The much needed and way overdue "how to paint your jet ski" thread...

waterdoglouie · 04-30-2008, 06:27 PM

I do all my own painting and post lots of pictures of my work. At least once a week I get PM's asking me to explain each and every step of the painting process. I dont mind answering these PM's but all that typing gets old. I thought I would start a thread about painting so that those of us that have some experiance can share with the beginners.

A little about me... I spent about 20 years in and around the auto body business. I have painted several of my own vehicles including a few show cars. To learn how to paint I spent all the time I could in classes in High School, then went right into the business world working with restorations on classic cars. I have worked for Maaco, several different BMW, Chevy, Nissan and Toyota dealers and even one shop that specialized in exotic cars. The last one was the body shop for the local Rolls Royce dealer in Newport Beach Ca. So, I have kinda been around the block in the world of painting. Now I just do it as a hobby.

I can explain all day long about painting but its not very often that a first timer gets perfect results. Practice really is the only way to get this process down. Ill try to be as thorough and complete with explaining the process, but if I forget something please dont hate me! Also, if you have some experiance and think of something I forgot, please post it!

Laserman · 04-30-2008, 06:35 PM

As a self-taught AMATEUR paint guy, I am looking forward to this thread!

I learned something far more important years ago: listen to the wisdom of the experienced. This has enabled me to learn everything else I know.

.......So get to it! Lots of pics!

I already have about 100 questions, but I'll try to present them at the appropriate time.

waterdoglouie · 04-30-2008, 06:36 PM

I know some people are going to be looking for a "quickie" paint job. Thats not what I do, so if thats what you want go read annother thread.

I try to paint my ski so that it will last for years. Prep is the biggest part of the paint job. Any imperfections in the body/hull will show up once you paint. I always start out by stripping my ski down as far as I can. I pull off all the rails, pads, handle pole, controlls, and usually I even pull the enging. If you are painting the bottom its important to pull the pump too. Annother advantage of having the ski completely stripped is that its WAY lighter to move around and work with.

Once the ski is stripped I always clean everything thoroughly. For the inside I like to put it on the trailer and run down to the car wash and spray the inside out and get it completely degreased. Any oil/grease/fuel product left on the surfaces will cause paint issues down the road.

This is also the time to remove all the decals and glue. Clean surfaces are the key here.

waterdoglouie · 04-30-2008, 06:52 PM

Now that the ski is stripped and clean its time to look it over really close to see where any repairs need to be done. I have found things wrong with so called "perfect" skiis. It seems that every ski has its weak spots. Ask around and find out where your ski may have issues. Also, different skiis use different materials for glass repairs. Check on your model and make sure to use the correct materials.

Glass repairs can be a big job and could take a thread of their own, so Im going to cover them really quick in this thread.
Glass repair can be tricky. Somtimes things that look like a chip can turn into a major deal. Small chips can be filled with resin and sanded smooth. Bigger damaged areas will need to be ground out and filled using fiberglasss cloth and resin, sometimes several layers of cloth.

This is also a good time to make sure you do all the mods like foot wells or any other structure changes you are going to do. Nothing like geting done with a paint job and then deciding you should have filled those holes.

Now that the damage is all repaired and the ski is clean its time to move on the the paint prep.

waterdoglouie · 04-30-2008, 07:03 PM

I have the ability to use air tools, like sanders, to make my job easier but the process can be done with only hand tools.

Start by sanding all the surfaces to be sanded with 400 or 600 grit sand paper. I like to do one area at a time. Usually I start with the main hull and once its done I move on the the parts like hood, handle pole and smaller parts.

If there are serious scratches you can use 220 paper to smooth the scratches, but then work up to 400 or even 600 grit paper. The idea here is to get the surface "scuffed" and not to burn completely throught the gel coat. The new paint only needs a rough surface to stick to, not a bare glass surface.

When sanding larger flat surfaces I like to use a soft sanding block. These are available from any auto paint store. Using just your hands can leave it uneven and even grooves from your fingers. In tight areas you may have to use just the paper, but on the large areas, use a block. In some small areas where you want to keep it smooth you can even use a piece of a paint stir stick as a sanding block.

waterdoglouie · 04-30-2008, 07:09 PM

Get everything sanded and dull, paint wont stick to a shiny surface.

With everything scuffed you have to decide if you want to use a primer or sealer before you paint. I like to keep the material buildup to a minimum. I will use a sandable primer to coat the ski and then re-sand it by hand with 600 grit. The purpose of this is to fill any sanding scratches left from body work and sanding. I try to only use one coat of primer and keep it pretty thin. Like I said, less buildup is better with this step. Im not trying to fill anyting more than small sanding scratches.

skippyhiatt6481 · 04-30-2008, 07:14 PM

I had a quick question? What gun do you use? are you going to cover how to properly set up the compressor and gun? Thanks...great thread by the way!

waterdoglouie · 04-30-2008, 07:16 PM

The hull is now prepped and should be ready for a coat of paint.

I paint in my garage/shop and get pretty good results. I dont have a lot of money in my tools but I do have a good selection. My 2 paint guns came from Lowes as a set for about $60. In the industry I would have laughed at anyone for using it, but for home projects it works fine. Besides, I had to pay for it myself. I also have a Craftsman compressor. Its quite a bit bigger than I really need to run a paint gun, but its what I have. I use a cheap ($12) water trap on my air hose where it fits to the gun. The most important piece of equipment I have is a good mask. I paid about $50 for it, but I dont get sick when I paint and todays auto paint will make you sick, or kill you if you breath too much of it. Dont be cheap when it comes to a mask!

waterdoglouie · 04-30-2008, 07:22 PM

Im going to go and take some pictures right now.

Ill explain the equipment better in my next post.

If Im going to fast, please post and ask questions.

Laserman · 04-30-2008, 08:01 PM

So far you have answered a few of my questions already. I would like to throw out some info on cleaning\prep. I have found PURPLE POWER to be an excellent paint prep wash. I have wiped parts with a rag wet with the stuff, and painted without rinsing, and the paint sticks well. That's what I usually use as a last step when I paint the inside of a hull. The fact that it's a bio-clean product helps too. What do you use to wash\degrease those nasty spots? and do you do a final rinse with any chemicals?