Painting while undergoing welding

[lxs602]

Hi,

 

My boat is being welded at the moment, bow and then stern. The welder is working on it on occasional evenings and weekends, so I estimate it may be done by the end of September.

 

The paint on the sides and roof is mostly weatherproof (except around the windows), but is not in the best condition. While I have the time on hardstanding, I have thought about taking off the paint and doing a layer of weatherproof primer at least, if not the topcoat. If I pick days when it is not being welded, is this OK? Assuming the paint is given time to dry, before grinding or weldeding?

 

Does this sound like a good idea (or a bad one)?

 

I have heard about metal dust from boats being ground or welded landing on nice new (dry) painted boats and causing rust flecks. If metal dust lands on the prepared metal (or on the new (dry) primer after painting) would it cause a problem?

 

Also, should you remove windows when painting the sides?

 

Thanks for any replies.

 

Edited August 18, 2023 by lxs602
edit

[ditchcrawler]

2 hours ago, lxs602 said:

Hi,

 

My boat is being welded at the moment, bow and then stern. The welder is working on it on occasional evenings and weekends, so I estimate it may be done by the end of September.

 

The paint on the sides and roof is mostly weatherproof (except around the windows), but is not in the best condition. While I have the time on hardstanding, I have thought about taking off the paint and doing a layer of weatherproof primer at least, if not the topcoat. If I pick days when it is not being welded, is this OK? Assuming the paint is given time to dry, before grinding or weldeding?

 

Does this sound like a good idea (or a bad one)?

 

I have heard about metal dust from boats being ground or welded landing on nice new (dry) painted boats and causing rust flecks. If metal dust lands on the prepared metal (or on the new (dry) primer after painting) would it cause a problem?

 

Also, should you remove windows when painting the sides?

 

Thanks for any replies.

 

Most primers are not weather proof

[blackrose]

Depends on the primer. Bondaprimer is weatherproof and if you wanted to two part epoxy prime the whole boat epoxies like Jotamastic are weatherproof too. 

 

I think you can do it section by section but if there is dust and metal grinding flying around you'd need to clean everything between coats of paint.

[Drayke]

Its certainly a good idea to take out the window (very carefully so's not to bend them) if you have the time, as quite often you will find rust starting behind them.

[LadyG]

It's quite a major undertaking to get the metal down to bare metal, I'm assuming that will be only where it is rusty. However if you intend to strip it all them you may have to hire a scabbler for the roof or use other tools.

. Search on here for other paint hints.You may have to use a rust treatment, then a primer on clean metal, then the undercoats.

Trying to work around welder and weather is not easy. If the boat is on the hard, the hull and gunwales may need attention. 

You might need a blue paper roll and panel wipe to clean surfaces.

Edited August 19, 2023 by LadyG

[Bee]

Unless you are dealing with a really, really bad surface I would not try to go back to bare metal. just sand back to the flattest surface you can manage and work from that -there's enough work in that without trying to get back any further. 

[Slim]

On 18/08/2023 at 21:27, blackrose said:

Depends on the primer. Bondaprimer is weatherproof and if you wanted to two part epoxy prime the whole boat epoxies like Jotamastic are weatherproof too. 

 

I think you can do it section by section but if there is dust and metal grinding flying around you'd need to clean everything between coats of paint.

Regardless of claims I would take the statement Bondaprimer is weatherproof with a pinch of salt. Several years ago I had to leave my well prepared Bondaprimered roof unpainted for some weeks. It started to rust, not badly, but it meant rubbing the surface down and starting again, 

[wakey_wake]

On 18/08/2023 at 18:39, lxs602 said:

I have thought about taking off the paint and doing a layer of weatherproof primer at least, if not the topcoat. If I pick days when it is not being welded, is this OK? Assuming the paint is given time to dry, before grinding or weldeding?

 

Does this sound like a good idea (or a bad one)?

Saw this and wanted to add one very specific and important warning - do not mix chlorinated solvents and welding. Or solid fuel stoves for that matter. In your paints you may not know what cocktail of solvents they contain.

 

This guy is warning about welding near brake cleaning fluid -