User Guide

16
PAINTING
Painting the bottom of your
boat is not difficult; howev-
er, it is a dirty job. And if
you do not protect your
body and the immediate
environment, it can be haz-
ardous. Therefore, you need
the proper equipment, sup-
plies and paint to perform a
good bottom paint job that
will last.
Surface Prep
Like other boat-mainte-
nance tasks, it is important
to make sure the surface
you are working on is
clean. Use 3M™ Marine
Boat Wash to clean the hull
as soon as it’s out of the
water. Remove any sea
grass, barnacles or any
other particles.
Thorough surface prepa-
ration is the key to success
with all paint jobs. Before
you remove the old paint,
mask off the boot stripes to
prevent your sander from
wandering into a boot stripe.
This will prevent having to
repaint the boot stripe. One
of the best products for this
task is 3M™ Marine Heavy
Duty Protection Tape #346.
Another good option is
to use multiple layers of
Scotch® Blue Painter’s Tape
#2090. Both options will pro-
tect the surface and remove
easily without leaving any
adhesive residue.
Sanding The
Bottom Paint
Now you are ready for the
messy work — sanding off
the old bottom paint. 3M rec-
ommends using a 24- or 36-
grit sanding disc. The sand-
ing process will take some
time, depending on the size
of your boat and the amount
of paint build-up.
Make sure you wear the
proper gear when sanding
the bottom paint. The chemi-
cals you use are toxic, and, if
inhaled, may cause severe
health problems. Use a gov-
ernment-approved respirator.
3M sells a wide range of res-
pirators for various applica-
tions. Make sure the respira-
tor you select is appropriate
for the job and fits your face
correctly.
In addition, wear eye and
ear protection, and a full
body suit — you don’t want
your skin to breathe in the
dust. In fact, in some areas,
you may need to tent or bag
the entire boat before start-
ing. You can use 3M™
Masking Film or heavy plas-
tic, and secure it with 3M™
Preservation Tape #481.
Applying Paint
Except for the type of paint
being applied, topside paint-
ing is similar to painting the
bottom. The same principals