Im calling on my fellow members to help me out with a question i have about my friends boat. The other day a friend of mine bought a 15 ft boat and we sanded it down and put some primer (Oil Based) on in, the only prob is that was on Wednesday and that primer still is not fully dried yet. What im wondering is will this be bad come till to paint it and put it in the water cause where we are going to fish the boat has to be power washed before it goes into the water to help stop the spread of invasive plants and we are hoping that the paint and primer is not going to chip away on us when it comes time to do this. Does anyone know if it will because the primer is not fully dried yet.

Hmmm What brand Primer did ya use, that doesn't sound right should be dry by now??? Was this Primer rated for boat use?? Oil base sounds like house paint?????

Its BEHR Premium Plus primer. We used it for both the inside and outside of the boat and the inside is dry and we think that we might have put on too much on the outside of the boat to start off. Do u think that if we paint it and put on some polyurethane on over the paint it will keep if from chipping away when it gets power washed?

oil based primers will not work on aluminum when and if it dries it will probbley peal off you need a good quilty lacquer based primer I would recomend red or white oxicde primer. And a good lacquer based finish coat this is the way I painted my boat 10 years ago the paint is still hanging on, its hard to find lacquer based paints nowdays try some auto body shops or auto parts stores. If you can't find lacquer based primer and paint you could use a good grade of acrylic primer and paint, don't use oil base paint the oil will leach in to the water. I hope this helps out good luck. MCOPELAND1

I should also mention that the boat is fiber glass, should i still try to get a good quality lacquer based primer? Also we check into paints for the boat and found that a good quality boat paint is $100+ a quart. Is there another alternative paint that i could use that wont break the bank?

I would say you need to remove the oil based primer and start over. For a fiberglass boat you need to replace the gelcoat. The best way is to spray it on and it comes in many colors and east to work with. After you let it fry just buff it out and you should be good to go.

Behr makes some excellent paint- if you are painting your house! There are some epoxy based primers that work well on fiberglass or composites. Use care, these are usually 2 part paints and don't dry as much as cure like an enamel does. I would not use laquer as it is "hard" and does not flex with the 'glass. The epoxy paints give off toxic fumes while curing, don't use them indoors. After the primer is dry, any good automotive enamel with "hardener" will give a good color coat with no buffing required. "Hardner" is a misnomer as it actually makes the paint more flexible allowing it to resist chips and dings. Again, caution is in order as these hardeners contain cyanide and ventilation is critical. Tom

Thanks for all the info guys this helps out a lot.

Auto paint shop is your best bet and it is hard to find a better paint than DuPont Imron but it has several things to watch:  1.  Do the job in well ventilated area as the paint gives off cyanide gas, may not kill you the first time but you'll have the kind of head ache where you wish you were.  2.  It is expensive but worth every penny--never need to paint again  3.  if the weather is not right it will "orange peel" on you  4.  it is an epoxy that needs mixing and once mixed you only have a couple of hours before it sets up.  It is the finest paint I have ever used.  Great on race cars and lead headed jigs.  Uncle Tom

Thanks for the info tom i will take all the proper steps to make sure i dont end up with a "killer" headache...haha no pun intended!