Painting advice

This is my first time painting any boat.

I am using the 1 part Brightside Polyurethane paint and the associated primer (Brightside Prekote) to refurbish my aged Hobie 14.

So far I have rolled 2 coats of the primer on, dry brushing each time to remove the stipple as much as possible. Today I started sanding with a 220 paper in an orbital tool to flatten the remaining stipple.

Is 2 coats of rolled-on Primer enough ?

How flat does it have to be before putting the Gloss coat on ? Should the Primer be a uniform grey colour or will a little light/dark shading be ok so long as it feels smooth?

I am using Brightside Yellow for the Gloss coat. How well does it cover and should I brush it on or roll it ? Should I thin it first ? How many coats?

Lots of questions - thanks in advance for any advice.

Terrence

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Being at Sea is like being in jail, except that in jail the food and the company are better - Conrad.

I just did this to my '80 H16 a few months ago. The Pre-Kote and Brightside Poly combination can produce really great results. My hulls look great in Blue-Glo White.

After you sand the final coat of Pre-Kote smooth (2 coats is plenty) be sure to wipe the hulls down multiple times with acetone or other solvent soaked rags. This will remove all the dust from sanding and lead to a much, much better final product. A bit of color disparity in the primer won't matter, it is difficult to avoind considering how hard it is to mix up the solids in the primer.

When you get ready to start applying the Brightside, roll and tip will work great, but do yourself a favor and pick up a quart of Interlux 333 Brushing Liquid first. If you thin the Brightside by 10% using this thinner, the paint will level out great after tipping. First roll it out (thin is best) then with a good quality brush (buy the best the store has you will only need one or two at most) make an x pattern over the painted area then make some horizontal strokes over the area then switch to vertical strokes and then leave it alone. When you use this thinner it only takes about 5 min for the paint to level. If you do small one small area at a time (1'x3') you should come out with great results. You will need two coats which I believe translates to about 4 quarts of Brightside on a H16.

Post again if you have other questions, I'd be happy to give you my humble opinion.

Sounds like comprehensive advice, and easy to follow.

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Being at Sea is like being in jail, except that in jail the food and the company are better - Conrad.

Your advice on using Brushing Thinners and the Roll and Brush method is perfect. The smoothing effect is almost magical, and I did the first coat on a 50 degree day, albeit in my garage with the door open.

The first coat took about half a quart can of Yellow. I suppose I shall use two complete cans to get a good finish in 3 or 4 coats.

Thanks,

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Being at Sea is like being in jail, except that in jail the food and the company are better - Conrad.

Glad I could help... I tried the brushing liquid on a tip I saw in the Interlux Yacht Paint Book, and I was really impressed with the stuff. Just from working with the paint alone in test areas, I think that results without this thinner would be mediocre at best. My H16 looks great and from the sounds of it, so does yours. Enjoy it and post a picture or two if you get a chance...

jrg

I have finished the hull painting and am about to turn the cat over to do the decks. The hull finish is terrific.

Do you have an opinion on how to prepare the surface without losing the tiny stipple (presumably a non-slip feature).

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Being at Sea is like being in jail, except that in jail the food and the company are better - Conrad.

I was contemplating this as I want to refinish my hulls this fall. I decided that I will just sand down teh non-slip pattern in the gelcoat and use the non-slip epoxy paint from Interlux to do the decks. I may dilute it if it looks to aggressive on my samples with some regular epoxy paint.

You could always add some fine grain sand to the paint you are using to add texture. It will take some experimenting to find what works best though.

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Nick

Current Boat
In the market
Previous boats owned
'74 Pearson 30
'84 H16
'82 H18 Magnum
St. Louis, MO