For most boat owners, the ability to keep their vessels in tip-top condition is a point of pride. This includes the condition of the exterior paint, which can wear down over time. Persistent salt spray, strong UV exposure, and life on the sea will eventually strip away that shiny new-boat gloss, but that’s not all.
Old or stripping paint can invite rust and other contaminants onto your boat’s hull, causing it to deteriorate. This is where boat touch up paint jobs come into play.
In this blog post, we’re covering our top three essential tips for repainting a boat, from surface preparation to boat gel coat touch up paint varieties.
A note before we get started: We generally recommend talking to a professional boat touch up paint service before doing any work on your own boat. While DIY-ing can be a great way to learn more about your vessel, it’s vital that any touch ups last for a long time and live up to New Zealand’s rigorous marine vessel standards.
A professional boat touch-up service can help you appraise the quality of your current paint job and make a plan for what comes next, or recommend a full repaint if it’s required.
With that said, let’s get into our top three essential boat touch up paint tips (which we also follow in-house).
Select the Right Paint
While out at sea or docked in a marina, boats experience the harshest of environmental factors, including harsh salt, strong sunlight, and constant moisture. To protect your boat properly, it’s vital that high-quality marine grade paints are used for any touch-ups.
Boat touch up paint comes in a variety of different formulations, each one designed to produce a unique finish or prevent the growth of specific marine organisms. Some examples of the paints you have to choose from include:
· Boat gel coat touch up paint, which is an epoxy resin-based coating known for its glossy durability.
· Enamel paint, which works well for touch-ups on smaller surfaces, but is known for being slightly less durable than gel coats.
· Polyurethane paint, which is the most common variety of boat touch up paint and offers excellent UV protection.
Make sure that the paint you choose aligns with what is already on your vessel, as this will help the colours blend and keep your surfaces fully protected.
Carefully Prep the Surface Before Painting
The importance of surface preparation can’t be overstated here. In our experience, this is where most boat touch up DIYs can fall apart, as seafarers either don’t have the right equipment for surface preparation or they skip this step to get straight to the painting.
There are three steps to marine-grade surface preparation:
· One: Cleaning. Thoroughly clean the areas requiring touch ups using a marine-grade cleaner. This removes any oil, dirt, and debris that might get in the way of the paint or even cause scratches during the painting process.
· Two: Sanding. Fine-grit sandpaper or a light sandblast is used to create a roughened area for the primer to adhere to, which helps the boat touch up paint to last longer.
· Three: Priming. This step is especially important for boat gel coat touch up paint, as the thick, glossy paint is liable to strip away without the right primer.
Allow Enough Time to Cure
Once the paint is applied according to the manufacturer’s instructions, it’s vital to allow as much time as possible for the paint to fully cure. New Zealand is a humid environment, and the moisture in the air can mean that paints take longer to cure. This goes double for any touch-ups done in winter, as the cold weather can slow curing time even further. The way the paint was applied can also be a factor here, as sprayed paint generally takes less time to dry than paint that has been brushed on.
As an example, boat gel coat touch up paint can take as little as four hours to dry if it has been sprayed on and the weather is warm. However, overnight cures are generally better, as this ensures the paint is ready for contact with water.
If uncured paint makes contact with seawater, it will cause streaks, wet spots, and even early peeling or flaking. In other words, it’s worth the wait.
There you have it! Those are our top three tips, for everything from boat gel coat touch up paint to surface preparation. Keep in mind that repainting a boat hull is a specialised skill that should be approached with careful planning and preparation. If you’re ever in doubt, take the time to speak with a professional boat touch-up service to make sure you’re giving your vessel the tender loving care it deserves.
Looking for a full repaint or a touch-up? The experienced team at Gloss Boats Marine Spraying can help.
At Gloss Boats Marine Spraying, we use an extensive range of paints for different substrates to make sure individual boat owners always have their needs met. We’ll completely refresh your boat’s hull, adding years to its lifespan and taking years off its appearance.
Curious about our process? Get in touch with us to refresh your powerboat, catamaran, or dinghy today.