I had to paint my newly aquired 12' jon boat a couple of years ago. This thing was a mess! It had been painted and had tar all over it. As I removed the tar I found out why it was there. The first thing that I would do if I were you is test it to see if it is sea worthy. Find any small leaks and patch them. I used two different things to patch my boat. I used epoxy to fill the smaller holes. The bigger holes were in the bottom rivots. I used epoxy, then spray on bed liner, as the epoxy alone didn't work on the first test on the water. I cleaned this thing as best as I could. I got some paint at good ol Wal-Mart. It was for outdoor equipment, machinery. I let my little girl of 5 years old help me pick a color, as she was so excited to go out on the lake. Let's say I have the brightest boat on the lake. Kentucky Wildcat blue it is! But I don't mind, I am a Wildcat Fan. The paint is still in excelent shape, and it only cost about $50 to do this boat over.