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Painting Bottom of the Hull

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soccerdad

soccerdad

Well-Known Member
So I did search on this and saw that Spim has done this but the thread is now closed. Anyway, my project Shamu ski has a thrashed bottom. I will post in that build page pictures later. I have done some gelcote repair on it and I may leave it. But since the top of the ski will now be black, white and gray, I am considdering painting the hull. I don't want to spray gelcote and make it perfect. But a nice looking fairly durable black finish would be great. I may considder white as well.

So I am thinking an epoxy paint since it is pretty tough. Anyone with experience on the bottom of the ski? Spray cans or spray gun paint? Kinds? Brands? Thoughts?

Thanks
 
purple_people_eater said:
here's one of purple's crazy thoughts: What about using bed liner, sanding it smooth, and clear coat and wax it?
Click to expand...

well i guess i better tell you about this now. I did both of my skis with por15 bed liner. It is gloss and i put it on with a smooth roller. Water tight and smooth and like a rock. A lot of people said it would add to much weight. Im here to tell you it added like 3lbs tops. When the weather gets a little nicer ill post you some pics up. I had $100 in one gal and that did 2 skis with about an 1 or so in the can still. Just my 2 cents. I would not use the stuff you buy at advance and what not.
 
glsmohio said:
well i guess i better tell you about this now. I did both of my skis with por15 bed liner. It is gloss and i put it on with a smooth roller. Water tight and smooth and like a rock. A lot of people said it would add to much weight. Im here to tell you it added like 3lbs tops. When the weather gets a little nicer ill post you some pics up. I had $100 in one gal and that did 2 skis with about an 1 or so in the can still. Just my 2 cents. I would not use the stuff you buy at advance and what not.
Click to expand...

guess we know it works then
 
purple_people_eater said:
guess we know it works then
Click to expand...

yep, then painted the tops. Ill post pics of the xp. If anyone would like info let me know. I got the idea for another member on here. The jet skis on the left by my name, i also painted them and they held up good with car paint but never beached them.
 
glsmohio said:
well i guess i better tell you about this now. I did both of my skis with por15 bed liner. It is gloss and i put it on with a smooth roller. Water tight and smooth and like a rock. A lot of people said it would add to much weight. Im here to tell you it added like 3lbs tops. When the weather gets a little nicer ill post you some pics up. I had $100 in one gal and that did 2 skis with about an 1 or so in the can still. Just my 2 cents. I would not use the stuff you buy at advance and what not.
Click to expand...

Was it smooth after you rolled it on? Did it run at all?
I went to the link....does it come in smaller cans than a gallon?

**EDIT***
On eBay quarts are $28.50.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Well that is a good idea. How glossy is it? When you look at the skis, does it look like gelcote or bedliner? So 2 quarts would do a GTX?

I feel more comfortable with the idea of epoxy paint since I know that stuff is hard, but this is a possibility. Hopefully [MENTION=29781]Spimothy Leary[/MENTION] will chime in. I read in a post he used epoxy paint on his with good results.
 
seadoobuddy said:
was it smooth after you rolled it on? Did it run at all?
I went to the link....does it come in smaller cans than a gallon?

**edit***
on ebay quarts are $28.50.
Click to expand...

no runs when i rolled it. I did 3 coats. Its not as smooth as the gel but i still get 56mph out of my xp. Like i said ill post up some pics later just finishing up at work.
 
Gelcoat is porous if you dewax and lightly sand, so adhesion of just about anything should be good. Imron locomotive paint is great stuff but not easy to apply I think (I recall a big hassle getting my Scout painted with Imron), I usually use appliance epoxy paint from home depot, keep the can handy for new scratches.

I guess the bed coating might take a lot of abuse and not cut through.
 
JENNA SKI BOTTOM.jpg

this is the wifes ski that im doing right now. Just finished up the bottom. Will be flipping it back over monday to paint the top.
 
SCOTT4.jpg


in this pic you can see that i painted the sponsons gloss black. The can said the bed liner is gloss but i would call it satin.
SCOTT6.jpg
 
soccerdad said:
well that is a good idea. How glossy is it? When you look at the skis, does it look like gelcote or bedliner? So 2 quarts would do a gtx?

I feel more comfortable with the idea of epoxy paint since i know that stuff is hard, but this is a possibility. Hopefully [mention=29781]spimothy leary[/mention] will chime in. I read in a post he used epoxy paint on his with good results.
Click to expand...

yes two quarts would do the gtx.
 
Really interested in the results, I did mine with Gelcoat. But I think if I had it to do over again I would look at other options. Too much work!
 
soccerdad said:
Well that is a good idea. How glossy is it? When you look at the skis, does it look like gelcote or bedliner? So 2 quarts would do a GTX?

I feel more comfortable with the idea of epoxy paint since I know that stuff is hard, but this is a possibility. Hopefully [MENTION=29781]Spimothy Leary[/MENTION] will chime in. I read in a post he used epoxy paint on his with good results.
Click to expand...

I didn't do the painting myself, I was working with a guy on the project and he did the paint, I did see the ski about a year later and FWIW the bottom still looked excellent, but I don't think it had seen much water time.

I am no longer working with the guy so I can't tell you details on what was used, or the process.

FWIW, I have used the rattle can appliance epoxy a couple of different times and it worked great.
 
I have been custon painting for about 20 years and i have never used gelcoat ...I did mine with ppg shopline black with ppg clear ....its very hard and will hold up for a long time ..
 
soccerdad said:
Have you painted the bottom of a ski with epoxy appliance paint? Does it hold up fairly well?
Click to expand...

Nope, I've never repainted a jet ski at all, nor have I cleaned and waxed, rubbed or buffed one! :) Just plenty of touchups on boats and other household applications such as fiberglass shovel handles etc., if it's white and receives abuse, including appliance color changes from white to almond or vice-versa.

I'm a big fan of epoxy! :) I suggest you should test a small area first though, so you can decide for yourself.

Also, not sure what happens if you leave appliance paint submerged for long periods, some people leave their boats sitting in the water all summer and I haven't tested that.
 
You might consider shooting it with AwlGrip too, lots of large boats are being refinished using this product when the gel coat dies.

PPG does makes great paints too, maybe shift95 can share his ideas.
 
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