Great forum guys (and admirals) - new guy here. I've been reading your forum for a while now but I have never posted anything. I finally picked up an 1984 28' Express single screw last May. It came with a trailer too! Looking forward to getting some serious use out of it this year.

Last winter I was unable to find a place to store it, so I went the budget route with a tarp and lots of bungees. This worked out okay until some holes formed in the tarp. So, I duct taped the holes from underneath, being unable to crawl on top of the tarp in the middle of winter. This spring, I discovered the few pieces of duct tape I did use fell and stuck to the deck. I peeled them off carefully, however one came off with a lot of paint. Doh!



From other posts and a call to Interlux, I understand the proper paint procedure (for the most part). Any advice on dealing with this spot that doesn't involve all of these steps?

One thought was putting down one of those stick-on anti-skid pieces on the port side and matching one on the starboard side to cover up this little mishap. The whole boat could use a paint job anyway, so I would probably be removing them and repainting in 3-5 years anyway. Just a matter of figuring out the how and when ($$$) of the paint job. Or maybe I should just bite the bullet and buy all the materials for $100+?

By the way, I found a place to keep it indoors so it is out of the elements now. Hopefully no more duct tape blues!

Woody

I got a project 32' with original paint. I got a theory that the factory didn't let the primer cure completely before putting on the top coat. This is because in addition to the crows feet cracking I have pinholes which were really brought out by power washing. For the most part the old brown primer coat has pretty good adherance. The exception is wherever some kind of caulk or adhesive was applied. Paint came off in spots right down to the bare metal around the cockpit deck edge and even underneath the drip edge. Also where I used tape to temporarily cover screw holes. I am trying various removers. I got a can of 3M adhesive remover to try next. The last thing you want to do is just jerk the tape off. Depending on the chemistry of the adhesive Acetone, Mineral Spirits, Alcohol or Citric Acid removers like Goop may or may not work. They also may or may not attack the paint. PB blaster or WD 40 and a plasitc scraper may help remove the residue of duct tape but don't let it sit on the work.

The way things stand with my paint job is that I have to sand a lot more than I wanted to do. The original idea was to use the Schilling rubber enamel which is supposed to bond to the top coat. The way it is turning out we are using a full coat of Schilling's self etching primer instead of spot priming. The auto guys helping me hate the schilling primer becuase it drys a lot harder than the easy sandable crap they dump on cars.

For your problem I would scuff the bare aluminum with 80 grit and immediately feather in West Marine's Watertite 1:1 Epoxy filler. Then I would find a old timey paint store that will eyeball tint a pint or quart of your choice of boat paint. Finding a good tinter is harder than it used to be. My guy is a wizard. I used the plate between the flybridge cabinets for my color match. You can also carry an armload of sample cards to your boat. Then you can try your blending techniques or go ahead and cover the whole area. If it comes out ugly, then give up and cover the whole thing with some sort of anti-skid.

You got good instincts getting a boat with a trailer. I have to save up at least 5 grand from my paper route to put one under my project 32' and another five hundred to fix up the one under my project 28'. You really need a trailer to manage a boat way up here. There is only one place around here that has the equipment to pull and store a boat without a trailer and he won't negotiate.

..."I would scuff the bare aluminum with 80 grit and immediately feather in West Marine's Watertite 1:1 Epoxy filler"

Uh,uh,uh! If you don't etch first it will fall off. You can't sand the surface, then apply epoxy, before it oxidizes.

Jeff

Thanks for the advice guys!

The paint does appear to be the original factory paint. There are a few other spots on the edges of the decks, etc. that have flaked off, but nothing as severe as this one I made myself. The duct tape goop did clean up nicely with Goo Gone, a plastic putty knife, paper towels, and some patience.

Jeff - a couple questions for you...

a. When you say sand the deck – what grit and how thorough of a sanding? Just to rough it up a little and get rid of other peeling/cracks?

b. Did you remove all the deck hardware when you applied the non-skid on yours?

c. What kind of non-skid coating did you have the best luck with?

d. Did you roll on the initial coat and use the paint brush for touch-ups or use a brush on the whole deck?

Thanks again for your thoughts...

Woody

I see you got a single engine 28' up Lake Superior I have my 28' single up on Shelter Bay. Great fishing but probably too far away given gas prices. The locals advise me to mount a kicker if I want to go out on the big lake in a single engine.

I guess my idea for a quick patch is being shot down by the painting purists. The interlux method is sound but very expensive and time consuming especially for a duct tape sized patch. You can spot prime the bare spot with a spray can of etching primer if you think that will improve adhesion. I can't see buying $300 worth of supplies for a duct tape size patch. I am using a painting system for my 32' which uses a one part top coat over etching primer. I always re-sand the bare spots just before I spray the etching primer.

..."One technique mentioned in the Gougeon's book for using their wood epoxy saturation technique (WEST system) epoxy, is to wet-sand the metal with epoxy directly. Just dip the sandpaper into the mixed epoxy, and sand into the surface."

That sounds more than reasonable (to the point that I'll try it). The sandpaper removes the oxide film and replaces it immediately with epoxy. Neat!

Jeff

Thank you. That 25HP Merc will push Her along at 7 mph wot. By the way, I may be putting the kicker up for sale this fall. Might be getting a 25HP Merc 4 stroke Big Foot from a co-worker. It'll be nice not having a portable fuel tank on board.

JeFF,

U Gots any 25hp 4 strokes like fur about $$100 or so I'd interested fer sure U must have 1 or 2 after trying to beat Louis in his UX fur the last # or so years

Norm,

BIG s Live On & so do FLY BRIDGES

Jeff,

So U R 1 of those guys that take off in a blue cloud of smoke & howdy Hi Ho Silver polluting the early morning tranquillity & the fragrant aroma of a fresh pot of coffee brewing The reason U guys that still use the 2 strokers cause U are too parsimonious to purchase a 4 stroke & U use the smoke trail to find your way back to port “4 strokes” they are so stinkless & quite that when one takes off in the morning they don’t even wake up the Admiral. As a kicker U don’t even need to carry that extra 6 gal fuel tank which adds to the weight (48lb.) on board the mother ship. Which in turn compensates for the extra weight of the 4 stroke. Ahh the sweet smell of a clean burning kicker join the club update that ole 2 stroke to a newer version or look at the new Evevrude E series engines from what I’ve heard & read about them, the 4 stroke & 2 stroke
are on there way out like the buggy whips

Norm,


BIGs Live on Just like the F/B & DUX (RIB)

JEFF,

I personally like the smell of 2 stroke smoke--especially in the morning!

May I stand to correct U the Phrase as stated by “Robert Devaulle” in Apocalypse Now

Went this way:
“I Love the smell of napalm in the morning”

AnyWho get out from behind the key board & go spend some $$$$$$ on the liquid gold & oil
that has to be mixed with it so the motor don’t seize up Tee Hee & that oil cost in the high $20s
@ gal. just so U can start to catch up with a 4 stroke just to come in second with the same size
out board motor

On another subject do U know why Penguins can't fly they don't have RED WINGS

BIG s & DUX Live On