A buddy of mine has an old nautique and doesnt like the brown stripes on the side. How do you go about painting/replacing the stripe on the side... He wants it to be black . <BR>Thanks

The Nautiques used a combination of gel coat colors, pin stripe tape and stick on graphics to get their look. The pin stripes and graphics will come off easily enough with a little heat from a hair dryer. The big color pattern, however, is deep in the gel coat and can not be removed. <BR> <BR> I strongly recommend against painting the hull. <BR>1) Boats are hard to paint when they are sitting on a trailer. <BR> <BR>2) A good paint job will cost a fair amount. A cheap paint job won't look that good to start with. <BR> <BR>3) Boats get bumped a lot! Fiberglass flexes under use, especially when pounding over wakes and such. Paint does not hold up well under these conditions. <BR> <BR> <BR>I have had friends who painted their boats. The friend who had a new air brushed graphic applied every year had a pretty nice looking boat. The friend who just painted his hull with a spray gun had a crappy looking color to start with and it got uglier every time he used the boat due to the dings, scratches and eventually large sections of the paint peeling off. <BR> <BR>Also keep in mind that once you paint it you can never go back....... <BR> <BR> <BR>Rod

You can definately paint over the gelcoat to <BR>change the color of a stipe. <BR>There are some marine paints that will work best. <BR> <BR>I know a fiberglass guy that does it for a living. <BR>He swears by the stuff he uses. He actually <BR>prefers it over colored gelcoat! <BR> <BR>I don't really like the color of my stripe either. <BR>I'm thinking of changing it to match my truck <BR>Its the CHevy Pewter or black. Any thoughts?

Here is a link of an earlier disscussion on this. I have a few pictures of my boat. It was the best thing I ever did to my boat. Never had a problem with any paint coming off or noticable fading. It takes some time, but well worth the effort. <BR><a href="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/3183/48191.html" target="_blank">http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/3183/48191.html</a>

The old nautiques did not use colored gel coats they used paint or stickers depending on what year the boat is.

Talk to masterpainter. He knows a lot about this stuff and can tell you the different kinds of paint to use.

Bruce, did you order the CC and flag decals from CC?

yes. The dealer got them for me.