Do you want to know how to strip a boat? Read it!
You want to paint your boat and the only real way to achieve a half decent finish is to put in the prep work and remove some of that old flakey topcoat. So what are the options?
Stripping a boat can be painstaking work. It can be hazardous, messy, expensive, depressing and can often make even the best of craftsmen cut corners.There is a lot to contend with but if you break the task down into a simple steps things will get a lot easier. Let me show you…
What are your paint durability requirements?
Before stripping a boat you will need to work out exactly how durable your paint needs to be once finished. There is no point in stripping a boat back to the original gel coat, priming and top coating if you only really need to key the surface and add a new topcoat. This will all depend on the finish that you require.
Imagine you are only using your boat for occasional weekend fishing trips, the probability is that it won’t need to be coated with a paint that lasts for 30 years, neither will it need to facilitate a herd of drunken elephants. With that in mind here are some simple questions you must ask yourself, is it:
- A working boat that has heavy foot fall and is in constant use? Use 2 pack.
- A liveaboard that only has the occasional person smoking a cigarette on the roof and a bi-yearly wash? Use 1 pack.
- A racing yacht that needs to stand out from the crowd, be constantly used and look good? Use 2 pack.
- An occasional weekend fishing boat? Use 1 pack.
So to summarise; if you want to paint, spray or roll your boat with a 2 pack high durable marine paint, you will need to remove all of the less adequate 1 part paint first. A 2 part paint will only be as strong as it’s underlying surface. However, If you want to add a few layers of topcoat to get it through the next few seasons then a 1 part paint will be more than adequate. Notably, you will always want to key the surface and use a compatible paint depending on the manufacturer’s requirements.
