Awlgrip on 320 Sundancer

coreyf311

Member
Mar 23, 2014
108
Maryland
Boat Info
2005 320 DA
Engines
T-350 MAG V Drive
I am curious about painting my blue hull sea ray. Its fading pretty bad now. I just want to keep the current blue color. Wondering if anyone has an idea of the cost for painting with something like Awlgrip? Or whatever someone has experience with. I am in Maryland if anyone has any idea what local pricing would be like or even has a painter/marina to recommend. Thanks guys!
 
I'm about to get my Regulator painted by a top-notch painter in Stuart, Florida. His endorsement is for using Awlcraft NOT Awlgrip. Unlike Awlgrip, Awlcraft can be touched up and repaired without noticeable blemish. This is not possible with Awlgrip. By way of reference, his quote for my 29' Regulator (center console) is $3,500 (topsides only - which is what I assume you are contemplating). Painting the bootstripe is an additional $800.

Hope this info helps you decide what to
 
I had considered painting my blue 280DA with Awlgrip. I was quoted $4000.
 
We painted our 2007 320. Had gelcoat damage from a storm in 2009. So far, easy maintenance (just washing with Awlgrip wash) and it is still beautiful. Unlike tc410, we were told touch up was easy if using one of their stock colors (couldn't match the pewter we had without going custom, so went stock maroon). No fading, easy maintenance, no gelcoat buffing, waxing etc. except the top nonskid, so I love it. Insurance paid, so I don't remember the quote, but it was a lot cheaper than repairing and replacing the gelcoat.
 
My previous boat had been painted with Awlgrip by the previous owner. Was very happy with it. I had the original invoices at one point from the PO, thinking it was around 6-7K for a 47DB.

Would highly recommend.

Mark
 
I got my first "ball park" estimate of 300-325 per ft!! Whoa! Thats seems way high.


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should be able to get it done for half of that.......consider saving money by doing some of the de-rigging - removal of through hulls, rubrail, etc
 
should be able to get it done for half of that.......consider saving money by doing some of the de-rigging - removal of through hulls, rubrail, etc

Yeah, I was mentally ball parking the cost at around 125-150 per ft. A buddy had his 47ft Center Console done for 5k and he cant stop talking about how nice it is! Meaning it wasn't a hack job. Problem with me going to the same place. They are land locked and I am not going to add overland transportation to their yard.
 
should be able to get it done for half of that.......consider saving money by doing some of the de-rigging - removal of through hulls, rubrail, etc

I would love to be able to do that! I typically do most of the repairs/maintenance myself. I just do not have the time. We have a newborn and my job has me burning it at both ends right now.
 
This is a job that has some substantial cost exposure for the painter that we sometimes overlook. It is a lot more involved that just shooting paint. If the work is done in a typical boat yard, the painter must protect the other boats and nearby structures and equipment from sanding dust and over spray. That can mean "tenting" your boat using a portable frame and polyethylene sheeting while the work is going on. Where we are there, are 2 boat yards who provide painting services. One has a paint shed big enough to put a 60 ft sportfisherman inside behind closed doors to control wind and overspray....the other has an area next to a dry stack barn to control wind from one direction but the boat still must be tented. Both use t he same contract painter who is top notch, stays current and has excellent equipment. The cost in either yard runs $150-$200 per foot, depending upon the prep work needed, plus the cost for renting the yard space.

For you, as an owner, there are some hidden costs like paying for a haul out and blocking ($8-$10/ft) plus lay days in the yard ($1.50-$2.00/ft/day) while the painter does his thing and while you wait for the new paint to cure.....full cure on AWLgrip takes about 14 days.

Someone mentioned "de-rigging" rub rails and thru hulls.........be very careful biting that on off. The rubrails are above the rub rail and the deck is white, not blue, so I don't know why you'd paint that area anyway, but removing rub rails is a major job because the stanchions are thru bolted with backing plates before the deck is assembled to the hull. That means a lot of the backing plates are going to be nearly inaccessible from inside the boat unless you remove some cabinets and interior fittings and wall/headliner covering. As far as thru hulls go, Sea Ray uses some kind of nuclear strength sealer to bed them in when they are installed. You damned near have to saw them out of the hull to remove them.

I'm not trying to discourage you because blue hulls that have turned purple aren't near as pretty as they were when new. If you AWLgip blue with navy, the change will be dramatic and a real improvement both in looks and reduced maintenance. Just do your homework, check references for the painter and explore the potential hidden costs before you sign on the dotted line.
 
Corey, I should have mentioned we had it done at Rappahanock Yachts at the mouth of the Rappahanock River in Irvington, Va. Depending on your location, it could be do-able for you via water. Bruce, the owner, was awesome to deal with. The Painter, Mac, was an artist. They did my boat inside (see Frank's note above). I'm sure they could give you a price.

Mike
 
This is a job that has some substantial cost exposure for the painter that we sometimes overlook. It is a lot more involved that just shooting paint. If the work is done in a typical boat yard, the painter must protect the other boats and nearby structures and equipment from sanding dust and over spray. That can mean "tenting" your boat using a portable frame and polyethylene sheeting while the work is going on. Where we are there, are 2 boat yards who provide painting services. One has a paint shed big enough to put a 60 ft sportfisherman inside behind closed doors to control wind and overspray....the other has an area next to a dry stack barn to control wind from one direction but the boat still must be tented. Both use t he same contract painter who is top notch, stays current and has excellent equipment. The cost in either yard runs $150-$200 per foot, depending upon the prep work needed, plus the cost for renting the yard space.

