Can I paint my boat before drillling all holes?

[TomMoorehouse]

ok i need to make my pipe mount and don't know what pipe i'm useing. so i will need to drill that hole in my rigger tub.... other than that im ready to start painting.... what do i do, wait till i got the pipe figured out? can i seal the hole afterward without worrying about water getting in the fresh wood and runing it?

 

[Ron Olson]

Tom, after just getting the HH .12 done plus some other boats that I've built in the past few years, I like to experiment with different pipes. On the HH, I made one hole then used 2-56 wire and made a mount for each pipe. I had plenty of wire left over from cutting throttle and rudder linkage. You can always seal the hole with CA or epoxy.

 

[[email protected]]

Go for it! Just put some tape over the holes before you paint it and it won't chip or crack.

 

[Hammerhead]

One problem that is easy to solve: If you drill a hole in the boat after it has been painted, you should use a Q tip and seal the inside of the hole with some epoxy or super glue. If you don't do this, water will get in there, and it may delaminate. The masking tape works great for keeping the paint around the drilling area from chipping. I do it a lot when I make changes.

Hammer

 

[Mad Max]

Been my experience that small holes don't get complete coverage inide when spraying anyway,if you try to spray around to get it covered inside ,then you have a runs from build up in that area.

I like to paint, then drill holes,mask around holes and load a small brush with paint or sealer, poke inside hole till I'm satisfied its covered with paint or sealer.I've done this on plywood and haven't had trouble with wood absorbing water or fuel yet.

Max