I painted my Ranger R-25 Classic

[doke01]

My Ranger R-25 Classic's (2007, Hull #7) Navy Blue gel coat had seen better days. It was faded and oxidized after 15 years of sailing the seas. I couldn't see myself trying to restore that gel coat one more year. Each year it was getting more difficult. So I took the plunge and decided to paint my Tug. Of course, like everything else with my Tug I want to do everything myself when I can. So I did.

I used three coats of Alexseal Premium Topcoat 501 Royal Blue, following all of the prep, priming, and painting instructions. I was very nervous because the paint is expensive, I'd never painted a boat, and it's something you can't really back out of once you've started.

The boot stripe was done in three coats of Interlux Brightsides one part Fire Red.

After all the effort and worry I really love how it turned out. A lot of people go for walks in our neighborhood and I can't tell you how many compliments I've received. People have even stopped their cars just to take a look. It feels like the first year I owned the boat.

The paint job was primarily done by roller, and a very tiny amount of brush work. Enough talk, here are some pictures:

Before:

Primer:

Primer:

Half Way Done:

Done!

Finished!

 

[scross]

Looks great!
You have much more courage than me! But in a few years I may try that task too. Actually, the eyebrows could use painting right now!

 

[doke01]

Yeah, the eyebrows actually triggered me to do this. If you look closely I haven't done them yet though 😀 So I guess I'm not really technically done, but after my success with the hull, I'm excited about the eyebrows and expect to have them done in the next week or two. I'm probably going to do them once I'm in the water. The weather has been really nice these last few weeks.

 

[PanaSeaAh]

Looks great! Man do you have chutzpah to do that outdoors! The hassle with the brows could motivate me to try that, but indoors. My boat is covered with pollen and seeds every day.

 

[doke01]

I got really lucky with my timing and the pollen wasn't really kicking off yet and the bugs weren't really buzzing either. I did have to wipe the boat down between each coat, but it really wasn't too bad in the end.

It's amazing how good the paint is now and how quickly it dries to the touch. 60 minutes and you could touch it. It looked like it dried so quickly that the pollen, dust, and bugs didn't have much of an opportunity to congregate.

 

[PanaSeaAh]

Did you have any issues with old wax? What type of roller did you use?

 

[doke01]

No issue with the old wax. I used Alexseal's wax remover and gel coat cleaner using the two rag cleaning method, then sanded gel coat with 200 grit sandpaper on my random orbital palm sander, then wiped it down again with the two rag method. It worked really well.

I used a 4" Redtree Industries 36031 Mohair Mini Paint Roller https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CZ2Y51K/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s03?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I wrapped them with painter's tape and pulled it off a few times to remove any lint before using. These rollers are excellent. They were recommended by a friend of mine and did a great job.

 

[PanaSeaAh]

Compared to the outrageously priced, may-or-may-not-be-the-same-color-this-year, doesn't-like-to-stick-very-well-bottom paints, I don't think it was that expensive. Seems to have good reviews. :x

 

[Scottfree]

Amazing job, well done.

How did you insert pics in your post?

 

[doke01]

To insert pics you need to upload them to your photo album. Then when you are creating your post place the cursor in an open area and click on the g2Img button. It will let you browse to your photo album and select your pictures.

The only issue is that the pop-up window can take a long time to load because of all of the people with albums on the site.
So I let it sit for a while (a minute or so), close it, and then hit the g2Img button again. Sometimes it takes several tries, but ultimately it will load and you can scroll to your album and select your pictures.

 

[Mark512]

Fantastic work! It’s always nice to know the job was done right as well as saving some money in the process.