Posted - 01/07/2010 : 17:21:46

I disagree with most of the comments so far about painting. I do agree that you should think long and hard about painting over gelcoat the first time, but if you inherit a painted hull it may not be the best idea to go back mostly because you may find that there was a very good reason the PO painted the gelcoat instead of fixing it. Nor do I agree that you ALWAYS have to remove the previous paint before repainting.

The real question is, how well is the existing layer of paint holding? It would seem from the description of your problem that it's not holding very well. If this is the case, then you don't have any choice, you need to completely remove the old paint and start again. The durability of a painted surface is directly related to the product used and how well it was installed. I had to repaint my topsides not because the paint was pealing but because the job was faded and blotchy after multiple years. The paint I was going over was Awlgrip. I can tell you from sanding it that it's at least as tenacious as fiberglass gelcoat. I used Epifanes single part Urethane and so far it has been very durable. However, if I did it over again, I would use an Interlux product.

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KiteKraemer
Navigator

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191 Posts

Response Posted - 01/07/2010 : 21:43:57

interesting topic....but which surface does organic material build up on faster?

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Happy D
Admiral

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921 Posts

Response Posted - 01/08/2010 : 06:24:20

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">I had to repaint my topsides not because the paint was pealing but because the job was faded and blotchy after multiple years. The paint I was going over was Awlgrip. I can tell you from sanding it that it's at least as tenacious as fiberglass gelcoat. I used Epifanes single part Urethane and so far it has been very durable. However, if I did it over again, I would use an Interlux product.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
That's the point. If you repair your gelcoat, you'll never have to re-paint.
Spraying gelcoat is easy. Wet sanding and polishing takes a tremendous amount of work. But so does sanding Awlgrip. Sanding the epifanes next time also adds to the mix. I'll sand my gelcoat and polish it once. It's a lot of work, but if you add up all the times the boat needs to be sanded and painted over and over, I think gelcoat wins hands down.
This boat had a big hole in it right between the Becksons. It is gelcoat sprayed over epoxy (which a lot of people say you can't do). Most people would have painted this but repairing the gelcoat came out almost perfect. The tint is off just a little if you look real close. Point is, I don't have to re-paint the deck, ever.
Another benifit is that you can repair or re-gelcoat small pieces at a time. You don't need to do it all at once. It is a lot of work, no doubt. But it's not a painted boat.

If the paint is peeling, it will all have to come off. You can't paint over peeling paint.

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Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 01/08/2010 : 07:45:38

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by skrenz
 I disagree with most of the comments so far about painting...<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">Decks are one thing--hulls are another. All I can say is friends and acquaintences have had headaches even with professionally applied 2-part hull paints like Awlgrip and Imron--even white on white. One-part paint on a hull is more like house paint on a hull, and if you paint over paint, your boat starts looking like an old house. Absent major abuse, the gelcoat on a Catalina hull can be kept looking good for over 30 years. Repairs can be feathered and blended so they disappear, without having to re-do the whole boat. Once you paint the hull, the clock works against you--fast. POs paint boats so they can become POs. Buyers later call them GDPOs.

Edited by - Dave Bristle on 01/08/2010 11:43:13

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