Schulze Hydro-cat

I really know nothing about painting boats. But, I would like to try and do some of the work myself. I've asked alot of different people about doing this myself. And, everyone has a different answer. Anything from using gel-coat to some new kind of paint, called gaffitti paint w/flex. The paint that is on this boat is laquer and is full of cracks and chips. I want to go back to original colors blue over yellow. I've been told to use paint remover that is used mainly for vets (paint over glass). I wondering if I should sand it all off or use this paint remover. Paint or gel? I've told that the wood in this boat is Cypress wood, don't really know. The conopy over the fuel tank is fiberglass the rest is wood.

Help me!!!!! Please.

Hydro-Cat (Tim):confused:

I used it on a fiberglassed painted cowl and it made a mess out of it. It takes all the paint out of pits and places that were filled in to get smooth and then I HAD ONE HELL OF A MESS. Dave

I dont know much about finishing wood on boats however I bet there are some people here who do... check with some of the ss45 and 60 guys arent those boats mostly wood as well? Be careful what you use, and practice on old wood first...

I wouldn't use paint remover.

Get a DA sander, some dust maks, and get after it. Sand down to bare wood then seal it with West System before you re-paint.

I kind of doubt that the wood is cypress, but I gues almost anything is possible.

Paint remover can be a big mess! Sanding might be the way go.
But be carefull with the DA. It can make more work later (filling gouges). One trick I use with a 1/2 sheet sander is to attach a 1/4" piece of plywood to the bottom, this will make the sander sand flat. It can be hard to control if the surface is uneven. But it will sand out big dips and humps. Works good at sanding putty holes and scarf joints.
That wood looks like Occume plywood, maybe the solid wood
is cypress. But it could be Sika Spruce or Obeche.
MN

I don't knkow what kind of paint this is, but it is hard. Tried on one little spot some of that paint remover. Let it set on there for almost 15 minutes. Didn't even make it soft or dull the color any. Started sanding on it the other day. This is going to be a long process. Well worth it though! I'll put some pics on here, showing different stages of the process. The paint is blue over yellow. There seems to be some kind of sealer on the wood itself. It's white, any ideas? What is west systems sealer? Where do you get it? Anyway should really look good when it's done.


:) :) :) Thanks:D :D :D

The white sealer could be a sanding sealer used to fill the pores of the wood before paint was applied or a filling type primer.
West System http://westsystem.com/
Good Luck at Sanding!
MN

Explore http://www.westsystem.com/ - they have a lot of information to go with their products. Dealer list in there also.

I agree with sanding the paint off. Just go slow and steady. Did you photograph everything before you started? Or even make tracings if you might want to do a correct restoration. Tracings will be a big help with things like graphics and lettering.

:) Just hd to try a couple of spots before I took everything off and out out the boat. I have taken plenty of pics. Doing the tracings is a really good idea. I think that will be this weekend for that.
Thanks for the idea!!:cool:

Looks Good!
At the rounded front, use a random orbit sander and sand from top to bottom. Sanding left to right will produce flat spots that take more work to sand out later.
It looks like some type of sealer or varnish below the white primer.
I use that as a guide to stop sanding so hard. I try very hard to not sand big gouges in the plywood.
MN