painter in South Florida

[67hat34c]

We have run into a problem with repainting our boat. We moved from Stuart to Merritt Island Fl at the end of last year and began preping for a repaint from the rub rail up. Turns out Brevard county has basicaly banned spraypainting in the county. all the marina yards have gotten out of the business, taken down their paint booths. even SeaRay cant paint in their newest facility designed to build their 70'.

I called several yards from Sebastian south to Stuart, all yards with a building are booked for at least 3months or more. We can do open air painting at some yards in Ft Pierce, There are several painting contractors that work out of Crackerboy in Ft. Pierce. I am looking for referrals or anything that will help us decide on a contractor. We are doing 80% of the prep work in this case.

Thanks
Steve
1967 34c

 

[Paul45c]

Hi, Steve. I'm in the Ft. Laud area, and it certainly is getting harder to find outfits that will spray.

Have you considered brush painting? A friend who handles a lot of my lighter-duty general maintenance suggested it when my 45c needed it. I was deciding I'd have to pack the boat off to some spray yard for 3-4 mos. when he suggested it. Honestly, I thought he was kidding. But he sent me to Merritt's down here in Pompano Beach, and that's all they'll do for their existing customers. My understanding is that they still spray for their new boats only. And you oughta know how high-end $$$$$!!!! Merritt's are.

So, with an open mind, I took a good look and was quite impressed. When I reported that back to him, he then suggested some local independent guys who did even better, in his view; I ended up hiring one of them. I couldn't be happier with the end result. It's 3 years old, now. For the first time I've put wax on the hull, and all any of the topsides have needed is the occasional rub with Finesse-It. You know how brutal Florida sun is on any finishes. I get compliments on the boat all the time. I'd think about it. It goes without saying that you'll save a lot, and you've certainly got many more options when it comes to who does it. And, it's really nice to be able to keep the boat at home and even use it in the middle of the project.

I think the only problem I foresee is your plan to do 80% of the prep yourself...professional painters are a fussy breed, and their reputation is tied up in how your boat looks. I think you'll get a real wrestling match in trying to do your own pre-paint prep. Good luck.

-- Paul

 

[Pascal]

my 53 was rolled n tipped 3 or 4 years ago, it looks really good. you have to look very close to see a difference... most people dont... dont' know who did it though... didn't find the info the file

 

[hcalmar]

Just what does rolled and tipped mean?

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Rolled and tipped means not sprayed. It is put on with a roller and smoothed or tipped with a brush.

 

[rtrafford]

mine is being sprayed at my own yard here in ft laud, but i doubt you can get yours to me....

i've got one of the best spray guys in town working for me privately, and i also have a guy i've used in the past who rolls/tips with the best. he did my last boat boot up and turned out beautifully.

let me know if i can help.

 

[Maynard Rupp]

I have seen that done with Awlgrip so that I absolutly could not tell that it wasn't sprayed. Three coats though, sanded between. Lots of labor. Here is the problem. Most boats need to be primed, atleast in areas where you fill nicks etc. You can't brush primer. It needs to be built up and sanded. If you try to brush it, you will sand almost all of it off trying to get it smooth enough to paint. Primer doesn't flow like Awlgrip topcoat does. I was told years ago that gelcoat, when all the wax is removed from the very porous surface, is its own best primer. This is not true on a painted Hatteras.

 

[rtrafford]

watched a boat get primed and gripped via roll/tip. wonderful outcome. not quite as good as spray, but it was hard to see the difference.

 

[Hammerhead58]

Contact Tung Lu 954 587 2013. He painted my 58 YF. excellent job. In Ft Lauderdale

 

[Fanfare]

Tung Lu has sprayed Fanfare twice with Imron, about 12 years apart. Last time about 4 years ago, and she still looks fine. He does an excellent job on the paint and priming. You will want to go over what parts are to be removed to be painted under ahead of time, and afterwards check electrical parts like running lights to be sure the wires are connected. You can't beat his price. Highly recommended.

 

[rtrafford]

Lu's crew is highly regarded as one of the very best in town. works out of Jackson Marine on the New River. there are some good private guys as well.

 

[Spellbound]

Ditto on Tung Lu -- Painted and glassed my 52 end of summer. Excellent job and also works out of Lauderdale Maine Center where his office is.

 

[67hat34c]

thanks for the input, Ft Lauderdale is a little far away. I am looking to stay closer such as Ft Pierce. Crackerboy is a do it yourself yard that has alot of contractors working out of there, all open air painting. My brother stopped by there over the weekend and found a 34c like ours being done and a 41, both exceptional jobs.

Rolling an tipping: Not sure on that, i can see how it would look good on a flat surface but from rup rail up we have alot of inside and outside corners and small surfaces. We are not doing hull, it looks fine for now, just rub rail up.

 

[34Hatt]

Steve

I have Rolled and tipped the top side of boats its not that hard. The results can be very good. You will need to do it in section which you would need to do even if spraying I did mine in 3 parts. I will look for a picture of one of them had lots of corners and rounds the key to it is if you have two guys doing it together makes it much easier. the boat I did I did the hole top in one day by my self and I will NEVER DO THAT AGAIN . Then I had to do it all over for the second coat the next day . I would give it a shot buy a small amount of paint and try doing the bridge if you don't like it just sand it smooth again and it will be a base for the next coat
Suggestion is READ the application guide and when done read it again and again then follow it too the letter and after the first coat go back and read it again you will pick on things each time!

 

[rtrafford]

it's all about the mixing of the paint. adding the reducers enables the drying time to slow and the paint to flow better. once tipped the brush marks flow away. there are painters here that specialize in this form as the EPA standards make quite an impact on the yards that spray.

nice thing about rolling is that you typically get more paint on the boat. my last R/T lasted 8 years, waterline up.