Boat painting, wraps and trailer refinishing
Topside paint, custom graphics, vinyl and ceramic coating for boats and the trailers under them, sprayed in the same downdraft booth, by the same painter, as every car that comes through here.
What we take on
A boat is fibreglass with a finish on it, and finishing is the whole trade here. Everything on this list is work the booth and the people already do every week on cars, trucks and trailers.
- Topside and deck paint, in the original colour or a new one
- Fade, chalking and oxidation corrected before anything is sprayed
- Custom paint, candy and pearl, graphics and hand-pulled pinstriping
- Printed vinyl wrap, lettering, registration numbers and sponsor layouts
- Ceramic coating over the finished paint or gelcoat
- Console, hardtop, trim and hardware refinishing
- The trailer: frame, fenders and wheels
What we don't do
Worth saying plainly, because it saves you a trip. We are a paint and body shop, not a marine yard.
- Nothing below the waterline: no bottom paint, no antifouling
- No structural hull, stringer or transom repair
- No blistering or osmosis treatment
- No engine, drive or rigging work
If that is what your boat needs, a marine yard is the right call and we will say so on the phone rather than after it is on the trailer.
Why bring a boat to a paint shop
Because the hard part is the finish, and the finish is what this building is for. Boats get sprayed in the same Platinum Finishing Systems downdraft booth as the cars, built to NFPA 33 with equipment ETL-listed by Intertek, and by the same painter.
Armen Hovannesian owns the shop and sprays it himself. He has painted for Disney and Universal Studios as well as custom cars, and the shop refinishes well beyond cars: light fixtures, bollards, dirt bikes and a 45-foot enclosed race trailer have all been through here.
Bring photos and we will tell you honestly whether it is our job or a yard's.
Boat Painting, answered
Do you paint below the waterline?
No. We work above the waterline: topsides, decks, consoles, hardtops, trim and the trailer. Bottom paint, antifouling and anything structural below the rub rail belongs at a marine yard, and we will tell you so rather than take the job.
Can you change a boat's colour completely?
Yes. It is the same process as a full respray on a car: strip the hardware, prep the surface, spray the colour in the booth and clear it. You approve the colour on a spray-out card before anything is sprayed, so you see it in daylight first. Same as custom paint on a car.
Paint or wrap for a boat?
Paint when you want it permanent, want a colour that reaches every edge, or the old finish is chalked and needs correcting anyway. Wrap when you want printed graphics, lettering, a sponsor layout or a look you can take back off. We do both, so we have no reason to push you either way. See vinyl wraps.
Do you do the trailer as well?
Yes, and it is often the part that makes the whole rig look tired. We have refinished a 45-foot enclosed race trailer, so a boat trailer is well inside what the booth and the shop handle.