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Sorry this is late;
I painted my Hobie 21SE and did it "right" - that is by the book. It came out great, BUT:
1) It was almost as much work as re-gel coating the entire thing, sanding buffing and polishing
2) I had significant Epoxy repairs that I was making and re-surfacing a lot of the boat (wasn't sure how well the Gel coat would stick) and it was painted before
3) I was spraying the boat and know that process way better than gel coating.
4) I included a bare, black/UV stabilized, epoxy wear strip down the center (works fantastic so far)
5) I don't beach it hard
6) Cost between the 2 systems, done to the same quality is very close to the same.
The paint was listed as 488 square feet/gallon, so 1 quart covered 144 square feet. The sides are 18 inches (average) x 21 feet = 32 square feet/side x 4 = 126 needed.
And it covered very accurately that way. Note that Interlux gives a "theoretical coverage" and a "realistic coverage". The realistic value was spot on. A quart sprayed was perfect. Roller will have more waste. There are a ton of videos about "rolling and tipping", which is what you'll be doing. Also, much safer than spraying.
Coverage for me was accurate per the manufacturer's technical sheet. More paint is not necessarily better. Accurate, thorough coverage on VERY WELL PREPARED surface is the most durable solution with paint. I've got 1.5 seasons on the paint (Interlux Perfection) and it looks like the day I put it on, except for the scratch from the fence hardware...
If you're going to paint -
1) Really must use a compatible primer/seal coat over the freshly prepped, cleaned fiberglass (see your tech sheet). I used "Epoxy Primecoat"
2) MUST, MUST, MUST - make sure that you follow the instructions on humidity, specifically you do not want to start spraying later than noon when the dew point is expected to drop below the ambient temperature. You've GOT to get the paint on in the morning, then give it time to thoroughly cure before those two temperature values cross each other. I think my minimum delta was 15 degrees; missed it and had to spray a third coat after wet sanding again. It fogged over. Other paints may not be as bad (like automotive urethane), but Interlux 2-part urethane is picky that way.
3) 2-part/catalyzed urethanes are the most durable, but also must be handled with PPE (respirator, gloves, etc.) Gel coat should be handled with respirator also though.
In the end, mine came out fantastic (there are tons of painted fiberglass sailboats, btw) - however I do baby it on the beach (moved on cat trax, not drug around, etc.) and moving it around as much as possible because it's just not as durable. It is durable so far, just not as much as a good gel coat. I need to touch up the one scratch and buff it for this season. That'll tell more about how good it's holding up. First step I'd do is wet sand with 800 or 1,000 then buff the gel coat. It's amazing what you can bring back to life.
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ChuckC
H21SE- 408
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