Painting mainship 400

[Alan Mainship]

We have a 2004 mainship 400 trawler that we are thinking of getting repainted, either upper or lower , or both. Has anyone recently had this done? What paint, where, and approximate prices would be helpful. Thanks Alan

[Arc]

You are going to have some choices to make. The most popular paint is probably Awlgrip. It is very hard , almost maintenance free, keeps a shine for years. Expensive. The down side is doing small damage repairs. It can be done and I have done it, but it is difficult. AwlCraft is easier to repair but not as hard. Alexseal is another choice. There are many others. I making a guess . A 40’ hull only with Awlgrip might run 20-30k depending on prep and location. Decks might be more due to the hardware removal and prep.

[Alan Mainship]

Thank you very much, that is very helpful��

[Comodave]

We painted out 1987 41’ President last year. I did all the prep work and painted the flybridge, cabin and decks. I did all the fiberglass work, filling and sanding and hired a painter to spray the hull. Paid him about $800. He said if he had done all the prep work he would have charged $25K. With all the supplies and paint I probably have about $3K in materials.

[Arc]

There is a second choice. You could Roll and Tip either Awlgrip or Alexseal. Look it it on YouTube. This you could do yourself and save a bunch of money. It may look hard but it is not. Prep is everything. If you could get your boat into a working yard it might be a 2 week project. Supplies would be less the $2k . You would need to do a little practice and have a reliable assistant.
I have completed various projects with this application. It comes out surprisingly well. With a 40’ boat any minor imperfections [ dust, brush mark , etc} would never be noticed

[Arc]

This is a Roll and Tip dock box done with Awlgrip to match my boat

[Shrew]

Why would you want to paint over 2004 gelcoat. There should be a ton of life left in it. If it's chalky, then there are varying levels of cutting agents from cleaner and wax all the way to wet sanding to bring it back.

Also, why the Upper OR the Lower?

[Shrew]

Incidentally, painting a boat is not like painting a house. If you're not familiar with the materials and procedures of painting gelcoat, then this may not be a DIY project for you.

[Alan Mainship]

Thanks for all the responses, the reason for asking of repainting is some of the beige gel coat has faded completely out due to excessive buffing and sun exposure.