Buying unfinished/unpainted hulls?

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Blake

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If I wanted to rig out and customize a boat myself, could I save any money buy ordering a boat that hasn't been painted and is basically just the bare hull?

Do many boat companies even do this? How much money can you save?

Thanks!
 
I can't speak for most boat companies but I ordered my Alweld un-painted for that same reason. I have some things I want to have done to it before its painted and plus a buddy of mine has a paint booth that I can use. Alweld has standard colors of I believe Green, tan and gray. To get one of these colors its not much extra if anything and I believe most boat companies are the same way with their standard colors. When I asked about a custom paint job, like an automotive type finish that you see on a fiberglass bass boat, the dealer was going to charge a bunch extra to do it. A friend of mine has a Blazer boat and his is un-painted and if you order a Lowe Shallow water series it is unpainted as well.
Not sure how much you will save if you can order it un-painted but its a clean slate to work with until you are ready.
 
When I bought mine, I considered having it done in a different color. My first thought was to order it unpainted then do it myself with automotive paint. Just for giggles I called the manufacturer directly and asked them how much they'd do it for. Was an extra $200. I couldn't buy the paint and do it for that, much less primer, masking materials, stencils, etc. I ended up getting it in OD green after all...and the reason is that I had a customer bring me his, and it was camo, and he asked me to touch up the nasty spots while I had it in the shop. I started to looking and then figured in the time it'd take at my labor rate, and we figure somewhere in the $250 range including the paint cans (4 different colors at $11 each). When I was getting ready to place the order on mine I thought about that, and said you know what, get it in OD and when the time comes to touch it up, the paint is one color and really really easy to fix a scratch. Function over beauty or something like that. Would look much better in Max4 but OD is fine with me for it's simplicity. I can always send it back to them later if I want it camo. Or pay my neighbor to do it. I am not a painter and never will be.
 
This is how my new Meyers Super Pro 16 came . . . I ordered the decals not applied, just enclosed.
Since they don't paint the outside anyway, there was no cost savings. I'm going for the high-polished look anyway.
 

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Here is another good choice . . . Lobell Boats
 

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PATRIOT said:
This is how my new Meyers Super Pro 16 came . . . I ordered the decals not applied, just enclosed.
Since they don't paint the outside anyway, there was no cost savings. I'm going for the high-polished look anyway.
Looks great. Is it hard to keep clean? I'm thinking of stripping mine down and polish it.


Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk
 
perchjerker21 said:
PATRIOT said:
This is how my new Meyers Super Pro 16 came . . . I ordered the decals not applied, just enclosed.
Since they don't paint the outside anyway, there was no cost savings. I'm going for the high-polished look anyway.
Looks great. Is it hard to keep clean? I'm thinking of stripping mine down and polish it.


Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk


another perchjerker??? :shock: :roll:
 
perchjerker said:
perchjerker21 said:
PATRIOT said:
This is how my new Meyers Super Pro 16 came . . . I ordered the decals not applied, just enclosed.
Since they don't paint the outside anyway, there was no cost savings. I'm going for the high-polished look anyway.
Looks great. Is it hard to keep clean? I'm thinking of stripping mine down and polish it.


Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk


another perchjerker??? :shock: :roll:
We are all perchjerkers deep down inside.

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk
 
I have a blazer and its unpainted. To tell u the truth I do not see many painted boats on the rivers in southern Missouri. Blazer is by far the most popular boat here. They put color matching big decals on that match your seat colors. I like unpainted. I like the custom decal look. I would also add that vinyl wrap is becoming very popular and looks good, is pricey though but can really make it unique. Just my two cents.


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"We are all perchjerkers deep down inside." God, I hope not!! Ha Ha

I bought my recent 1652 G3 hull in camo. Looked good. Now that I've used it for nearly 6 months, there are a ton of tiny scratches from normal wear and tear. I can patch the paint since I bought the 6 can camo paint deal from Rustoleum.

https://smile.amazon.com/Rust-Oleum-269038-Specialty-Camouflage-12-Ounce/dp/B009ROI59I?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00

But, I can see a lifetime ahead of me of constantly painting little nicks and scratches. One color or no color makes a lot more sense. Give it a once a year re-spray and go fishing!

My prior tinny was a bare metal Lowe. In the long run, that would have been a good choice, but they only had the camo and I wanted a boat NOW! ( I have no patience, ask my wife).

Ha Ha

regards, richg99
 
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