Any of you guys ever done a "partial job" on bottom paint? Regrets?

[Stee6043]

I had a thought yesterday while working on my boat. I'm sure I'm not the only one to have this thought.

I think my bottom paint is fine for a couple more seasons here in Michigan. But aesthetically I would like to potentially repaint only the parts of the hull that come up out of the water.

In the picture below it's the 6-8" or so of painted surface at the stern, narrowing as you go forward, that I'd like to recoat this year. Likely coming around the stern for the same amount. Leave the rest for another season or two.

Has anyone ever done this? Is this is a silly idea? I see myself buying a quart of paint for $50, lightly sand, roll-onto the sides. Looks like new from the water line. Thoughts??

 

[Lazy Daze]

Sure, go for it. Nothing wrong with that. Probably no need to sand, though. A pressure wash or a quick wash with a brush is typically more than enough - just want to make sure there's no slime on there. Just watch your line as you paint so you don't end up with a wavy line - you can stay an 1/8" or so away from the top line/edge and from a few feet away you'll never know the difference.

 

[Golfman25]

I do it a lot. Only touch the spots that need it.

 

[firecadet613]

I'm on Lake Michigan as well. I've done it in the past and that's my plan for this spring as well.

 

[TNT8808]

It's very common around our area. It's called painting a "smile" when you paint what you can see above the waterline in your slip, on plane, and then touch-up any spots where you hit any debris during the previous season.

 

[Blueone]

I do it every year.... I don't sand if it was power washed properly

 

[Strecker25]

Same for me, I do a coat of Hydrocoat black on the above waterline areas and anything that's worn down over the year. I end up slinging compound all over the waterline while polishing so it's my last step before splash

 

[fwebster]

I'm in NW Florida and we haul the boat out for a few days every February to pressure wash the hull and hardware, clean and detail the hull below the rubric and while she is out, I touch up the hardware and repaint the waterline. It is the only way I can keep the hull looking good given the slime(algae) and hard growth we get on the Gulf Coast.

 

[HardHead]

I had a thought yesterday while working on my boat. I'm sure I'm not the only one to have this thought.

I think my bottom paint is fine for a couple more seasons here in Michigan. But aesthetically I would like to potentially repaint only the parts of the hull that come up out of the water.

In the picture below it's the 6-8" or so of painted surface at the stern, narrowing as you go forward, that I'd like to recoat this year. Likely coming around the stern for the same amount. Leave the rest for another season or two.

Has anyone ever done this? Is this is a silly idea? I see myself buying a quart of paint for $50, lightly sand, roll-onto the sides. Looks like new from the water line. Thoughts??

Been painting bottoms of boats for over 40 years....if the paint looks good spray off the bottom and go ahead and just paint what you will see.

 

[sbw1]

We call it painting the "smile". That is the very front and the waterline to the stern.

 

[JimT]

Agree with the above. A few years ago I hauled my boat to move it to Charleston. I scheduled a complete bottom paint but with bad weather the yard was way behind. I convinced the yard manager to pressure wash and slop some paint on the bad areas. Got another three years out of it and just repainted last winter.

 

[Espos4]

Ditto

 

[Great Lakes]

I had a thought yesterday while working on my boat. I'm sure I'm not the only one to have this thought.

I think my bottom paint is fine for a couple more seasons here in Michigan. But aesthetically I would like to potentially repaint only the parts of the hull that come up out of the water.

In the picture below it's the 6-8" or so of painted surface at the stern, narrowing as you go forward, that I'd like to recoat this year. Likely coming around the stern for the same amount. Leave the rest for another season or two.

Has anyone ever done this? Is this is a silly idea? I see myself buying a quart of paint for $50, lightly sand, roll-onto the sides. Looks like new from the water line. Thoughts??

Very common

 

[Ezsteps]

Same as most replies above. Touch up bottom and paint the waterline.

 

[Chip S]

I typically do a full bottom paint every 3 years and just touch up the years in between. No need to do a full bottom paint every year.

 

[Stee6043]

Awesome. I'll be swinging by West Marine this week to grab a quart. As mentioned above I'll probably wait until I'm done waxing to throw some paint around.

Good stuff! Thanks, all.

 

[JBD Regina Marie]

I just did mine two weeks ago. I have Ablative bottom paint but could not confirm if it was water or oil based. I was told you can use water based over oil based for touch up but not vice versa. My boat was power washed when taken out of the water and I went over it again with wash cloth. Then touched up bad spots and did a new thin coat at water line. I found adding more water to thin was best for this "decorative" coat. Most say you don't want too much bottom paint on.

 

[Korkie]

Most in our parts call this "the beauty line". We have a few marinas that actually include it as part of their hulling service when splashing each season if painting the entire bottom was not part of the off season service.

 

[Stee6043]

One quart of ablative bottom paint, one roller and one brush. Done and done.

I don't know if I got an old quart of paint or if this is normal for bottom paint - but man that stuff was nasty to get mixed. It was 75% solid when I opened it up. I think I spilled more paint getting it mixed that I used on the sides/bottom.

Good stuff.

 

[RollerCoastr]

I did the same thing on Saturday. 2 weeks ago I found the paint from last year and flipped the can over. Then last week I flipped it over again. The cool thing about this trick and planning ahead is that it doesn't absolutely freaking nothing. When I opened up the can I had black water sitting on top of black cement.

I think I spent more time stirring than I did painting.