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After modding my Sea Queen with the new prop shaft I decided to smarten it up as the previous spray job I did was not too good, well I have had terrible trouble with it, the first attempt saw the original paint raise as I sprayed it with a primer that was supposed to be safe with all paints, so I removed as much as i could using the heat gun and a scraper, after sanding down and filling, I started again, i had some small patches raise up where I could not get the original paint completely removed, but after letting it dry and some wet and dry I managed to get a good primer coat on it. I then decided to spray it all white, so as I have always had good results with halfords own brand I gave it some light coats of white gloss, I was unable to get a reasonable gloss finish and it also needed some more filling, funny how a gloss coat show up all the defects, well subsequent attempts at spraying were useless, run after run and a poor gloss finish. All I can think is that I could not have had the area blanketed off in the workshop warm enough and the thinners in the paint was not drying as it hit the boat and just ran. I am now half way into sanding it all back and have decided to hand paint, What is the best paint and method to getting a near spray paint finish by hand brushing?
Perhaps you have answered the question your self, wet and dry and after a couple of coats you should find it smooth and without blemish. This is the time to ensure there is no dust around.
A good idea is to try and make a shelter around the boat and wet it before giving it the final cost of a good quality gloss paint.
It really is just a matter of perseverance and you should have a great finish.
Good luck!
Peter581
I have had the same problem, but to solve it, I stripped it all down and then used EzeKote and their micro fibre glass cloth. Super finish and I highly recommend it. You have to take the hull or whatever down to bare wood though or it will peel off. Will use the same method on all my modelss in future. Hopes this helps.
I found similar problems when repairing vintage boats, I also use Ezecote and ultra fine glass cloth. But have moved away from halfords car paint as the gloss was quite poor so have changed to Plasticote high gloss which I buy from the Range. The gloss is great and drying is quite quick if temperatures stay above 15degrees c.
Hope this is helpful, cheers Colin.
Thank you for the replies, I can not strip all the paint from the boat as it is impractical, but I am going to flat it back over the next few days/weeks, as it is not a job I like doing, then I will wait for the warmer weather to finish it, meanwhile I will play on the lathe and do a bit of wood turning, nothing like making shavings/wood chips to while the time away 😜
Colin and Richard, the answer to the gloss finish, all of Halfords range is Acrylic, so it does not have a super gloss finish like celulose, when you are happy with the depth of colour, flat back with 1200 - 2000 paper, tacrag the surface, then over spray with a clear cote, to give the final finish
I have used Halfords acrylic when restoring an old Aerokits Fireboat. However, it was not the easiest paint to work with and only got a good finish when everything was stripped down to the bare wood. I applied sanding sealer followed by Halfords primer then built up several coats of acrylic , leaving 3 hours between coats. When finished I used rubbing compound to get a good gloss.
I am sure there must be better methods of painting model boats especially vintage ones that have already had coats of paint in the past.😁
Hi Boaty, the basic answer is preparation, matted down, smooth surface and clean, dust free. No shortcuts, hours of sanding and degreasing gives the pro finish.
Yes the answer is to use UPOL BARCOTE QUICK DRYING ISOLATOR. But costs about £26 a litre. But this will go over all types of paint and then allow you to paint without a reaction.
It may be available in an aerosol. Please check it out as I find it saves hours of stropping on my old boats, my newest being about 1980, and oldest from 1918. Hope this helps, Colin.
Hi Colin, Isolator is available in aerosol form, its about £10 from specialist paint suppliers, plus all the filler, paper, stopper, thinners and masking tape.
Thanks Mark, I'm blessed with a wife who used to work in the automotive paint trade as a colour matcher, mixer, so she always helps me with my painting problems. But by far the most important thing to remember is preparation is key to all work.
Cheers Colin.
If you are intending to use this Full PPE equipment should be worn and only use in a well ventilated area.
Personally I use paintstrippers, scapers and a hot air paint stripper to clean wooden hulls back to bare wood. This allows me to see any damage caused by fuels used with IC engines. I agree its messy, takes time and is best done outside, but you do end up with a solid hull with no hidden soft spots.
I agree with Jarvo's use of Clear Cote either in gloss or semi matt finish.
If the air temp is much below 20 deg most rattle cans will not give a good finish and runs will be difficult to avoid.
I was very pleased to see the texts re spraying, paints etc. I am fairly new to spraying my "Surfury" and it is taking some time.
I certainly agree with all the statements on preparation, for me this divides into 2 categories. 1. Boat surface preparation. 2 Paint consistency/temperature/spraying.
For 1 you cannot rush it, for as noted, gloss paint certainly shows up any imperfection so you must be dedicated to spend considerable time on this.
But 2. Right or wrong, after sealing and undercoating (plus the rub down) I chose to use Humbrol enamels. There followed many weeks of spraying after getting the mix right, correcting my spraying technique, inevitable rub downs etc. I came to the conclusion that many thin coats were the norm and cleaning of the spray gun (Badger) after every use was mandatory!
However, the best finish achieved was by spraying in a warm surrounding temperature. This was achieved in my garage with a small calor gas fire. I believe that this latter point is the most important of all.
When the painting is complete I will post a few pictures. Thanks to everyone for their excellent, informative replies.
9th Jan 2018 21:39
