Re Painting of the hull

[Normagain]

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.

[jorgeinmiami]

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

[Bushwacker]

Originally Posted by Normagain

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

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.

[ian_upton]

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

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