# Advice on painting inside of a boat



## jcasey (Oct 12, 2007)

I am looking to get the inside of my boat painted. Mainly just want the sides painted. the floor and center console itself is ok. Who do you recommend and what ballpark price range do you think I would be looking at ? It is a 21 Contender center console. Thanks for any recommendations.


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## PlaneToSea (Jul 27, 2012)

I painted the inside of my 31 Cape Horn myself and I spent about $400 on materials and had enough paint left over to do another boat or two. I went with Awl-grip which is pretty much the most expensive on the market. The one-part paints are much cheaper (about $100/gal) but I've heard they don't hold up as well or near as long. It took most of the day on a Saturday (8am-3pm) since I had to prep (sand/clean) and paint. It only took a couple of hours on Sunday to apply the second coat.

This is definitely a job you could do yourself if you have a dry place to keep the boat such as a barn.

I painted the sides and the floor and wouldn't recommend doing one and not the other. I didn't paint the fiberglass center console and I don't think it would have stuck to it if I had.

Even if you decide not to do it yourself this will give you an idea of the time and material involved.


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## jcasey (Oct 12, 2007)

Yeah, I have read where you can roll the paint on, but I am afraid that I would mess it up. Is the Awl-grip paint thick and did you not have a problem with it running ?
Another problem is that I don't have a cover, it sits in the driveway.
Thanks for the input though.


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## PlaneToSea (Jul 27, 2012)

jcasey said:


> Yeah, I have read where you can roll the paint on, but I am afraid that I would mess it up. Is the Awl-grip paint thick and did you not have a problem with it running ?
> Another problem is that I don't have a cover, it sits in the driveway.
> Thanks for the input though.


I rolled the paint on when I did my boat. The awl-grip is thick and you add thinner to get the right consistency. Obviously the mixing instructions are different depending on if you're rolling vs spraying. Mixing paint is a SCIENCE not an ART. You just have to follow the mixing directions exactly and you'll be fine.

Maybe you could do it with tarps or something but you'll need to keep it clean and dry during the process. I didn't use a boat cover, only kept it inside a barn during the process.


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## Jason (Oct 2, 2007)

If you don't have an enclosed shop, I don't recommend you doing it yourself....I did my cat boat under my carport and there is something about paint that attracts bugs from all over!!! It ended up not bad after picking and re painting but it's an older cat boat so i wasn't worried about painting it myself. I didn't use the Awlgrip but cheaper deck paint that was about 50 bucks a gal. Maybe someone that has a big shop will let you use it and help ya fer some spare change and will chime in....


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## X-Shark (Oct 3, 2007)

Actually Awlgrip is NOT thick when mixed correctly. Al-Cat 3 is used when rolling.

It's all about thin coats. 

Forget single stage paint. It takes just as much effort to paint with cheap paint as it does with expensive...But it lasts a lot longer and the durability is superior with the Awlgrip.


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## Hydro Therapy 2 (Sep 11, 2008)

what about painting the outside hull, spray it ,roll it how to prep?


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