I have a 1989 sonic 30SS and overall the boat is in really good condition. This year I decided I was going to have the paint redone as the top is slightly yellowed. I was going to have the interior done and replace the gauges. I got quotes on painting the boat and they were astronomically higher than I would have anticipated. My question is, does anyone know a reasonable painter who might repaint all the white for a decent price then spray clear over the whole boat? I have often wanted to just "restore" this boat and not change it up much from original. I had been told from some painters before that the gel would not "brighten" up. I was thinking someone might be able to wet sand the yellow. tape off and spray all the white, paint in the sonic logo which is now vinyl, then clear the whole boat. Paint jobs were in the $30k range which I cant see spending on this boat. I would like to finish my project before I sell it at some point. We might only keep it another year or so but I hate to not finish the vision I started with. Could anyone give me some feedback or recommendations. Ideas of what you would expect to pay for something like this?

Its looks great for it's age. However putting the $$$ into a paint restore will not net what you get out of it in a year or so. By that I mean, put a good coat of wax on it. Enjoy it and then sell later to upgrade. I think you will loose more money then you would like to honostly. I'm in the same situation but decided I'm going bigger very soon so it wasn't worth dumping the extra coin into it. But that's a very good looking sonic. If you didn't plan on selling and absolutely love that boat then it would be worth doing the restore. Just my opinion.

Thanks for the input

I would only paint it if you were going to keep it. Wondering though I hope 30K wasn't for a white paint job.

Just enjoy it for now.

Right. Should be able to do full custom for that and have enough for interior.

worst case scenario put a wrap on it, still expensive but much less than 30k !

Why not take it to a boat detailer who can wet sand, polish, (both of those if needed), wash, etc.... and bring the paint or shine of the gel back up to par. I’m part of the boat retailers group on FB and they are charging $15-20 per foot do that work. Much cheaper and the results are amazing in the pics.

I’ve been doing Tip/Roll paint on my Excalibur with advice from his forum and it’s coming out amazing. Sanding supplies, paint, rollers, brushes, and tape have cost me less than $500.00

I’d only bother painting a boat if it was my “forever” boat and $30k was barely a chip into my bank account.

I think that you’d be pleasantly surprised with a good sanding and buffing.

When you got those quotes, did you have the shop removing all the rigging to be prepped for paint or did you plan on removing everything before they got the boat? That could play a big part in the quotes if they are removing everything.