TOPIC: Help with wood floor

Hello to all. I'm new to Fiberglassics and boat renovation. I'm assuming this is the right forum since my boat is a "transition" boat. I have a 1960 18' Wagemaker Empire Clipper. Fiberglass hull and Mahogany wood top. I'm in the midsts of varnishing the topside, the windshield and the bench seat. I want to do the floor next but I'm not sure what to do. I'm attaching a couple of pics to show her condition.


I have a couple of questions:

1. Should I completely strip the deck or can I get away with sanding, blending, priming bare spots and repainting? The old paint is chipped off as you can see and it's a hard paint. Not sure what kind was used.

2. What paint is recommended? I've heard many different things from garage floor epoxy paint to Acrylic Latex porch paint. What works best and will last the longest. I will need to do the hull insides also since they're painted the same as the deck and the paint has yellowed from age, stains etc.

Thanks,
Bob

I love those old 'transitional' boats, with the wood decks... Post some photos!

Remember when you paint that your paint job is only as good as your prep job- if the paint is in bad shape, then you won't get a good topcoat on it, no matter what you do. I just repainted the interior of the hull on my Glasspar, and the old paint was in pretty sad shape... I ended up going all the way down to bare 'glass, priming, and painting. It was a LOT of work, but turned out great, and I think well worth the trouble.

You can use a variety of different paints- But I'd use a high quality, gloss enamel. The industrial enamels out there last as long, or longer, than specialized 'marine' finishes. They also tend to be harder than some of the boat paints, like Polyurethanes. You COULD get in to a multipart paint, I've used several different types for decks on boats- But I've really liked the enamels better, they seem to last as long, and are a LOT easier to work with. You can always add non skid to it if it's too slippery.

Does your finish have a speckled effect to it? It appears to in the photos... I just replicated a similar finish in my Glasspar-



I can post how I did it, if you are interested.

-Andrew

The old paint is most likely lead paint, up to 40% lead making it so hard. I would NOT advise sanding. If the foor is worth saving I would use stripper and dispose of properly to local regs. I always use Ace Hardware brand heavy duty stripper.

As for what new paint to use. A 2 part epoxy should give you the best wear. You can really use any paint, some will last longer than others.

I would definitely think about adding non skid. A painted floor, especially with an epoxy floor, can get very slippery. If you are doing the boat for show and want to keep the painted look, consider what I did with the Custom Craft. The floor in that is vinyl sheeting.I got a piece of thin plexiglass at Home Depot and sprayed it with Krylon Non-Skid (available through Amazon.com) I put it down when I want to actually use it, but take it off for showing.

BTw, I'd love to hear how you did the speckled finish, Andgott. I would like to do that on the interior of my Tomahawk.

CAT*FIN*k wrote:

The old paint is most likely lead paint, up to 40% lead making it so hard. I would NOT advise sanding. If the foor is worth saving I would use stripper and dispose of properly to local regs. I always use Ace Hardware brand heavy duty stripper.

As for what new paint to use. A 2 part epoxy should give you the best wear. You can really use any paint, some will last longer than others.

You can get a simple lead swab test at Home Depot. If it's negative you're good to go - if positive then you should take precautions when working on the boat or disposing of chips and debris.

Peter
Just Sayin'
in Denver

You can get a test kit at HD now...how cool! When I was restoring historic homes we had to pay someone to take samples and have tested...pricey.

Great inputs, thanks.

Andrew - What did you use as a Primer? Yes mine is speckled, did you use the paint brush flick the bristle method, or spraygun spirt or what? I'd like to get it back to original as much as possible. I'll post progress pics in the gallery section or should I just attach them here?

CAT*FIN*K/thetudor/Peter_Crowl - Thanks, I was thinking that the paint might have lead in it due to the brittleness and age. I'll get a test kit and hope for the best. I'm also thinking now I should probably just strip it anyway due to the stress cracks in the paint and the brittleness.
Do you think it's the same paint on the fiberglass hull sides, inside?

Overall I'm not looking to make it show quality since I want it to look good but be fully functional. My dad repaired some dry rot up by the windshield on the port side. He just drilled a couple of holes through the plywood and filled it with resin, along with filling the open gap with it. I was able to put some filler stain over it to mask it some but it really needs new veneer. That's going to be a lot of work that I'd rather not tackle right now.

I would have to remove the king board and veneer the whole port bow! Alot more work than what I want to do right now.

For Lead Abatement you still have to use a lab. Renovation Repair and Paint - small jobs - not abatement - the swabs are acceptable. Here, of course, we're talking about personal knowledge and safety.

In that the paint is turning yellow my bet is positive.

Thanks for the inputs. Looks like the paint is lead based. Test showed Pink where I tested it. I think I'm going to try the Lead Out stripper. Suppose to render the paint harmless while removing it. Suppose to be safe for fiberglass also.

Anyone used this before?