Painting Deck

[Renae]

I have a 2004 Suncat, and the deck is faded and chipped.  I?d like to redo it, but with the pebble texture everywhere, it?s hard to see how it could be adequately prepped.  I have the teak off now to give it all a new coat of Cetol, so it?s potentially a good time to think about this.

Who has painted their deck?  Did it come out well or poorly?  Did you tape off edges/features, etc, or did you take absolutely everything off?

I?m in for a couple of day project, but I don?t really relish the idea of a massive disassemble.  I?m sure the teak refresh will sharpen things up a bit, but the deck is going to look even shabbier in contrast.  What to do...

[crazycarl]

I repainted the anti skid on our 19.  Washed it according to the paint manufacturer's directions, sanded, then taped it off.  Rolled on 2 coats of anti skid and it's been holding for the last 7-8 years.

I have also painted the entire decks of 3 other sailboats.  With those I removed everything, cleaned and sanded according to the paint directions, then taped off the anti skid and painted the smooth surfaces.  After those surfaces were completely dry, I taped off for the anti skid.

NEVER sand before properly cleaning the surface according to the paint manufacturer's directions.  Any residual wax on the surface can be pushed into the micro grooves made by the sandpaper and hinder the paint's adhesion.

I've had very good luck with the 4" foam rollers from Ace. 

[brackish]

I painted the deck on a Columbia 8.7 quite a few years back.  I had to repair a lot of core rot and re- texture places in the non skid that were taken out due to those repairs.  I cleaned the deck thoroughly (Carl's post) sanded the smooth areas but just vigorously brushed the non-skid.  I applied a epoxy based primer then topcoated with a catalyzed polyurethane (Imron).  It lasted at least 10 years ( the last time I saw the boat) with no breaks or chips.  I think if gel coat is seriously UV damaged, faded and chalky, there is probably enough anchor pattern in the base to hold the paint.  At least that was my experience.

[Jim in TC]

The PO did much of the work on the SunCat we purchased a few years ago, painstakingly painting around all the stuff on the cabin with a wee brush. Once I grew impatient with the pace, we cleaned all well (do not recall with what) and painted the entire topsides. It is holding well after a full season in a slip and a couple in the yard without cover (tarped in winter). It is fairly easily chipped but still looks good and easily touched up.  We scuffed the hull with an orbital sander before painting it, but did no sanding on the topsides.

[Renae]

I've basically been talked out of painting the deck through various channels.

Instead, I'm going to try to rejuvenate the gelcoat.  Anyone have a favorite method?

There are several all-in-ones, but the West guy recommends going with the 3M Superduty, followed by a glaze coat, followed by wax.  Unsurprisingly this one is going to be 3 times the work (and about 2 bills, all up).  Still, any chance to spiff up the deck without the predictable future of chipping paint seems like a good idea to me.

What's your method?

[Reighnman]

For the areas around the non-skid I would and do use 3M compound if badly faded. FIrst I'd clean with soap/water and then alcohol to remove as much grease/dirt. Then a polish and finally collinite wax. Plenty of threads on that plus a buffer if desired. I use a variable speed machine with corresponding pads for each application. Chemical guys have some good products too. For the non-skid areas woody wax works.