Randy, If you don't KNOW what paint is on the topsides, then the best course is to sand it all off. You could try priming over the old paint but you may encounter compatibility issues.
When I had Touche' painted, we did not know what the previous paint(s) were. Rumors around the marina were that it was Imron but nobody knew for sure. I prepped the topsides paint by washing with degreaser and sanding with 320 grit. We sprayed a 3' x 3' test area with Awlcraft, the chosen paint. In that small area, the test spray beaded up on the old paint, reacted with the old paint and generally did some other bad things. The ONE thing it didn't do was lay down smoothly as desired. Oops!! So, I sanded the old paint off. I counted at least 2 previous coats. It took one day per side. I used a Hutchins straight line sander similar to this: https://www.hutchinsmfg.com/View-Product.aspx?group_id=4346 The results were very good. Touche', like many older boats, showed post cure shrinkage. That is, you could see the pattern of the underlying roving on the hull. The Hutchins sander removed the pattern leaving a smooth hull. This is important when spraying a shiny top coat. Repairing all the blemishes and having a smooth hull prior to painting is critical. It took three coats of high build primer with sanding between coats to obtain a suitably smooth hull. The sanding was followed with a top coat of Awlcraft. I get compliments on the paint 5 years later. Spraying paint isn't incredibly difficult but it does take patience and technique. The right combination of air pressure and liquid/air mix takes a bit of work to achieve. Finally, the application technique requires skill to maintain the correct distance as well as trigger on/off when spraying. A bit of practice can develop your skill. Interlux Perfection is billed as a paint somewhat geared to the DIY market. BTW, years ago I picked up a Wavelength 24 in Fort Collins and brought it back to Louisiana. I picked it up from a marine repair/paint shop. Very nicely painted by the lady owner of the shop. Can't remember any details. She used Sterling enamel. Dennis C. Touche' 35-1 #83 Mandeville, LA On Mon, Oct 24, 2016 at 9:54 PM, RANDY via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: > Listers- > > I've come to the conclusion that Grenadine's hull is painted the same > color as her original gelcoat (red). It appears a coat of grey primer was > painted over the original gelcoat, then a layer of red paint was applied. > I have no idea what kind of paint was used (is there a way to tell?) or > when the boat was painted. What I do know is it's probably time to > repaint. She oxidized pretty badly over the course of the summer, even > though I buffed her three times with a 3M marine product, and waxed her > with carnuba, before splashing her in the spring. She looked pretty good > and shiny back then, but the summer sun took its toll. > > So anyway, my question is, what wisdom might you listers have to impart, > about the proper way to paint over a painted hull? Grenadine is on the > hard for five months now, and I'm not afraid of hard work. > > Thanks in advance. > > Best Regards, > Randy Stafford > S/V Grenadine > C&C 30-1 #7 > (on the hard in) Ken Caryl, CO > > _______________________________________________ > > This list is supported by the generous donations of our members. If you > wish to make a contribution to offset our costs, please go to: > https://www.paypal.me/stumurray > > All Contributions are greatly appreciated! > >
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