Pacemaker Boat Owners Association

You can prime pretty much anything with KILZ oil based primer,or Bullseye ammonia /latex primer. If it's really glossy,you might want to degloss it,eather with a light sanding,or or liquid deglosser. Use quality paint,and read the directions. With the KILZ,make sure of much ventilation,and be aware of sparks,of course. It will look great!

It looks like fiberglass panels. I bought them from Home depot and used them as shower wall panels

Ditto to skipper. The stuff I have seen in motor homes I have had over the years was a vinyl wall paper over plywood.

Thanks for the replies. I don't think the walls are vinyl paper over plywood since they look more like one piece panels, so maybe they are fiberglass, but I'm still not sure. Unfortunately at the moment I can't get a better picture of them. I suppose it is pretty safe to try priming and painting a small section of the walls to see if it works before committing to the whole project. I'll probably end up going with the Bullseye latex primer, as it is supposed to be high-adhesion and since it's latex-based it might be more forgiving for a non-professional painter such as myself. Also I am hoping that it's fumes will dissipate more quickly and it will resist mildew better (which currently doesn't seem to be a problem on these walls). I actually want to paint the walls a semi-gloss black, do you think I will need to tint the primer to darken it? Or do multiple coats of paint?

Is it formica?
Lighter colors give the feel of a larger room. I wouldn't do black unless you have a lot of light in there.

A suggestion on surface prep would me a wash using a scotch brite pad. That will scuff ever so slightly the surface while you clean and give better adhesion. Black paint typically shows every surface imperfection and will really accentuate the "lizard skin" effect if that is what you want.

You wont have much of a problem with fumes with the Bullseye. You can have it tinted also. As for mildew,the paint&hardware stores sell mildewicide for the paint. Remember,even though the paint and primer are dry,it takes up to a month to cure and harden.

Thanks for all the replies. No, I don't think it's quite shiny enough to be formica...I'm favoring either fiberglass panels or some sort of plastic-over-plywood panels. I think the scotch brite pad suggestion is great, and yeah, maybe I should rethink using such a dark color. Since the boat is in dank Seattle, I guess I should wait for summer to do this project in order to get the quickest drying times and be able to have all the windows open to vent the fumes.

Have you tryed cleaning it,and just perking up the panals? The car wash called Blue Coral (5.00 gallon-walmart) is a wash/wax that wooden and FB boats use here, to clean and shine. Most use it full strength in a spray bottle. Maybe a good clean would do the trick.

do you have any pics of you boat. i have a 72 and am trying to restore it but can not seem to get any info on it

do the panels look like these?[IMG][/IMG]

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I installed these fiberglass panels and they have really lasted, they are pebble grain texture and shiny..they wipe clean easily