Respraying a composite sculling boat.

[merlin]

Does anybody have any experience of repairing, preparing and respraying a composite sculling boat?
The boat in question is a Glen Locke single scull and it is looking a bit tired, some of the original paint is blistering and it looks dull.
I have done a bit of spraying before but wondered if there were any experts out there?
Thanks, Merlin.

 

[Oryxdesign]

Have you considered finishing in epoxy? Have a look at the West system.

 

[cadders75]

If it's a gelcoated boat, the blisters may be in the laminate rather than the gelcoated surface, some Glass fibre binders draw water through the gelcoat by osmosis, which means to get rid of the blisters can be quite a repair job.

If it's gelcoated then you can try to buff it up with a powermop and some Glaze compound that should be available from a local GRP stockist.

 

[mbartlett99]

Some photos would be good - especially close ups of any damaged areas.

Osmosis usually affects boats that have been kept in salt water a lot, if its been kept on the hard and occasionally used in fresh water you would be unlucky to suffer from osmosis. A good indicator is if when you burst the blister it smells of vinegar. If so, blisters will need to be ground out, left to dry properly and then filled with a decent filler - West System epoxy being a good example.

If the gel coat is in good condition with a few damaged bits repair with gel coat and try 3M Finesse It to cut back to a glossy surface followed by Perfect It for the full monty high gloss.

If you're going for a repaint a good quality polyurethane will give the best gloss/UV resistance - the gold standard being Awlgrip but beware its lethal and not forgiving of poor conditions.

You can get perfectly good results by rolling and tipping if your spraying skills aren't up to it (frankly roller/tip is a bit more reliable and you don't have to mess with tents and masking out).

Hope that was a little helpful.

 

[merlin]

Thanks for the help, the main problem is that some of the paint has blistered slightly and it could do with a respray to tidy it up, it is a painted finish and not Gelcoat so I must admit I quite like the sound of the rolling and tipping method, could you explain that in a bit more detail please?
I have looked at the West System but as it is a Racing Scull I was a bit concerned about the weight so I think painting it is the way forward.
I will try to take some photos soon but my camera is knackered so I have got to buy a new one of those first - there is always something! Cheers Merlin.

 

[mbartlett99]

Ok no probs.

When you say racing scull I take it you mean the Olympic, narrow as hell, difficult to balance type rather than one of the big hefty sea going sculls. That was where I was going with the osmotic thing - unlikely a racing scull would be that unlucky - spend most of their time in the boatshed.

First thing to check before painting is the hull construction. I remember some of the older Aylings boats were a sandwich construction - thin shells of FRP with a nomex core. Check that none of those blisters are the result of damage alllowing water to penetrate. The Januseks and Empachers were straight composite.

Roller & tipping is basically this. Two guys, one with roller one with nice wide brush. Roller guy quickly spreads a nice even coat over an area - thats his job just to spread an even coat. Brush guy then comes through straight behind with his high quality wide brush and 'lays it off' - just brushes through and allows the paint to flow out to a finish. This method requires a little practice and lots of speed - decent coordination between the two. The key is for brush guy to be right behind roller guy so the paint never gets chance to tack and hold a brush mark.

If you use a good quality two pack polyurethane do be sure to follow the instructions carefully especially when it comes to temperature.

Good luck, let us know how it comes out.