I just patched several holes in my fiberglass canoe, and now am faced with how to finish it. Around the patches has been sanded and the gelcoat and paint is gone. There are also several areas that are very worn, down to the fiberglass in some spots. Some options are:
1- Do nothing and leave it as is. This canoe is just a beater that I really don’t use much at this point. I’ve defiantly got my money’s worth out of it. It may only see the water a couple times this year.
2- Throw a coat of something on there just to seal everything up. Marine top side paint, spray paint or something. Suggestions on what to use if I do this.
3- Go all out and sand and totally repaint the canoe. Although this costs time and money that I don’t really want to invest in it.
Any thoughts, suggestions or other ideas are greatly appreciated.
If your looking for fast and cheap
use aerosol spray paint. Flat will look better than gloss. Stay as close as you can to the original color. It will cover better and when you do scratch it, it won’t show so much. You might want to try a camouflage pattern. It will be great for hiding imperfection.
Use whatever brand of paint you can get cheapest. If you hit or scrape a rock, it will take off the good paint almost as easily as the cheap stuff.
Before painting, take the time to clean the boat well with paint thinner or better yet lacquer thinner or similar. The small cost in time and money will minimize the chances of peeing.
Marc Ornstein
Dogpaddle Canoe Works
Custom Canoe Paddles and Wood Strip Canoes
Krylon
I get better coverage from this than the cheaper stuff. But it is all just a temporary coating that will be scraped off in time just like the gel coat was.