Painting a jetski

[bowsniper 2]

Heres another picture of the ski with the rub rail repainted, and the seat is all.blacked out.

[bowsniper 2]

Heres a few more.

[bowsniper 2]

Heres a few more to look at. I have not wet sanded the final coat yet. There are a few things I want to touch up first. Then clear it one more time flat and then wetsanded smooth. It came out pretty flat as it is.
Right now im.just enjoying it and.riding. ive heard people say they have never seen a candy flake job on a jetski. Lol. Me.either..

[bowsniper 2]

The paint is holding up well so far. Been a month and half since I painted it. Seems like yesterday to me. Nothing new at the moment.

I do have another paint project in the works.. Its for my 2000 1200 SLX . it will go something like this:

White base, then silver flake in clear. Moderate to heavy coverage.. Some base will show thru. Then candy yellow and candy orange over the silver flake, then clear over that. You will never see a ski like my Pro or this SLX when I'm done.. Leaving everything else black.....handlebars,pad,rubrails,seat,side vents, windshield flat,ete.... That will be great to have two nice skis on the trailer!.

I'll start this mess in about a month. Have to rebuild the motor first. Bob, I need new mats for this ski too please.

I hope I can afford this. Lol.

[jabtronic]

Surprised nobody else has replied, doesn't anybody read this thread any more?

Anyway that paint job looks amazing! Love the color scheme it's just like a brand new ski

[bowsniper 2]

Thank you very much for the kind words

[Inssomniak]

Ive been working on the underside of a SLX and I have sanded all the bottom down, right now Im at 90 grit, I filled a few spots with 3M marine filler mentioned in this thread early, and I will be priming the underside with a 2 part urethane primer with a spray gun. Some questions though.

What grit should I take the sanding up to before priming?
How many coats?

And the paint? The local marine place has a white water based hull paint that you can paint/roll or spray on. ? Its an antifouling paint. Bad? They also have a marine clear coat single stage in a spray can. Doesn't sound durable and high maintenance?
The local automotive place carries 2 stage Limco supreme plus (Basf) paints but for cars?
I have no idea what kind of paint to use, I see places like bottompaintstore.com have easy apply gelcoats that I could get? Local place might have it special order?

[bowsniper 2]

Use 220 grit as a final and load the primer on. 5 coats. Let them tack up before each coat. Let it dry forever and dont touch it. Pull the paper and tape after an hour.

[bowsniper 2]

And the paint? The local marine place has a white water based hull paint that you can paint/roll or spray on. ? Its an antifouling paint. Bad? They also have a marine clear coat single stage in a spray can. Doesn't sound durable and high maintenance?
The local automotive place carries 2 stage Limco supreme plus (Basf) paints but for cars?
I have no idea what kind of paint to use, I see places like bottompaintstore.com have easy apply gelcoats that I could get? Local place might have it special order?


Anti-fouling paint can an be used if you like. Its usually put on boats that are docked all summer and algae accumulates on the hull and bottom. the paint will slough off as the algae eats the paint. Thats what its designed to do. Thats why they call it anti fouling( meaning it prevents the hull from becoming thick with scum.

Roll on gelcoat will work. But i would spray it myself. Much smoother finish.

Dont use spray can anything. It will not cove or last. Not to mention uva and uvb protection.

It will be up to you if you want to spray paint. or gelcoat. Getcoat is a little tricky if youve never sprayed it before.

2-stage car paint can be used. But i would trailer the ski and not let it sit in water all summer or else it will fade and or blister. Eventually!. Gelcoat is a much better choice.

[Inssomniak]

And the paint? The local marine place has a white water based hull paint that you can paint/roll or spray on. ? Its an antifouling paint. Bad? They also have a marine clear coat single stage in a spray can. Doesn't sound durable and high maintenance?
The local automotive place carries 2 stage Limco supreme plus (Basf) paints but for cars?
I have no idea what kind of paint to use, I see places like bottompaintstore.com have easy apply gelcoats that I could get? Local place might have it special order?


Anti-fouling paint can an be used if you like. Its usually put on boats that are docked all summer and algae accumulates on the hull and bottom. the paint will slough off as the algae eats the paint. Thats what its designed to do. Thats why they call it anti fouling( meaning it prevents the hull from becoming thick with scum.

Roll on gelcoat will work. But i would spray it myself. Much smoother finish.

Dont use spray can anything. It will not cove or last. Not to mention uva and uvb protection.

It will be up to you if you want to spray paint. or gelcoat. Getcoat is a little tricky if youve never sprayed it before.

2-stage car paint can be used. But i would trailer the ski and not let it sit in water all summer or else it will fade and or blister. Eventually!. Gelcoat is a much better choice.

Great thanks for the info.

I think I might just go with the car paint, I never leave the skis in the water more than a few hours. I don't have a spray gun that will spray gel coat and don't want to spend the money on that to only likely ever use once.

[bowsniper 2]

If you buy a gun from harbor freight for 15.00 , thats cheap. . Thats what i used. Its the purple hvlp gun with white cap. Its good for paint or gelcoat. Its a throw away for 15.00

In any event, you should be fine with the car paint. It will scratch easier than gel so be careful. Beaching it a lot.

[bowsniper 2]

Ill be painting my gator bass boat i bought in House of Kolor Cobalt Blue. With triflake. Ill post pics of it. Same idea as on a ski. Just longer.

[bowsniper 2]

Heres what it looks like today.

[bowsniper 2]

Phew. That was quick. I need some clear on top of the candy still. Heres some pics. I sanded the hull and transom. Ie.......the beige part. Lol

[bowsniper 2]

I went lighter on the flake this time. The boat already had a dark base and some flake in it. It was just old. No bodywork done to the topsides. Zero.

I did miss a couple spots under some items here and there. I still have some cobalt concentrate left so when i clear it......i will spot in the flaked blue first to touch up areas.then shoot the clear with no.flake. 4 coats should do well. Im going to wait on that and let this cure hard. It turned out nice for my 2nd candy mettalic paint job. I love the Cobalt blue. The triflake sparkles like a bass boat. Ill paint the engine white along with the controls and steering wheel. I added a new trex.deck to it also. Almost ready for the fourth of july.!