Painting fiberglass - NOT ABS or Poly

[simpleton7016]

I just spent the better part of an hour searching the archives for paint tips. It seems almost unanimous that ABS and/or Poly bodies do not hold paint very well and will chip and flake with flexing.

What about fiberglass? I am preparing to paint my Terra Tigers and am looking for any tips that ya'll might have on painting fiberglass. I will have the tiger in water quite a bit, but not if real thick brush too often.

Thanks in advance.

[racerone3]

paint will stick fine to fiberglass. if you don't have spiderweb cracks in the gelcoat, you can just sand it with some 320 grit and paint away. if the gelcoat is cracked. you will need to sand almost all of it off then use a good high build automotive primer/ filler, or primer/ surfacer. then sand that with 320 and paint. if you sand through the gelcoat (you'll know cause it will pull fibers out like lint that won't go away) you have to REALLY lay the primer to it, sand it down and prime it again till the lint goes away, then sand and paint

[jerseybigfoot]

One of my scramblers had some areas of spiderweb cracking and I used a Rustoleum High build primer (gray) and it filled the cracks in nicely. There were some larger stress cracks that had to be filled with some 3M spot putty.(uses a hardener like bondo but sands easier) I top coated with some Pettit marine topside paint.

[LarryW]

Hey Jerseybigfoot,
You told me the numbers on my scrambler rebuild thread and I tracked it down to help here but you stated you Primed with Rust-oleum primer sealer 249321. Just thought I would add the numbers if that would help.
Larry

[AussieMax]

A marine urethane paint is perfect. It is meant for fibreglass, so it flexes and can handle as much water time as you like.

[simpleton7016]

OK, the first Terra Tiger will get paint tonight. I am going with a marine enamel. However, I told him to pass on painting the interior. Should I even bother brushing or spraying anything on the interior? It would be nice to have a nice solid color, but at the same time, if and when I need to do fiberglass work, it will be nice to not have to grind the paint off!! Thoughts? Experiences? Lessons?

[mark m.]

On my Terra Tiger I painted the inside with enamel porch paint. Just scrub it down with a degreaser followed by some soapy detergent let it dry and get to it.
The porch paint comes in a variety of colors and is durable. Oh, and if you need to do some repairs later use lacquer thinner to get most of it off prior to your repair.

[simpleton7016]

By the way Mark, I love the color of yours. I plan to copy it and do one of the other ones in a titanium-esque color.

[mark m.]

Thanks. The color is a silver metallic used on 1998 chevy blazer, basecoat/clear.