Orbital Palm

Orbital Palm
I have a question about painting my boat?

Here are a few questions I have regarding painting my speed boat. First off I have been a house painter for over 10 years so I know about prep work and the basics of spraying with a air compressor spray gun. If you could answer these questions I would very much appreciate it,
1. Can I use a random orbital palm sander rather than a DA sander? I want a really nice finish but I dont have use for a DA sander outside this project.
2. What size air compressor do I need to operate a spray gun with?

3. What paint would you recommend outside of gel-coat that will be durable?

4. Is it possible to get a good finish without taking off the rub rail?

5. When fixing gouges and deep scratches is it necesary to use cloth and resin or just resin alone?
Thank you for your help!
B.

Stay away from gel-coat anyone who has uses it would never try to change a boat’s color with this product.

A good paint job depends on three things
1 preparation
2 preparation
3 preparation

Yes you can use a random orbital palm sander . But hand sanding would be a lot safer as all you need to sand away is the gloss. 600 grit wet sanding wont create an uneven surface under your paint, this has happened with a plam sander.

First take some acetone and wipe the hull down this will remove any grime and wax, failure to do this before you sand may cause contamination to penetrate deep into the Gel-coat and ruin your paint job.

Any good two-part Marine urethane paint like Interlux will do there are many out there formulated for fiberglass boats.

You can get a good job without removing the rub rail you need to remove the insert and any sealer from where the metal rub rail meets the fiberglass hull. Mask off the rub rail and paint. After you have re-installed the insert have a professional or if you can do a good job caulk the seam between the metal rail and the hull.

Deep scratches can be fixed with a product called Marine Tex you can get it at all boat supply stores. Do not use resin and cloth for scratches

Go to your home improvement store and buy a HVLP (High Volume Low Pressure) spray unit Wagner makes a good one it looks like a canister type vacuum cleaner and has a 1 ¼ inch air hose going to the gun , this spray unit uses only 15 to 20 psi and reduces over spray dramatically also there is no need for special air dryers and filters you need with a compressor . I use a unit like this all the time and get really good results.

Before you start to paint your boat practice using the spray gun with any cheap high gloss paint until you consistently get a smooth glossy finish

Bosch GSS140A