So, what is the deal on factory paint anyway, did they paint the sides at the factory?

My 74 red hull boat appears to be painted this way. I thought the red was gelcoat original, but looks to be thin like paint. Interestingly, acetone will not take it off for the most part but will on the transom so I think the previous owner color matched it somehow to touch up the transom with some kind of non marine paint.

The original paint came from factory as gelcoat but mine was past faded and it was not going to come back anywhere near a look as I wanted. Onyl choice was to re-paint the whole boat. I didi paint it but am just not happy with the color and I want it to look like it did in 1978

Can't use "factory" and "paint" in same sentence . . . SeaCraft never used paint to my knowledge! They only used gel coat and SeaCraft gel coat is typically thicker than on most other boats. I don't know the exact thickness but from what I've seen on my boat, I'd guess thickness is in the range of about 30 to 50 mils (0.030-0.050"). This provides a lot of material for subsequent compounding and polishing, although the thicker layers are brittle and will crack more easily.

Awl grip ice blue looks almost white sometime. Try tar heels or Carolina blue.

Baffin blue is also a nice 'baby blue' color.