PETTIT Easypoxy One-Part Polyurethane

[Wingnutt]

I've finally got my 1991 26S a covered storage (on trailer)
So I want to start some refinishing.

The boat sat out for a while so the gel coat is chalky dull and pitted, I tried sanding buffing and waxing and that did clean it up some in a few spots but there are some areas where the gel coat is probably too thin to sand.

I'm trying to make it look *nice* but spending thousands to have it refinished is simply not on the table in any way what so ever, ever,.. EVER.. PERIOD. I've spent around 6k so far including the purchase of the boat, and a new main will probably be in order by the end of the year..

Which brings me to the above product, I've read the procedure for doing the painting and it is pretty straight forward. Looks like something I could do on a budget and would yield a reasonably good finish. Has anybody used this stuff? Results?

Also, the hull has some spots where the previous owners.. IDIOTS.. did some repairs and didn't bother to match the color . so the hull is pretty shiny white.. With 2 dinner plate sized off white spots.. I would like to re do that as well, what would be a good product for that.

IMPORTANT: Boat is kept on trailer, covered and is used in fresh water only.

Thanks for any help.

[Ixneigh]

I've used that before and also interlux brightsides poly. I find the paint to hold up well. At least as good as the gelcoat on these boats. That's not saying much, I know. I use the paint on the hull sides and any accessory I make for the boat so it matches and I don't have to try to gelcoat it. I am not a big perfect finish maven since my boat gets a lot of use. Therefor I brush the paint with a foam brush. It's obvious that it's been brushed on. If you want perfection you'll have to spray it. That negates the only advantage to painting to me, which is easy touch up. I get about two seasons before I lightly sand, repair dings and recoat the hull. Takes about day. I will likely paint the boats black stripes next season. With a yearly wax, the paint will undoubtedly last better the faded gelcoat that's only three years old but looks junky.
Think twice about about painting the deck or maybe just paint the nonskid areas if they are bad by adding nonskid compound. Painting and masking around all the hardware is time consuming. If you were willing to do all that it might be better to prep the job yourself and then hire someone to spray it with awl grip.
Ix

[Wingnutt]

You seem to be on the same page as me in terms of being realistic about the finish on a boat that actually sees use.

I recently finished building a wood kayak, which involved lots of fiberglassing and fun with epoxy and then varnish.

I got really good smooth results with the epoxy by rolling it on with a 1/8 roller (thicker pad makes more bubbles) then tipping it off with of a foam brush, on the final coat of varnish I cut it 20% with paint thinner and it layed out very smooth, you can slightly see some lines from the brushing if you get really close and look at a certain angle.. but who gives a crap.. from 5 feet away it looks flawless.


I have a quart or so of system 3 2 part epoxy left after the kayak build so I figure I will use it to fill in the chips and gouges in the deck (there are 4 or 5) then paint over.

I probably wont remove ALL of the deck hardware, Ill just mask off whatever I don't want white. I figure since its a white deck and IM going to paint it white.. Ill have a little leeway in the perfection department.

as far as the hull, considering the boat sits on the trailer and not in the water and doesent see salt, could I use the same paint? or do I really need a super expensive hull paint?

In terms of the non-skid parts, the triangle pointy parts.. can I use the same paint on them as the rest? it seems thin enough that it will not clog or fill the nonskid.. or do I need to thin it a bit?

[Ixneigh]

You can paint everything above the water with it if it doesn't live in water. If it does paint the bottom paint up a few inches then start the hull paint. I've done the roller bit before and that does improve the quality of the finish. Use a nonskid compound to paint over the nonskid texture. Do not use glass beads. They are too hard to sand later for recoating.
Ix

[Wingnutt]

Confused, the non skid areas im talking about have raised points on them very aggressive to the point that kneeling on them is quite uncomfortable and leaves a nice pattern in your skin..

I looked up the texture compound and its apparently an additive to the paint to give it some grit..

IT seems like if I painted over the texture areas on my boat with something with grit in it, it would just fill in the texturing, not add to it, adding grit to the paint makes sense to me if I were trying to add grip to a smooth area, but these textured areas already have the molded in non-skid pattern..

I really need to add more grit to them if put any paint?

[Ixneigh]

If it's the factory gelcoat nonskid pattern, I think if you just paint regular paint over it it will be pretty slick.
However i do believe in effective nonskid since slips are a common accident on boats so I may well be overzelous with it.
Test a small spot to see if it's still effective nonskid after painting with plain paint. You can always add a little nonskid compound if you think you need it.
Ix

[fishstalker7]

Great information from both of you!

Thank you! May be looking to do some of this myself...going to try buffing and waxing first, but I do have a soft spot near the port mast area that may need re-painting/sealing...thanks again!