question about painitng topside and cockpit.

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question about painitng topside and cockpit.

Postby domromer » Tue Mar 15, 2016 11:31 am

I'm on the cusp of painting my daysailer. I've decided to go with rustoleum topside paint.

First I want to give it a good cleaning. it has a lot of leaf and rust stains. What household cleaner is good for cleaning the cockpit? I'm thinking something with bleach.

I'm going to sand in preparation for the painting, what grit sand paper would you recommend starting with?

This is my first boat painting job, my goal is to keep it easy and cheap. I'm not looking for a museum piece. Just to freshen up the boat.
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Re: question about painitng topside and cockpit.

Postby GreenLake » Tue Mar 15, 2016 12:10 pm

There is a magazine (and website) called "Practical Sailor". The constantly perform tests of products (and home remedies) for tasks like this one. A subscription will give you access to their database of back issues. Money well spent, and you get to read about sailing related issues all year round.

Bleach is very aggressive and will roughen up the gelcoat microscopically, making it attract dirt easier. It also doesn't do anything for rust.

If you plan on cleaning an area that you will be painting, then I would use an abrasive cleaner; that would better prepare the surface. For example a rubbing compound (e.g. 3M), or wet sanding.

If you do not want to paint some part of your cockpit, and your gelcoat is also a bit dull, then try Fiberglass Cleaner and Restorer (3M). It's a little abrasive, but also polishes and lightly waxes in one go. Alternatively, use a rubbing compound followed by 3M's Finesse It II. (That one creates a shiny surface - I've used it to polish scratched CD's, for example, and the surface is good enough to make them work again).

Preparatory to the use of a rubbing compound you can wet sand some spots with progressively finer grits. Gelcoat is much thicker than paint and you can remove a chalky, discolored layer by sanding.

Obviously, not for the yearly cleaning. But I assume this is a first cleaning after long neglect.

Any surface that you do not stand or sit on and which isn't going to be painted can (and probably should) be waxed. A hard wax like Fleet Wax works fine for the purpose.
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