4 Ways To Make Your Boat Look New Again

A boat, just like a house or a car, needs maintenance if you want to use it for a long time. A boat starts losing its functions and begins to look old if repair and restoration work is not carried out from time to time.

Many boat lovers regularly paint and repair their boats because they love to sail in them. However, if you are someone who wants to restore a really old vessel that has not been in use for a long time, then you should probably go to absoluteclassics.com for classic boat restoration.

Things That You Should Do To Make Your Boat Get A Brand New Feel

Begin By Cleaning the Vessel

The first step to repairing anything is to clean it thoroughly. Once you have cleaned something, you can see what needs to be repaired and replaced. So you should start cleaning with a strong cloth and a mild detergent solution. However, if the vessel has accumulated some dry dust, you might want to get rid of that first.

The detergent used for cleaning should not be very strong. Most people mistakenly believe that if they use a strong detergent, the cleaning will be better; however, it is quite the opposite. Most boats are made up of aluminum. Aluminum is lightweight, and it is quite strong, but it also reacts with many substances, so a strong detergent might actually harm the main body of your boat, which is made up of aluminum.

If your vessel is made up of wood, then a wet wash is not a good idea. Wood soaks moisture, and it rots if the moisture stays there for a long time. So for wood, it is better to use sandpaper to peel off the outer layer of paint and examine for cracks and rots.

Some modern boats are made up of fiberglass. Fiberglass is a great material because it is sturdier than aluminum, so it gives a lot of stability to vessels inside water. If the main body is made up of fiberglass, then a solution of baking soda and water followed by a mild acid like acetic acid can be used. A solution of baking soda contains carbonate salts, and when these are made to react with mild acids, then they can clean surfaces.

Paint The Boat

Once the cleaning is done, the next thing to do is to paint the boat. However, it is important to remove all the surface imperfections before you start painting. An old boat might have holes or chips coming off in many places, and these need to be repaired. If the main body is wooden, then you can use sandpaper for smoothening the surface. However, if you spot any holes on a wooden surface, there is no way to restore it without replacing the entire plank of wood that has a hole in it.

After cleaning the surface, you need to remove all the hardware present in the boat since only the main body needs to be painted. It is also vital to carefully tape and cover all those parts where you do not want the paint to enter.

After this comes the step where you use a primer, the primer should be applied to all those places where you wish to apply the paint. The primer is essential as it makes sure that the paint adheres to the main body, and hence it increases the durability of the paint. After using the primer, you can paint your boat. Most people apply two coats of paint so that there is no bleed through from the surface underneath the paint.

Repair The Parts

An old boat may have multiple components that need to be repaired. So you should check for each item, like the hull, the steering wheel, the engine, the motors, the battery, the seats, etc. If the engine is really old, you might have to get a new one altogether. However, at times simply greasing the internal components reduces the friction between the pistons. So a simple greasing step might do the trick for your old boat engine, and you might have to get a new one.

If the outer covering of the seat is damaged, you can repair it yourself. However, if the inner foam and coir are damaged, you need to remove the entire seat and get a new one. If you can repair any of the parts yourself, that will save a lot of costs. But it is important to do a safety check before you set out to sail in the sea because you do not want to be left in the middle of the sea with a faulty engine or a motor.

Always Add A Waxy Coat Or Lubricant

If you wish to protect your boat’s paint from damage for a long time, it is prudent to cover the outer surface with a waxy substance or a lubricant. Since a boat stays in the water for a long time, a waxy coating makes sure that the water does not sit on the surface for very long. If water sits on the surface for a long time, it damages the outer body irrespective of the material that it is made up of. So a waxy coating goes a long way in protecting the integrity of your boat.

Conclusion

Restoring an entire boat can be a costly affair. However, things become simpler if you are careful, to begin with. If the boat has a coating of waxy material, then much of the damage can be avoided. Likewise, if you spot any problem with the batteries or with the motor, then it is a good idea to deal with the problem immediately.

If you keep on piling up the problems, then the damage can be aggravated to a great extent. If you have a small vessel, most of the repair work can be done on your own, but if you have a big vessel, it is better to go for a professional boat restoration service.