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I had purchased an old Sorenson CSH hull as my first boat. The finish was in rather poor shape - blistering, chipped, and popped nails - and I decided to try and refinish the hull myself, along with adding some modifications (also gave me some much needed experience before I ultimately attempt to build a boat).
I'd like to pass on some of my experiences for any other novice out there that would like to try their hand at refinishing their boat. As stated, I am a novice and did this project without a lot of special tools - however, I did get a lot of advice from folks in the community - advice that saved me a lot of time and money that I would have otherwise incurred without their guidance…
Step 1 - Make an assessment. Assess the condition of the boat and what needs to be done, i.e., what type of finish you want, any damages you need to repair as part of the process, and desired modifications to hull (if any). My hull and deck needed to be refinished but the finish on the coaming, for the most part, was pretty good… and I decided to keep some of the original color as a nod to the previous owners. There was some damage I had to repair and I also wanted to extend the air traps the full length of the hull (the Sorenson's stop about 12" before the transom).
Step 2 - Develop a plan. Lay out how you will execute the process, especially with regards to repairs and modifications - you don't what to refinish part of the hull only to find out you have to go back and strip it down again to conduct a repair or modification. Figure out what materials and tools you'll need.
Step 3 - Remove hardware. Remove any hardware to ensure access to the hull - I'll pass along a little advice I received some several folks: Don't totally remove your turning fin mounting bracket; rationale: if you do, the "T" bolts may pop out and you might have to cut through your deck to put in new "T" bolts. It was recommended to me to back off the fin mount bracket bolts enough to enable scraping old finish behind it and to seal/paint the hull - tape off the mounting bracket to protect it from paint.
Step 4 - Strip original finish. You can sand the hull down but must be extremely careful not to sand through the veneer - especially on the decks. I first used a stripper - you may use an organic (orange) stripper or chemical stripper, either way use heavy duty rubber gloves and eye protection - stuff burns! The old finish I had was not consistent with regards to stripper - some came off easily, but some areas were extremely difficult. If you are experienced using English scrapers, these tools can help strip away stubborn clumps of paint/epoxy - but a word of caution: if you are not experienced - don't use it... you may inadvertently gouge the wood. I also used a brass stripper scrub brush - helps pull paint out of pores. However, even with the stripper I still had to use a sander with 150/220 grit to get rid of all remnants of the old finish. Again, caution with sanding - you don't want to get overly aggressive and sand through the veneer.
Step 5 - Make necessary repairs/modifications. If you have areas you have to build up (gouges, etc.), you may mix epoxy with micro-balloon fillers or, as was suggested to me, mix epoxy with sawdust as a filler agent. Careful sanding down the epoxy filler - if you aren't careful, you may sand down surrounding wood hull as it is softer than the epoxy. Fill in any nail holes that may have 'popped' old fillers; I wanted to fill in all voids prior to epoxy sealant coat to have the hull sealed as a single entity (i.e., fillers beneath epoxy coating) . You might also make any modifications to the hull once it is stripped... I made the air trap modifications at this point.
Step 6 - Prep the wood surface. Clean the wood thoroughly - blow out any debris out of the pores - make sure the surface is clean and dust free. If you are keeping the original epoxy sealant on bottom (or top) of boat and plan on coating with another coat of epoxy, score it up pretty good with 60 or 80 grit to ensure top coat of epoxy has a good surface to adhere to. If you plan on staining the wood prior to sealing, check with epoxy manufacturer on compatibility. I wanted to stain the deck of my boat - I check West System's website and they have a great reference file there with compatible stains- bottomline, you want to use a water based stain, NOT an oil based stain.
Step 7 - Seal the wood. I use West System epoxy... I put down a sealant coat and let it thoroughly dry, then sanded for a second coat. Found that I sanded through some areas of that first coat... I went back to the West System site and they recommend putting on a second coat once the first coat becomes tacky - enables the second coat to chemically bond with the first coat and provides a much better covering. Wish I had read that BEFORE my first attempt - would have saved me several hours of work!, My second go around produced a very good covering... I wet sanded down the finish - starting with 220 and ended up with 600 - as I wanted a clear coat finish.
