Paint a Fiberglass Canoe
Painting your own fiberglass canoe is a fun project. And, the other good thing about this project is that you won't only be painting it, you'll also be washing and sanding it. This article will teach you how to paint your own fiberglass canoe.
Steps
- Gather your supplies from the "Things You'll Need" section.
- Establish what's needed to be done on your canoe. If your canoe is already in good shape, but just needs a sanding/painting job, skip this step.
- Fix the canoe if it's damaged or lightly cracked. Apply fiberglass gelcoat, let it dry until the product recommends and then sand the gelcoat to obtain a smooth surface with a 60-80 grit sanding sponge or by hand with normal sanding sheet.
- See if there are minor scratches. If these aren't really deep, don't bother filling those, as the paint will cover it up beautifully.
- Sand it with the 80 grits. Do this gently, carefully and just enough to remove the old surface paint completely.
- Wash it with the cheesecloth. Wash it up with the hose gently, and use the cheesecloth to wipe off all the dust on the canoe.
- Prepare the fiberglass canoe. Prepare a nice working space inside your garage or outside (far from trees or dust, and get this done before 11 am to let it dry all day before the night). Then, cover up your canoe border with the painting tape, be really precise.
- Blend your paint thinner with the marine paint. They say maximum 10% thinner, but 4-5% is highly recommended.
- Paint it! You will obtain a fairly liquid type of paint because of the thinner. And, when you apply the paint, it will cause a lot of small bubbles. Don't panic, though! Just keep rolling on the bubbles until they vanish and continue on the next area of the canoe.
- Wait 24 hours, and the first coat will be completed.
- Lightly sand it again with a 320-400 grit sanding sponge. Be gentle.
- Wash it up again with the hose, and use another cheesecloth for the dust.
- Repeat the painting process and wait 24-36 hours for the last coat before using it!
Tips
- When preparing the canoe, try using Brightside polyurethane from Interlux and Brushing liquid 333 from Interlux.
- There are two types of electric sanders that you can use: the orbit sander or the classic rectangular one. Both will work perfectly.
- You can also use a fiberglass wax cleaner after the job is done for a nice finishing touch.
Things You'll Need
- Electric sander (if you don't already own an electric sander, you can borrow one.)
- 80-100 grits sanding sheets
- 320-400 grits sanding sponge
- 80-100 grit sanding sponge (optional)
- cheesecloth (Don't try any other cloth)
- Marine polyurethane paint for fiberglass (1 liter will apply 2 coats easy)
- Paint thinner that the marine paint recommends (500 ml is more than enough)
- Paint tray for a {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} roller
- 2x 4 inch roller (Use a different one for each coat)
- Painting tape (2 inch tape is the best)