For you, as an owner, there are some hidden costs like paying for a haul out and blocking ($8-$10/ft) plus lay days in the yard ($1.50-$2.00/ft/day) while the painter does his thing and while you wait for the new paint to cure.....full cure on AWLgrip takes about 14 days.

Someone mentioned "de-rigging" rub rails and thru hulls.........be very careful biting that on off. The rubrails are above the rub rail and the deck is white, not blue, so I don't know why you'd paint that area anyway, but removing rub rails is a major job because the stanchions are thru bolted with backing plates before the deck is assembled to the hull. That means a lot of the backing plates are going to be nearly inaccessible from inside the boat unless you remove some cabinets and interior fittings and wall/headliner covering. As far as thru hulls go, Sea Ray uses some kind of nuclear strength sealer to bed them in when they are installed. You damned near have to saw them out of the hull to remove them.

I'm not trying to discourage you because blue hulls that have turned purple aren't near as pretty as they were when new. If you AWLgip blue with navy, the change will be dramatic and a real improvement both in looks and reduced maintenance. Just do your homework, check references for the painter and explore the potential hidden costs before you sign on the dotted line.

Thanks for all the helpful info! My boss actually also owns a marina so my blocking and laydays would be zero. Otherwise you are right. Those types of things would really impact the overall cost!


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This is a job that has some substantial cost exposure for the painter that we sometimes overlook. It is a lot more involved that just shooting paint. If the work is done in a typical boat yard, the painter must protect the other boats and nearby structures and equipment from sanding dust and over spray. That can mean "tenting" your boat using a portable frame and polyethylene sheeting while the work is going on. Where we are there, are 2 boat yards who provide painting services. One has a paint shed big enough to put a 60 ft sportfisherman inside behind closed doors to control wind and overspray....the other has an area next to a dry stack barn to control wind from one direction but the boat still must be tented. Both use t he same contract painter who is top notch, stays current and has excellent equipment. The cost in either yard runs $150-$200 per foot, depending upon the prep work needed, plus the cost for renting the yard space.

For you, as an owner, there are some hidden costs like paying for a haul out and blocking ($8-$10/ft) plus lay days in the yard ($1.50-$2.00/ft/day) while the painter does his thing and while you wait for the new paint to cure.....full cure on AWLgrip takes about 14 days.

Someone mentioned "de-rigging" rub rails and thru hulls.........be very careful biting that on off. The rubrails are above the rub rail and the deck is white, not blue, so I don't know why you'd paint that area anyway, but removing rub rails is a major job because the stanchions are thru bolted with backing plates before the deck is assembled to the hull. That means a lot of the backing plates are going to be nearly inaccessible from inside the boat unless you remove some cabinets and interior fittings and wall/headliner covering. As far as thru hulls go, Sea Ray uses some kind of nuclear strength sealer to bed them in when they are installed. You damned near have to saw them out of the hull to remove them.

I'm not trying to discourage you because blue hulls that have turned purple aren't near as pretty as they were when new. If you AWLgip blue with navy, the change will be dramatic and a real improvement both in looks and reduced maintenance. Just do your homework, check references for the painter and explore the potential hidden costs before you sign on the dotted line.

Agree with everything Frank said.

Will go a bit further. The gel coat hulls during the mid 2000's fade and do not hold up. Painting with Awlgrip is a solution which will last much longer that gelcoat. Maybe that has something to do with the L class being painted with awlgrip rather than gelcoat.

But if your going down that path, do it right. This is not a cut corners job. Have it done professionally and I think you will increase the resale of your boat.

Mark
 
Great topic. I was contemplating having the hull painted in the next few years. Thanks for all input.


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I got my first "ball park" estimate of 300-325 per ft!! Whoa! Thats seems way high.


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Send me a PM. I know two companies on the bay that may be able to give you a good quote. They seemed to be reasonable when I was inquired previously.
 
Thanks for all the great info guys!! I started looking at the wet sand and polish route. Painting is just too much $$$.


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Thanks for all the great info guys!! I started looking at the wet sand and polish route. Painting is just too much $$$.


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Before you commit to wet sanding the entire boat have the detailer do a 2'x2' section to see whether the improvement is worth the money. The color will fade again in another year or two so you may want to make the investment in painting now if you plan to keep the boat.
 
Another option for faded colored hulls that is a lot less work than paint or wet sanding is acrylic coating. You must scrub all oxidation off using something like soft scrub. Once clean, acrylic, basically commercial floor polish, is applied with a foam squeegee. It looks milky in the bottle but dries clear. The milky color is the dissolved solids that give uv protection. You need about six to ten coats to get a lasting shine, but each coat dries in minutes and as soon as you finish one coat you can start another. If done yearly, it will last about 5 Years before needing stripped, which is easy using commercial floor wax stripper and a white scrub pad and a hose. You could coat your boat in one good day. Strips in a few hours when needed. It doesn't yellow but will eventually degrade and flake needing stripping. It's maint. Free other than washing for the season. Best of all it's cheap. A gallon on floor wax is about 30 bucks at Lowe's and stripper is about the same cost. I've been doing my 89 300 since I got it in 2008 and only needed to strip once and that was last spring. Some people don't like acrylics but they have their place and if money is tight, they will transform a faded colored hull for pennies.
 
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Thanks for all the great info guys!! I started looking at the wet sand and polish route. Painting is just too much $$$.


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I have been extremely happy with the wet sand/polish/wax job I had done. I believe they charged me 1k. The oxidation is gone, and it really shines. I don't have before pics, but I do have after pics.


Brown Eyed Girl - 2007 Sea Ray 320 Sundancer, 350 MAG MPI V-drive
 

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