Step 8 - Paint. Tape and mask off the boat based on your desired finish. Recommend painting the bottom first and once completely dry, flip and paint topsides. For the bottom of the hull, I applied a primer then wet sanded with 220 grit and then painted with a urethane paint. For the deck, I only painted along edges to cover nails - once that was dry, wet sanded new paint with 600 grit and then shot with a clear coat for UV protection and to seal all paint lines.
Step 9 - Buff the finish (if necessary). When I shot the clear coat, the finish unfortunately dried with a bit of an orange peel (rookie error of adding too much hardener for the temperature/humidity that day). No big problem - with some advice from a car painter, I wet sanded the finish, starting with 1000 grit and ending with 1500 grit, and then used buffing compound. The finish came out glossy smooth without any indication that there was ever any orange peel. Just goes to show that there is always a solution to a rookie mistake!
Overall, the finish product was definitely worth the effort - hopefully will last a couple of more seasons.
Just want folks out there to know that refinishing a boat is not an insurmountable task - if I can do it, then you can also. I think I spent less than $200 for supplies - most of the effort is man hours (take your time) but well worth it.
Attached photos show:
Stripping deck (long, tedious process)
Rough sanding of deck complete (why would you want to paint over this beautiful wood?)
Epoxy sealant coats (2) on deck prior to wet sanding - on top of water based stain
Wet sanding primer on bottom hull (note fin mounting bracket attached, screw backed off allowing stripping/painting behind bracket)
Painting trim on topsides - all other areas masked off
Final product
Stripping old finish.jpg
Sanded Deck (rough).jpg
Wet sanding primer on bottom (note fin bracket taped - screws backed off.jpg
Water based stain and two coats of epoxy (before wetsanding... note that I am keeping most origi.jpg
Topsides trim paint.jpg
Finished project.jpg
I'd like to pass on some of my experiences for any other novice out there that would like to try their hand at refinishing their boat. As stated, I am a novice and did this project without a lot of special tools - however, I did get a lot of advice from folks in the community - advice that saved me a lot of time and money that I would have otherwise incurred without their guidance…
Step 1 - Make an assessment. Assess the condition of the boat and what needs to be done, i.e., what type of finish you want, any damages you need to repair as part of the process, and desired modifications to hull (if any). My hull and deck needed to be refinished but the finish on the coaming, for the most part, was pretty good… and I decided to keep some of the original color as a nod to the previous owners. There was some damage I had to repair and I also wanted to extend the air traps the full length of the hull (the Sorenson's stop about 12" before the transom).
Step 2 - Develop a plan. Lay out how you will execute the process, especially with regards to repairs and modifications - you don't what to refinish part of the hull only to find out you have to go back and strip it down again to conduct a repair or modification. Figure out what materials and tools you'll need.
Step 3 - Remove hardware. Remove any hardware to ensure access to the hull - I'll pass along a little advice I received some several folks: Don't totally remove your turning fin mounting bracket; rationale: if you do, the "T" bolts may pop out and you might have to cut through your deck to put in new "T" bolts. It was recommended to me to back off the fin mount bracket bolts enough to enable scraping old finish behind it and to seal/paint the hull - tape off the mounting bracket to protect it from paint.
Step 4 - Strip original finish. You can sand the hull down but must be extremely careful not to sand through the veneer - especially on the decks. I first used a stripper - you may use an organic (orange) stripper or chemical stripper, either way use heavy duty rubber gloves and eye protection - stuff burns! The old finish I had was not consistent with regards to stripper - some came off easily, but some areas were extremely difficult. If you are experienced using English scrapers, these tools can help strip away stubborn clumps of paint/epoxy - but a word of caution: if you are not experienced - don't use it... you may inadvertently gouge the wood. I also used a brass stripper scrub brush - helps pull paint out of pores. However, even with the stripper I still had to use a sander with 150/220 grit to get rid of all remnants of the old finish. Again, caution with sanding - you don't want to get overly aggressive and sand through the veneer.
