Repainting bottom on carbon hull

Jcary85

Site Supporter
Location
Glenmoore pa
So the bottom of my carbon havoc is totally scratched up. It makes me sick to look at. It seems like if you breath on it the paint scratches. I’m fairly convinced they used crap paint because I’m generally careful with it but even my turfed cart removes paint on the bottom.

The question: over winter, when I redo it, what should I do? Sand it down until I see carbon and use automotive paint? Sand to carbon and use gel coat? Sand just enough to feather scratches and paint or gel coat? Sand to carbon and clear coat for that cool carbon look?

Here’s a question for you guys with painted bottoms: if you drag your hull on sand, does the paint completely come off down to carbon? (It did on mine lol)

Thanks for the tips!
-Jordan
 

Sanoman

thecolorpurple
Site Supporter
Location
NE Tenn
Agree with McDog on the sand just dulling it up.
If you do any kind of paint work on carbon always use an adhesive promoter.Paint and/or clear without it,will came right back off.
 

mike b

Michael "Mayhem" Bevacqua aka MikeyChan
Location
California
Agree with McDog on the sand just dulling it up.
If you do any kind of paint work on carbon always use an adhesive promoter.Paint and/or clear without it,will came right back off.

I know the paint on my ski will come off on the bottom but that is with a lot of use. Would you recommend the spray promoter just from the start or in between coats? For example we will do the primer and then let it dry and sand and then do base and clear. Have not used the promoter yet but had thought about doing that before laying out the primer. And then when the surface is dry again after sanding before base and then straight to clear.
 

Sanoman

thecolorpurple
Site Supporter
Location
NE Tenn
I know the paint on my ski will come off on the bottom but that is with a lot of use. Would you recommend the spray promoter just from the start or in between coats? For example we will do the primer and then let it dry and sand and then do base and clear. Have not used the promoter yet but had thought about doing that before laying out the primer. And then when the surface is dry again after sanding before base and then straight to clear.
Promotor before primer.Probably be a good idea after sanding the primer. Couldn't hurt.My first couple skis we did with primer and then sanded.Then base and clear.Paint didn't last a month..:)

Edit.Most of my last few hulls have been carbon and did not do any paint,just clear.So the promotor worked great.My havoc hull was supposed to have it and the painter just plain forgot.Clear started coming off after about 2 months rideing in small pieces.l wasn't too happy
 
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The paint on my dvx is crap, really need to at least paint the bottom. So sounds like i need to sand down to carbon, promoter and then base/paint? Sounds like a lot of work, maybe ill just wrap it lol.
 

Jcary85

Site Supporter
Location
Glenmoore pa
Haha I’ve though about wrapping too, but god knows stands/carts/etc would destroy that. No one has mentioned gel coat. I’m assuming people just don’t use it? I’d think it would hold up better than paint, right? Idk, never used it just read about it.
 
Haha I’ve though about wrapping too, but god knows stands/carts/etc would destroy that. No one has mentioned gel coat. I’m assuming people just don’t use it? I’d think it would hold up better than paint, right? Idk, never used it just read about it.

They shop ive talked too was gonna do a 4mil vinyl with clearbra over the top, wasnt gonna be cheap..but should be literally bullet proof lol.
 

mike b

Michael "Mayhem" Bevacqua aka MikeyChan
Location
California
Promotor before primer.Probably be a good idea after sanding the primer. Couldn't hurt.My first couple skis we did with primer and then sanded.Then base and clear.Paint didn't last a month..:)

Edit.Most of my last few hulls have been carbon and did not do any paint,just clear.So the promotor worked great.My havoc hull was supposed to have it and the painter just plain forgot.Clear started coming off after about 2 months rideing in small pieces.l wasn't too happy

I've noticed that it takes about three months after my ski gets painted before it doesn't scratch or chip off so easily. I know when it first gets painted and I drop anything that there is a scratch or a chip. But we've never done the promoter so sounds like something to put to test.
 
No one has mentioned gel coat. I’m assuming people just don’t use it? I’d think it would hold up better than paint, right? Idk, never used it just read about it.
As far as I know gelcoat is only made as a polyester base. It will not adhere well to an epoxy that is already cured. If you go the other way and coat a mold with gelcoat, then lay the carbon fiber hull up inside the gelcoat it will hold together as the epoxy will bond to the gelcoat. So gelcoating a carbon hull will only really work if you do it in the mold as you build the hull. Epoxy will glue itself to almost anything, but it is difficult to get anything else to glue to epoxy.
 

Jcary85

Site Supporter
Location
Glenmoore pa
As far as I know gelcoat is only made as a polyester base. It will not adhere well to an epoxy that is already cured. If you go the other way and coat a mold with gelcoat, then lay the carbon fiber hull up inside the gelcoat it will hold together as the epoxy will bond to the gelcoat. So gelcoating a carbon hull will only really work if you do it in the mold as you build the hull. Epoxy will glue itself to almost anything, but it is difficult to get anything else to glue to epoxy.
Makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the info!
 
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