Boats For Sale:
How to tell if a boat has been painted? |
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Wacko 
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Joined: March-21-2009 Location: BC, Canada Status: Offline Points: 293 |
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 Topic: How to tell if a boat has been painted?Posted: October-14-2009 at 10:59pm |
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Just wondering if there is an easy way to tell if the hull of the boat has been painted when looking at a boat for sale?
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eric lavine
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Joined: August-13-2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 13413 |
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Posted: October-14-2009 at 11:03pm |
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somewhere somehow you will find a fish eye
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"the things you own will start to own you"
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8122pbrainard
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Joined: September-14-2006 Location: Three Lakes Wi. Status: Offline Points: 41040 |
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Posted: October-15-2009 at 9:20am |
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Craig,
That's a tough question!! Always lean towards it being painted first. It's cheaper and easier to do. Have you asked the seller and feel you're not getting a honest answer? For someone that has seen alot of paint and gel jobs it's easy to spot - there's something about the gloss and depth of the gloss that's hard to desribe. For someone who hasn't seen many paint/gel jobs it can be hard. Look at the deck/hull at a angle and see if you can spot any indication of orange peel that hasn't been completely wet sanded out. Good spots to look at would be concave surfaces where wet sanding is difficult. Orange peel may indicate it's a gel job but not always. If painted incorrectly there could be orange peel too! |
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SNobsessed
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Posted: October-15-2009 at 10:49am |
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Look up close to the underside of the rub rail or around any thru-hull fitting (like exhaust ports). Chances are there would be a masking tape line.
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“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”
Ben Franklin |
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joe_schindler
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Joined: October-14-2009 Location: Benbrook, TX Status: Offline Points: 20 |
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Posted: October-15-2009 at 12:35pm |
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Greetings all:
First post from the new guy; so please don’t rough me up too much. I’m new to Correct Crafts; but have been around boats, engines, and coatings for a lot of years. Unless it’s a new boat; somewhere there will be a nick or rub in the finish. Check there to see what the layers under the surface look like. Paint will be thin (or at least should be); just a few thousandths of an inch thick. If it’s painted; it will have gel just below it. Gel will be much thicker; on the order of 10 or more thousandths and should have fiberglass just below it. If it’s an older boat; with no nicks or rubs anywhere; it’s probably repainted. Try to look around anything that would have been masked off. A good (expensive – where the hardware was removed; or stripped to the hull) paint job may be hard to tell; but the lower cost jobs will be visible around hardware that wasn’t removed. Paint will tend to crawl onto the hardware; or at least fill the gap between the hardware and the hull; like when a window gets painted shut. You may still find masking residue on the hardware. Look for sanding scratches (from 220 grit paper) that show through the finish. This is a good indication that the boat has been repainted. Boats are big; and people get tired of sanding; then miss some spots. The paint looks good when wet; then as it dries and shrinks; the sanding scratches show through. Those are the easy things to look for. A good paint job wouldn’t deter me from a boat. A bad paint job may leave you with an ugly boat in a few years. Good luck, Joe |
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8122pbrainard
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Joined: September-14-2006 Location: Three Lakes Wi. Status: Offline Points: 41040 |
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Posted: October-15-2009 at 2:05pm |
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Craig,
I hope my first post wasn't misleading. I didn't read it very carefully and responded to telling the difference between a re gel and a paint job!! Sorry!! That difference can be difficult. Take the above advice if you're just looking to see if it's been painted. Joe, Welcome to the site. Tell us more. Do you have a CC? A painted boat VS. a gel job would deter me from a buying a boat even if it was a high end linear poly. I got stuck with a deck that's been painted because it was a ebay purchase that I had commited myself to. I've been around too many wood boats and didn't need another maintenance issue. Now, within the next couple of years I've got to do a re gel on it!!! |
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Wacko
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Joined: March-21-2009 Location: BC, Canada Status: Offline Points: 293 |
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Posted: October-15-2009 at 3:10pm |
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Thanks for the tips. I am still on the hunt. I am just trying to avoid picking up a boat that looks good now and then find out it has been re-painted and regret it in a couple years. I have been looking at one at a local dealer and they say it has not been re-painted so I just wanted to see if there was a quick test I could do.
It is an 81 and the stripes have been re-done in vinyl. The story they are giving me is that it was used as a demo boat for one summer in '81 at a ski school (with the name of the school on the side)and then returned to factory specs (striping) by Correct Craft after the summer and sold. Has anyone ever heard of a similar situation? And why would they put vinyl on instead of repainting it? |
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joe_schindler
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Joined: October-14-2009 Location: Benbrook, TX Status: Offline Points: 20 |
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Posted: October-15-2009 at 3:26pm |
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Craig:
Yes; I didn’t go into a re-gel. Once I got started writing; my memory got shorter. The gel would again be thicker; but would still have the substrate layers mentioned before. Most that take on a re-gel job go to the trouble of removing the hardware. So; you’d have to look for the chips and rubs to view the substrate. Finding what look like chip-outs or rough spots that are perfectly smooth and coated with paint or gel are also a good indication of a re-do. As far as painting a boat; it’s not the best idea; but I have seen some good results in the past. I helped a neighbor resto-rod a 70’s Chaparral (I think that’s what it was) that he re-floored and re-transomed. I don’t think I would have taken it on; but he pulled the 454 and went back with an original looking straight 6 that made almost 350 HP. I forget the brand; but he used an epoxy based Corvette yellow paint; and it turned out very nice. He did spend about 5 years on the project; so the quality was a lot different than the average Earl Scheib paint job. Pete: Yes; I just bought my first Correct Craft; a new-to-me 1988 Martinique. After years of wearing myself out on I/Os; I decided it was time to get something decent. I had lurked around this site for a couple of years looking; but never made my mind up to do anything. I had looked for an Atom or something similar; but with three kids; decided to get either a Martinique or Sport Nautique. I found the Martinique last weekend; and it should be delivered early next week. Just in time for the cold front that’s blowing in today. Next spring should be fun. Thanks for letting me in, Joe |
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8122pbrainard
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Joined: September-14-2006 Location: Three Lakes Wi. Status: Offline Points: 41040 |
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Posted: October-15-2009 at 3:27pm |
Vinyl instead of paint by the factory? If the boat was in the lease program, typically at the end of the lease agreement it would have gone back to one of the distribution centers. MWCC, NECC, SECC. etc. They would have access to any factory masking for painting so the vinyl is confusing. Even more so if it did go back to the factory - Why would they go out and have vinyl made? It doesn't sound right! The ski club name on the side of the boat? More likely the club beat the hell out of the hull side! I've been there with a club who did use the lease program. BTW, any damage other than normal "wear and tear" is repaired and charged back to the clubs! |
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Wacko wrote: