As a 40th birthday present for myself, I recently purchased a used Seaward Navigator that was part of the MEC rental fleet in Toronto. The boat was in good shape structurally but had a lot of scratches and a couple of deep gouges in its hull. As a fun project, I researched what options existed to refinish the hull of my new kayak.

One option was to get a kayak shop to gel-coat the bottom of the boat. This would have cost between $500 and $1000.

Another option I discovered was to patch the gouges and paint the bottom of the kayak using marine paint (the stuff the hulls of boats are painted with). The friendly staff at West Marine (www.westmarine.com) walked me through the various paint options, and based upon their advice, I selected a marine polyurethane paint called “Brightside” by Interlux (www.yachtpaint.com). The West Marine team also helped me select a 2-part putty called Marine Tex (www.marinetex.com) to fill the gouges. I researched online how to prepare the hull and how to apply the putty and paint.

STEP 1: WASH KAYAK AND REMOVE HARDWARE
Scrub the area of the boat that is to be painted with soap and water and then let dry. This will help remove contaminants on the kayak’s surface.

Remove all screws, fittings, rudders, rub strips, etc. from the hull (or other area) that you are going to paint. Store these parts in a bag or box so that nothing gets lost.

STEP 2: SAND / FILE-OUT GOUGES
Before filling the gouges with putty, sand out (and if necessary, file or grind out) all gouges to ensure that no loose pieces of gel-coat remain.

STEP 3: CLEAN GOUGES
Once all gouges have been sanded/filed out, clean the gouges with acetone to ensure that they are clean of all contaminants (oils, dirt, etc.).

STEP 4: PUTTY GOUGES
Follow the Marine Tex instructions and mix the putty with the hardener on a mixing board or piece of cardboard (in my case, an old tissue box).

Apply the putty to the gouges and flatten out the putty as smoothly as possible (you can use a wetted spatula to do this). Remove as much excess putty as possible because this is easier than sanding it flat later on.

Let the putty cure for 18 – 24 hours. (I let the putty on my boat cure for 48 hours to ensure that it was completely dry and set.)

STEP 5: SAND AND CLEAN SURFACE
Once the putty is fully cured, sand the entire area of the kayak that is to be painted. Sanding ensures that the area to be painted is rough and will give the paint something to grip on to. Use 50-grit sandpaper to smooth out any lumpy areas of hardened putty and then 100-grit on the entire area. Although this can be done by hand, using a basic random-orbit or sheet sander will save lots of time. (I went to Canadian Tire and picked up a basic sander for $15.)

When the entire area has been sanded, dust it off and then thoroughly wipe down the entire area to be painted with acetone. Acetone will remove any dust, oils and other contaminants that might affect the paint being applied. Be sure to wear latex or rubber gloves so that your skin does not come in contact with the acetone. Also make sure that you are working in a well-ventilated area to help avoid breathing in acetone fumes.

NOTE: Once you have wiped down the boat do not touch it again with your bare hands as this will leave skin oils on the surface to be painted.

STEP 6: TAPE AND PAINT SURFACE
If you are only painting one area of the boat (in my case, the hull), apply masking tape to protect the adjacent areas. Shake the paint can thoroughly to ensure that the paint is well mixed. Open the paint can, pour the amount of paint that you will need in a container and then close the can to ensure that the remaining paint does not dry out.

Using a 2 – 3 inch feather tip paintbrush, apply the paint to the kayak’s surface in even, smooth strokes. Ensure that the paint is evenly distributed and that the wet paint surface is smooth. Remove the masking tape while the paint is still wet to ensure that you can wipe away any paint that has slipped through a crack in the tape.

Although one coat is probably sufficient, a second coat will ensure a more durable layer of paint on your kayak. Let the first coat dry for at least 24 hours before applying the second coat. Then gently sand the entire paint area with 100-grit sandpaper to ensure that the second coat has a good surface on which to grip. Apply masking tape again and paint on a second coat of paint. Remember to remove the masking tape while the paint is still wet.

STEP 7: RE-INSTALL HARDWARE AND WAX
Once the second coat of paint is dry, you can re-install the hardware that you originally removed.

The last step is to wash the entire kayak again with soap and water and then to apply and buff on a good quality marine wax to protect the entire surface of the kayak.

AND THE RESULT?
Admittedly, there was a part of me hoping for a factory-quality, new gel-coat finish as a result of my efforts.

Was this the case? No, you can still see some of the deeper scratches in the hull and the painted surface is not mirror smooth as gel-coat from a factory mold would be.

However, the hull of my kayak looked a lot better than it had just a couple of days before (see the photo—it’s actually shiny and quite smooth again). My kayak will also more easily slide through the water with this new finish on its hull. And I have fixed several deep gouges and protected the hull with a durable finish.

Not a bad result for about 12 hours work and $100 in materials and equipment.

Nick Jones is the SKABC Webmaster.