Yes. I repainted the bandit stripe. This was a whole big project in itself. It kept me awake nights thinking about it.
I used a product called AlexSeal. It is a two-part paint, but unlike Imron and Awlgrip it is a little more DIY friendly.
Andy at the Youtube channel "Boatworks today" has a number of videos on using this paint which were quite helpful.
These paints, activators, and solvents are very volatile, smelly, and bad to inhale in any quantity. A full respirator with fresh filter cartridges is a must.
The process started with masking the stripe with ordinary blue tape and sanding with 320 grit sandpaper, then filling any dings and low spots or fiberglass cloth "print through" with a fairing compound and resanding (I used Total Boat for this) until it is VERY smooth. Because Alexseal is a high gloss finish, it will show up any surface irregularities, so don't skimp on this part.
Next step involved re-masking with (expensive!) 3M/Scotch 218 Fine Line tape and then applying three coats of Alexseal primer with light sanding between each coat. After the last coat, increase to 800 grit. I used a 4" roller per Andy's recommendation. The fine-line tape is needed to get a crisp paint edge because it is thin and the adhesive is solvent resistant. I pulled up the tape right after the third coat of primer, and re-masked it when the primer was dry. One 60 yard roll was enough to do the whole thing twice with a little left over.
The final step is applying the paint itself. Be sure to follow the applications guide for mixing ratios, temperature, and relative humidity. In addition, I used the new brush/roller additive which allows for rolling without tipping, a real simplification and timesaver! As long as the subsequent coats are applied no longer than 8-16 hours apart, no sanding is required between coats because the paint is not fully cured and will chemically bond to the next layer. Otherwise, you should let it set for at least 24 hrs and sand lightly with 800 grit to provide some "tooth" for mechanical bonding before recoating.
As you can imagine, this last step requires some careful timing in order to get three coats on without sanding. Unfortunately, I got caught in a windstorm that sprang up during the final coat, with wind gusts up to 50 kts. I thought my shrinkwrap cover was going to blow away! Despite my having carefully vacuumed beforehand, this stirred up dust. The final result is what I call a "five foot" job. Looks great from five feet away, but if you rub your fingertips over the surface, you can feel the hundreds of dustspecks that became embedded in the paint.
The good news is that, unlike Awlgrip, Alexseal can be sanded, compounded, and buffed to repair this. I suppose I will do it someday, but I was just out of time and had to move on.
Hope this helps you!
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