Painting a boat

[Crappie_ Kid]

This year i am painting a boat its an old crappy 12 foot alumacraft perfect 4 this years duck hunts. For some reason i had my uncle put a sweet fishin boat paint job on it so it has been primed and all that,my question is will i have to sand it in order to camo it and there is a stripe down the middle that is a decal and will i have to use a heat gun to take it off or just leave it anp paint over it and what is the best and cheapest paint.....thanks for the help

[magnum mike]

I have painted a few boats over the last 20 years with varying results. Best and cheapest never go together. In my opinion, best and cheapest means what will last. You have seen how much effort goes into preparing the boat for paint. I recommend going to an automotive paint store. Tell them what you are doing; get good paint and FOLLOW THIER DIRECTIONS. It should cost about $100 to do it right and it should last for years. You can do it for $50 and then do it again in a year or two.

[BoxMN]

My bro and I have done several boats. Some good, some bad. Here is what I would recommend, as our latest two are looking good.

Use heat gun to get rid of decals. Works great.

Clean surface really good with pressure washer. Real good. Then rough it up if it already has good pait or primer on it. Prime any area that is bare alum. Wipe it down after any sanding with tack cloth.

Then we use the oil paint you can get at Gander or Fleet Farm, the "camo" paint you can get in quarts or gallons. It really does hold well and lasts.

We did the first one with Wagner sprayer, and also did the second and third I think. But the latest ones we used the same paint but with air compressor paint gun, and it gives a much more professional and smooth application. Looks great. We did camo it before, but now we just use marsh brown on outside, and the green on inside, and use blinds. I think there are pics of it if you do a search in the Experts forum under "re-model".

When we did camo it, we used flat spray paint and stencils over the oil based march brown paint.

Good lcuk, it is fun project!

[mnhunter2]

Lot of boat painting info at duckboats.net I got my paint from Lou at lock stock and barrel, he will get you on the right track.

[Scott M]

Ditto what everyone said. I couldn't do the automotive thing, but I tried the next best thing. I got some flat olive, black, and brown at a Home Depot, put some primer on, and went to town. Not all that expensive. Then I made a stencil on the side of a cardboard box that a washing machine came in and did some grassy cattails lookalikes. I like the look and the DIY touch adds to hunting out of it.

Good luck.

[lanyard]

I would also suggest bucking up the $150 for a new, non-painted boat. 1) you got a sweet little fishng rig there; 2) If you value your time somewhere over $5 an hour you will be ahead of the game by 1/2.

I love DIY, but experience has taught me the value of time. If you're young enough, got a buddy and are still in a position to measure time in beers enjoyed while doing the project, go for it. If you're looking at weekend evenings after the kid has gone to bed, get an unfinished boat and start there.

Good luck, it's a blast, especially with our first bird in hand.