Good evening gentlemen,
I have an 84 hobie 16 that currently has blue hulls. Overall the color has faded pretty bad as the boat hasn't been used in over 10 years, however, the hulls are still in great shape aside from some scratches and scrapes here and there from mooring. There are no soft spots and the keels are still true to form. The problem I am having though is that I absolutely hate the color. I'm not sure why but an all white 16 is just a sexy catamaran and I would like to completely change the color if possible. So my question are:
- In order to completely change the color of my hobie to white, is it best to use gelcoat or paint when making this transformation? Again, I want to do away with the blue completely. I have some experience with fiberglass and keel jobs but I have never use gelcoat before. Friends in the past who have done larger projects have simply used the roll and tip method with gelcoat, which is likely the approach I would use if I go that route. However, after reading some things on here, I am not sure if I should use gelcoat on the entire boat or if using some type of marine paint would be better.
- Also, what methods would you suggest? If I do the gelcoat is the roll and tip method best? What about if painting is the best route?
I am trying to be as thorough as I can with my limited knowledge of painting catamarans so if you need any more information I'd be happy to provide it. Thanks again for your help.
Dante
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Dante Morsillo
Hobie 16
Pittsburgh, PA
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Help with paint or gelcoat.. currently blue but want it white. Any suggestions?
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Posted: Mar 22, 2012 - 04:15 PM
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Posted: Mar 22, 2012 - 05:38 PM
i painted my boat because i didn't have the experience/knowledge of doing a whole re-gelcoat job. seems like i remember a thread here some time back where someone recommended a gelcoat product/line that you sprayed about 4 or 5 coats on. either way you go it's a big little job. my paint job still looks great after 3 years(2 coats sprayed) but i really wanted to do gelcoat. if you are not used to spraying stuff you can make a big mess(sags/runs) likewise with roll/tip...if you suck at painting your paint/gelcoat job will suck!
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bill harris
hattiesburg, mississippi
prindle 16- "BLUE RIBBON"
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Posted: Mar 22, 2012 - 11:29 PM
Beauty is certainly in the eye of the beholder as they say. My opinion is that it's a waste of money and effort to paint/gelcoat a beachcat that's in good shape just to change the color.
That isn't to say you shouldn't change the color, that's your choice, but here's the cheapest and easiest way to change your boat from blue to white.
Sell your blue boat and buy a white one!
The faded chaulky blue gelcoat can be brought back to a deep beautiful color and shine either with a lot of elbow grease sanding and polishing or with a $65 Poliglow kit, it will sell in a minute with shiny blue hulls (or you may like it after the transformation).
Then go here.
http://www.thebeachcats.c…fieds/g1-catamarans.html
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Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN
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- Rank: Mate
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Posted: Mar 23, 2012 - 12:01 AM
Just remember if you gel coat, you will have to buff it all out. Gel coat when exposed to air is flat not glossy, you have to polish to get it to shine. When a boat is molded in a buck the gel coat goes on first and isn't exposed to the air, so it is glossy when it comes out of the mold.
We are using West Marine's paint on our Hobie 18 and I will post the pics when we are done (if it looks good LOL). We should be done with the decks soon after I get back to the states. West Marine paint is cheap and made by a major manufacturer.
Our steps as follows;
1- finish adding resin to the deck soft spots
2- sand down the old "house paint" that some one applied, down to the original gel coat - yellow
a - 60 grit - be careful with this grit, you can re shape your hull if not careful.
b- 120 grit
c- 240 grit
3- apply primer, and let it set up for 16 hours
4- sand what needs to be sanded
5- apply final coat of primer - hopefully - let it set up
6- apply first coat of top coat, let dry for 8 hrs
7- apply final top coat, let dry for 3 days before re-assembly
we will be rolling / brushing and tipping
good luck
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Jim
New Orleans
'83 H18 SX mods 2013 -
'65 Lavey Craft 2005 -
'69 Cal 25 1997 - 2001
'80 P16 1980 - 1996
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Posted: Mar 23, 2012 - 06:28 AM
you would be amazed at how that blue will come back with some elbow grease, i hand compound and wax my early 80's hobie once a year with off the shelf products and it looks pretty good.
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Kenneth Purdy
Hobie 16
Nacra 5.2 (2)
Banshee
First Coast, Florida
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