Paint prep help

[Jksuperjet]

I just stripped off the turf, and as you can see there must've been a couple of different paint jobs done. My question is should I sand all the way down through the old coats? I know somebody is going to say "go check out tech faq" but most of the paint threads are dated, and some of the pwctoday links don't work.

 

[Schwabee1]

If it was sanded between colors and none of the layers look shiny you should be fine. Wouldn't hurt to da with 150 to make sure.

 

[Jksuperjet]

Thanks man. What's your paint of choice? Been pricing out some, but those threads are pretty old. Any new products out there?

If it was sanded between colors and none of the layers look shiny you should be fine. Wouldn't hurt to da with 150 to make sure.

 

[makejetskiinggreatagain]

i used the single stage automotive paint from napa on my top deck with good results. It was my first paint job ever though so I guess I dont really know what good results truly are lol. I clear coated it for added protection. On the bottom deck I used appliance epoxy because everyone said it was super tough. It went on great but I didnt sand it with coarse enough sandpaper (320 grit from what I remember) so it started peeling. Gonna have to redo it before spring. 150 grit would be sufficient.

 

[Jksuperjet]

i used the single stage automotive paint from napa on my top deck with good results. I clear coated it for added protection. On the bottom deck i used appliance epoxy because everyone said it was super tough. It went on great but I didnt sand it with coarse enough sandpaper (320 grit from what I remember) so it started peeling. Gonna have to redo it before spring. 150 grit would be sufficient.

So no primer/filler? What did you use to spray it? I just picked up the purple hvlp gun from harbor freight.

 

[makejetskiinggreatagain]

oh ya sorry, I used epoxy primer from a local automotive paint shop.

I bought a kobalt HVLP gun from lowes that ran me about 100 bucks if i remember (my memory blows). I tried to look it up but i dont think they carry it anymore. I tried using the cheapest harbor freight gun and it was worthless. With the very limited knowledge i have i gather that one of the most important things is to just make sure your compressor can handle the load. That purple one calls for 12 CFM @ 40psi (assuming I'm seeing the same one online that you have). If your compressor can handle that then i would try and use it. If not you have the choice of buying a new gun or a new compressor.

 

[Jksuperjet]

oh ya sorry, I used epoxy primer from a local automotive paint shop.

I bought a kobalt HVLP gun from lowes that ran me about 100 bucks if i remember (my memory blows). I tried to look it up but i dont think they carry it anymore. I tried using the cheapest harbor freight gun and it was worthless. With the very limited knowledge i have i gather that one of the most important things is to just make sure your compressor can handle the load. That purple one calls for 12 CFM @ 40psi (assuming I'm seeing the same one online that you have). If your compressor can handle that then i would try and use it. If not you have the choice of buying a new gun or a new compressor.

I should be good on the compressor, and I got the gun for $25 yesterday on black friday so I might as well try it haha! I'm going to spray this 550/650 conversion with the hopes that I learn enough to put a halfway decent paintjob on my superjet. Your ski looks awesome! That black and white turf looks really nice on there as well!

 

[makejetskiinggreatagain]

Thanks! You'll do fine. I was nervous as hell but it ended up being a lot less scary than I thought. Watch some YouTube videos to give you some info on the basics and when you are ready to spray Practice on some cardboard before you spray the ski. Luckily you have to shoot primer first anyway so that will give you some practice.

 

[Vumad]

Im not much on paint but prep is similar to composites. If you layup over something other than bare glass, it only sticks as well as the thing you laid it over. It's not that you can't glass to gelcoat, it's that gelcoat doesn't stick to the hull as well as the new resin would if you sanded off the gelcoat and glassed to glass. You don't have to remove all the old paint from your house before hand, but you need to blast off anything that is remotely loose. You just have to decide how well the old paint is sticking before you paint over it.

 

[mike b]

I use an orbital sander with about 220 or 320 grit. Takes longer than going over with 80 or 120 but less sanding by hand. Get a sanding block or something that has some give to it (i'm using a household sponge on mine). Lots of hours of hand sanding to get rid of the circle marks from the sander plus any time on specific areas that needed bondo or any filling. I am using the same painting gun and pretty good results. I am running the air higher at like 60psi since the gun drops but the spray is going on nice. This is my practice ski ($1500) before I paint my main ski which is worth much more. Going to need to be spot on there. I will probably have double the hours of bondo/hand sanding and triple the layers of paint. ESPECIALLY the clear. That is where I am finding the magic to be

Take your time if you want to do it only once. I found its better to do multiple layers of lighter coats rather than a coat that makes a run mark. The clear coat will need to be a bit heavier so you just have to be smart when laying it down.

There are some painters that are on this forum so maybe one of them can chip in. I know my painting is not 100% but it has done well so far

 

[Vortex]

You can spray epoxy over a scuffed surface and then spray color over that once the primer has flashed. But you'll get a smoother surface if you follow up epoxy with 3 coats of high build urethane primer. Then wet sand with 600-800, clean and its ready for color.

Another advantage to using both types of primer is you will have more time for the solvents to be released before final paint goes on.

Try to avoid 80 grit or even 120 grit as these leave scratches that will show thru primer and paint if you aren't real careful. You have to get pretty detailed with 220 and 320 to smooth them out.

You can use 80 to knock down the old paint if necessary but I'd try 180 first.

Also avoid bending the Sanding block or paper in a way that creates ridges in the sandpaper. Emery cloth may work better for contours but I haven't tried it before.