Hatch Trim Remodel

[Sjhopeiu]

On this episode of this old boat, I decided to follow some tips from this forum to repaint/finish the trim around the storage doors on my 268 Islander. I'm posting this because during this process I learned how to replicate the broken blown out corners of the plastic before I repainted. I found that a mold made of foil worked well when I filled the gaps with super glue and baking powder. This formula hardened almost instantly into a very hard plastic that I could then sand to look just as it once did. You can find this process on you tube pretty easily. Worked like a charm.

 

[imjus4u2nv]

On this episode of this old boat, I decided to follow some tips from this forum to repaint/finish the trim around the storage doors on my 268 Islander. I'm posting this because during this process I learned how to replicate the broken blown out corners of the plastic before I repainted. I found that a mold made of foil worked well when I filled the gaps with super glue and baking powder. This formula hardened almost instantly into a very hard plastic that I could then sand to look just as it once did. You can find this process on you tube pretty easily. Worked like a charm.

Looks sweet.
What type of paint did you use? Do you have any before pics?

 

[Fishtales]

agree. looks great. hope it holds up for you.

 

[Sjhopeiu]

The original plastic was very yellow from age and a couple had some broken corners. It was an eyesore. Not easy to see in the pic but you can see the one hatch. I was so focused on changing the look I didn't get any great before pictures.

I went through several unintended coats and 48 hour cure cycles of rustoleum plastic paint and eventually got the final finish I was looking for on I believe coat 4. My spray can skills were tested with the high humidity we have had here in florida. I sanded down from 200 to 400 to 2000 grit each time. Putting the doors back on were a bit of a challenge and I had a couple screw driver slips that didn't leave a scratch to my surprise. Seems to be an pretty tough coating for now.

 

[DennisG01]

That looks really nice. And you used black screws (or painted?) for the corners, too! Good touch. Now paint those other screw heads, too A black Sharpie marker will get you 90% of the way there, FYI.

Over the years, I've used Krylon For Plastic and Rustoleum (all surface). Both have faired very well with my plastic projects. A benefit is that if you can't find the color you want in the "plastic" spray can, just use something that is close. Once that's on there, you can repaint with whatever you want since at that point you're just putting paint on top of paint.