Step 5 - Make necessary repairs/modifications. If you have areas you have to build up (gouges, etc.), you may mix epoxy with micro-balloon fillers or, as was suggested to me, mix epoxy with sawdust as a filler agent. Careful sanding down the epoxy filler - if you aren't careful, you may sand down surrounding wood hull as it is softer than the epoxy. Fill in any nail holes that may have 'popped' old fillers; I wanted to fill in all voids prior to epoxy sealant coat to have the hull sealed as a single entity (i.e., fillers beneath epoxy coating) . You might also make any modifications to the hull once it is stripped... I made the air trap modifications at this point.
Step 6 - Prep the wood surface. Clean the wood thoroughly - blow out any debris out of the pores - make sure the surface is clean and dust free. If you are keeping the original epoxy sealant on bottom (or top) of boat and plan on coating with another coat of epoxy, score it up pretty good with 60 or 80 grit to ensure top coat of epoxy has a good surface to adhere to. If you plan on staining the wood prior to sealing, check with epoxy manufacturer on compatibility. I wanted to stain the deck of my boat - I check West System's website and they have a great reference file there with compatible stains- bottomline, you want to use a water based stain, NOT an oil based stain.
Step 7 - Seal the wood. I use West System epoxy... I put down a sealant coat and let it thoroughly dry, then sanded for a second coat. Found that I sanded through some areas of that first coat... I went back to the West System site and they recommend putting on a second coat once the first coat becomes tacky - enables the second coat to chemically bond with the first coat and provides a much better covering. Wish I had read that BEFORE my first attempt - would have saved me several hours of work!, My second go around produced a very good covering... I wet sanded down the finish - starting with 220 and ended up with 600 - as I wanted a clear coat finish.
Step 8 - Paint. Tape and mask off the boat based on your desired finish. Recommend painting the bottom first and once completely dry, flip and paint topsides. For the bottom of the hull, I applied a primer then wet sanded with 220 grit and then painted with a urethane paint. For the deck, I only painted along edges to cover nails - once that was dry, wet sanded new paint with 600 grit and then shot with a clear coat for UV protection and to seal all paint lines.
Step 9 - Buff the finish (if necessary). When I shot the clear coat, the finish unfortunately dried with a bit of an orange peel (rookie error of adding too much hardener for the temperature/humidity that day). No big problem - with some advice from a car painter, I wet sanded the finish, starting with 1000 grit and ending with 1500 grit, and then used buffing compound. The finish came out glossy smooth without any indication that there was ever any orange peel. Just goes to show that there is always a solution to a rookie mistake!
Overall, the finish product was definitely worth the effort - hopefully will last a couple of more seasons.
Just want folks out there to know that refinishing a boat is not an insurmountable task - if I can do it, then you can also. I think I spent less than $200 for supplies - most of the effort is man hours (take your time) but well worth it.
Attached photos show:
Stripping deck (long, tedious process)
Rough sanding of deck complete (why would you want to paint over this beautiful wood?)
Epoxy sealant coats (2) on deck prior to wet sanding - on top of water based stain
Wet sanding primer on bottom hull (note fin mounting bracket attached, screw backed off allowing stripping/painting behind bracket)
Painting trim on topsides - all other areas masked off
Final product
Stripping old finish.jpg
Sanded Deck (rough).jpg
Wet sanding primer on bottom (note fin bracket taped - screws backed off.jpg
Water based stain and two coats of epoxy (before wetsanding... note that I am keeping most origi.jpg
Topsides trim paint.jpg
Finished project.jpg
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