Custom/Hybrid Marine paint?

623pwr

623pwr

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I am in the process of painting a fiberglass hull, so I need some paint advise. Is a marine paint such as AWLGRIP necessary on a hull, or is an automotive paint going to give me similar results? I am more or less looking for durability and flex. Would you recommend a urethane paint base or acrylic paint base? What would be a good grit to scuff up before primer, etc.? Thanks, Dave.
 
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aytee

aytee

Location
south dakota
should be gel coat, not bare glass? i'd sand it out with 400 and shoot it with automotive epoxy, then auto base/clear to finish it off... but i run a body shop so i have all this on hand...
 
623pwr

623pwr

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aytee said:
should be gel coat, not bare glass? i'd sand it out with 400 and shoot it with automotive epoxy, then auto base/clear to finish it off... but i run a body shop so i have all this on hand...
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Yep it is gel coat, my bad. There is a shop in town I can get automotive epoxy auto paint at. Thanks for the help!
 
623pwr

623pwr

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That flex additive is worth looking into. Durable is what i am after. That definitely points me in the right direction, thanks!
 
Joker

Joker

...chaos? Its Fair!
Location
La Porte, Indiana
I use shopline automotive paint. It's made by PPG but it is their lower grade stuff. I use the urethane based epoxy paint and primer combo with flex additive. The stuff is really strong and sprays super nice. You can get everything you need for around $150.
 
623pwr

623pwr

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The only problem I am finding with epoxy is it doesn't have a history of bonding to the gel coat very well based on some of the research I have done. I'm not saying it is right, just kind of what I have read. It sounds like the Awlgrip primer will adhere to pretty much everything, but I am going off someone else's word on that. I will find the tech sheet on Awlgrip and check out what size tip to use on the gun, that might help the application? I am sure the PPG epoxy will be the easiest and it sounds like you guys have had good luck with it. Sorry to think to much about this, but I just want to do it once if possible. I wish I was a paint genius like some of you guys, then I would probably enjoy it more.
 
Big Kahuna

Big Kahuna

Administrator
Location
Tuscaloosa, AL
Y'all are overthinking this. Prep hull and use a good quality primer. J painter a few hulls using Dupont Mason Series. This is there industrial (economy) paint - geared towards dump trucks,cement Trucks etc. It is a single stage urethane system. As long ss you spray it right you do not have to wet sand it after and polish. It is very durable and strong. Cost you about 100 bucks.
 
623pwr

623pwr

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Big Kahuna said:
Y'all are overthinking this. Prep hull and use a good quality primer. J painter a few hulls using Dupont Mason Series. This is there industrial (economy) paint - geared towards dump trucks,cement Trucks etc. It is a single stage urethane system. As long ss you spray it right you do not have to wet sand it after and polish. It is very durable and strong. Cost you about 100 bucks.
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I know, overthinking is one of my downfalls in this world. Thanks for the input, it sounds like it is worth looking into and the price is right.
 
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aytee

aytee

Location
south dakota
prep is everything, doesn't matter if you're painting bare steal, wood, glass, paint, you name it... as I said I run a body shop, I use ppg epoxy all the time... I've sprayed gel coated bumpers(ricers seem to love fg bumpers) with absolutely no issues... you don't need to sand the gel "off" just sand it good, then wipe good with wax and grease remover(I normally wax and grease, then sand, then wax and grease again so you don't force contaminants deeper)...
for what it's worth, you wouldn't really need to even prime it, cured gel coat if prepped right is a good substrate for paint to adhere...

if you do use epoxy primer, let the primer flash a couple hours then spray base coat before the epoxy cures(epoxy sucks to sand)... don't epoxy then jump right over it with base 20 mins later though, let the epoxy degas a few hours then spray paint...

this is just my 2 cents, if you ask 50 people how to paint a ski, you'll probably get close to 50 different answers... the absolute best way to do it, is gelcoat it(I've repaired boats using factory match gel, it's not much different than paint until it comes to curing procedure)

... haha... or load it up haul it over here and I'll paint it for you...
 
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623pwr

623pwr

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aytee said:
prep is everything, doesn't matter if you're painting bare steal, wood, glass, paint, you name it... as I said I run a body shop, I use ppg epoxy all the time... I've sprayed gel coated bumpers(ricers seem to love fg bumpers) with absolutely no issues... you don't need to sand the gel "off" just sand it good, then wipe good with wax and grease remover(I normally wax and grease, then sand, then wax and grease again so you don't force contaminants deeper)...
for what it's worth, you wouldn't really need to even prime it, cured gel coat if prepped right is a good substrate for paint to adhere...

if you do use epoxy primer, let the primer flash a couple hours then spray base coat before the epoxy cures(epoxy sucks to sand)... don't epoxy then jump right over it with base 20 mins later though, let the epoxy degas a few hours then spray paint...

this is just my 2 cents, if you ask 50 people how to paint a ski, you'll probably get close to 50 different answers... the absolute best way to do it, is gelcoat it(I've repaired boats using factory match gel, it's not much different than paint until it comes to curing procedure)

... haha... or load it up haul it over here and I'll paint it for you...
Click to expand...

That makes sense, appreciate the tips. I agree there are a million ways to come up with a good finished product.
 
aytee

aytee

Location
south dakota
and personally, I wouldn't use flex add on a ski(it slightly weakens the paint), auto paint these days is more flexible than one would think, and fiberglass doesn't really flex a whole lot.. that stuff is more designed for urethane bumpers that are highly flexible parts...

and if Dupont is what you have access to as BK stated it's "Nason" not "Mason".. no bashing, just stating in case someone wants to look into it...
single stage enamel is more durable than base clear(it has more binders and solids mixed together, unlike base clear where all the solids are in the clear), i just like the look of base clear better... ppg offers single stage in most of their lower line paints(omni and shopline being most common) only one i know of in dupont is nason(not really familiar with dupont)

btw 623pwr, I'm about 250 miles from you, we should get together and ride sometime...
 
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