Painting dashboard

jim vogt

Member
Apr 27, 2019
65
Boat Info
1989 Sea Ray 270Amberjack
Engines
twin 4.3
I have a 87 270 amberjack. The Blue dashboard is in rough shape. Looking for ideas on painting or otherwise restoring it
 
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We completely redid a 1986 Weekender when it was nearly brand new. We liked the boat but not the colors. We removed the windshield and repainted the dash which was brown. Used a marine paint product, following the directions on the can. Black paint was applied using a small roller. End result was like it had been done in the factory and it held up for the years that we owned the boat.
 
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Thanks, I assume it was a foam roller?
No. It had a nappy texture. Here is a pic of the final result. We added radar, chart plotter, new arch and replaced some teak on the front deck with stainless steel.
 
Do some search on automotive dashboard repair. Several ideas should pop up.
 
Something like Pettit Easypoxy would work really well - as would other brands. Be sure to get a low-gloss finish or add a flattening agent (glare). Heck, you could probably do a decent job with a rattle can (all surfaces type). If you mask well, you wouldn't need to remove the windshield. Remember - good prep is the key to a good paint job.
 
I spray mine with Rustoleum "Hammered Black" paint. Looks great.
 
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Do you remember where you got the stainless steel for the front deck?
Yes. We stored the boat at Barrett's in Spring Lake at the time. The shop had a bin full of salvage parts from various sources. They cut some damaged bow rails down to fit our length and placed bends on each end and through bolted them. The boat had a mouse fur headliner. We cut some pieces of that off that was behind lockers and out of sight. These were used to cover the stainless steel screw heads above the berth. We tired of taking care of teak and this solution made that issue go away. Nice upgrade.
 
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The issue with wrapping dashboards on these vintage boats is the pebbled texture of the dashboards. It's not a smooth surface. That is actually an advantage since any imperfections in the paint job tend to get lost in the background. Wraps are pretty cool however.
 
I have a 1988 240s sorrento. The boat is burgundy and the dash looked like hell. Everything else on the boat was shinny and nice. Did some research and found this stuff. Easy to apply. Put on rag and just rub in. Dash was brought back to life and looked awesome. Only draw back is you will need to do it every year. Lasts the whole season.
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I used Topcoat worked out pretty good, battleship grey was the colour I used. I rolled and cut the top side and dash. Prep was time consuming but I’m happy with the outcome.

Cheers Rob
 

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Is your dash gel coat or covered with vinyl? My 87' 290 Amberjack is covered with vinyl - holding up ok but will need some work on day I'm sure. I'm upgrading the instrument cluster to all glass MFD's - leaving the vinyl around it for now.
 
Is your dash gel coat or covered with vinyl? My 87' 290 Amberjack is covered with vinyl - holding up ok but will need some work on day I'm sure. I'm upgrading the instrument cluster to all glass MFD's - leaving the vinyl around it for now.
It has some type of black hard material, I cant really explain. My intent is to make a template, have it CAD then have it woodgrain wrapped by dripping. Will change the original gauges to white faces and replace blue vinyl wrapped around instrument panel with white vinyl, to include a wood steering wheel.....
 
I used Topcoat worked out pretty good, battleship grey was the colour I used. I rolled and cut the top side and dash. Prep was time consuming but I’m happy with the outcome.

Cheers Rob
Where was this topcoat purchased? I want to do mine in white. Thanks
 
I have a 87 270 amberjack. The Blue dashboard is in rough shape. Looking for ideas on painting or otherwise restoring it
I sprayed mine with an Automotive paint got great results on my 86 390 EC also replaced everything
 

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