What paint to use on inside wall of a boat?

[sd1953]

I have a wall in the navigator's desk area that needs to be painted. What kind of paint do I use for that? I have been told that latex is not a choice, I need a marine coating. But when I go to a marine coating web site I get lots of bottom paints, bilge tank paints and my head starts to spin...
Can one of you who has successfully painted a wall in your boat point me in the right direction?
Thanks in advance.

 

[centerline]

any topside paint would work....
but also to keep in mind, where as latex is not a good choice if you do the proper prep work, but if you are not sanding down to a solid surface to apply the new paint to, then latex will be as good as any other.

the reason is, if you are painting over old paint, and the adhesion is questionable, it will probable fail and the quality of paint that is going to peel away because of it matters little.

even latex on a good clean surface will adhere well for a long time, but if you are working at prepping the surface like it should be done, then dont waste your efforts by applying anything but the best over it, as it takes no more work to paint on a good quality paint than it does to apply the cheap stuff.

a lot of people use an exterior house paint with good enough results to keep them happy for a long time...

 

[Chris Patterson]

Them's true words Center. If the boat is dry inside, and there's no reason to think an Endeavor 38 is not, any decent paint will work. If it's white you want, I've been using Valspar's porch and floor paint for years, in fact, I'm looking at it right now on my raceway panels. It looks great. And 22 bucks.
Don't get into getting suckered into 'boat paint' on this one.

 

[Charlie Jones s/v Tehani]

For onto 20 years now in my own boats, and boats I've built for customers, for interior painting I've used (and will continue to use) a good quality ACRYLIC Latex enamel in semi gloss. Note the emphasis on Acrylic.

I also use Zinzer 1-2-3 primer.. Used to use a different one (Kilz), but I've had it bubble with condensation.

It's a very different animal from the old latex's. Water wash up, scrub-able, fast dry and low odor.

 

[mitiempo]

Interlux Brightside or Pettit Easypoxy, both one part polyurethanes. Easy to put on and durable/scrubable.

 

[sd1953]

Thanks for the help...
I'm off to the paint store in the morning. This is what I LOVE about this site... there is so much hard won knowledge and experience and y'all share it so readily.
Fair winds and following seas!

 

[Stu Jackson]

One of the best pieces of advice I've read is when you paint something inside a boat in white, is to use a tad of blue in it. Takes the glare out. Lin & Larry Pardey. Pretty good folks to listen to.

Good luck.

 

[woodster]

One of the best pieces of advice I've read is when you paint something inside a boat in white, is to use a tad of blue in it. Takes the glare out. Lin & Larry Pardey. Pretty good folks to listen to.

Good luck.

if you put blue in it it will be called alabaster white from then on out :stirthepot:

and while i am at it ...back in the day of the cotton brokers in the south.... the brokers would paint the office walls with Lt blue paint .....when they sold a load of cotton that was sub par as in yellow in color ...the buyer would complain and the merchant would say bring me a sample and when it was in there office it would appear perfect white.......

regards

woody

 

[rgranger]

At Lowes and/or Home Depot you can ask them to add some anti-mildew agent to the paint. That is what I've done with my boats (and bathrooms).

Someone has already mentioned using an Acrylic. I strongly recommend Rustoleum (not the spray paint). It is an acrylic and 10 years from now, you will be able to find an exact color match. I got that advice off of this forum a long time ago and since I've painted 4 different boats with it. All turned out fantastic. Here is a pic of the very first boat I painted with Rustoleum...

Rustoleum also makes a marine grade paint if you really want to spend the extra money.

 

[Tsatzsue]

I used BINZ sealer and stain remover then topside paint. The BINZ(home depot) gave the finish coat a great base to adhere to.

 

[Barnacle Bill]

Why do people go to home stores to buy paint for boats? Two different things. PETTIT has a product called "Cabin Coat" which is a mildew resistant marine paint. The other nice thing about this you can apply if over a glossy surface without sanding. Now how cool is that and see if you can find that at home depot?

 

[miamitreasurehunter]

My two cents from Florida (Heat/Humidity and Salt)
I am heavy into restoration.

I did the same research, all said 'Good enough to stand outside for 10 years' about Latex.
When I had to store my Sailboat for 3 years in Miami, when I came back, the Latex paint had just disentegrated. More exactly it was flakling off like crazy. Sanding was a pure nightmare to remove all of this.

My rule of thumb.

Sand, Clean, Prime, the use Brightside One-Part Polyurethane Paint with Teflon See this on West Marine.

1. It has a harder shell, shines nicely, cleans up nicely.

Always use Primer, especially over Fiberglass/Epoxy. I learned this the hard way. You can't cheat the elements. Plus good sanding, even over rough areas to a good degree; Primer will smooth it out nicely. The Polyurethane paint even more. I even give it another coat of pure polyurethane as it is cheaper by the quart to give it more scrach protection.


Case in Point, I restored a 30' Dragon Boat (big canoe) with new fiberglass and this same Polyurethane paint. (no primer in this case, I told them but they were in a hurray)
The boat sank during one hurricane and sat under 10' of salty murky water from the Bay.

Once we brought her out, 90% of the paint was in perfect condition. If we would have primed I guarntee 100% would have stayed put. 2 years later the boat still looks new.

My hard learned lesson, in high heat, humidity and coastal areas, Latex will disentegrate within 3 years. Polyurethane last amazingly longer.

any topside paint would work....
but also to keep in mind, where as latex is not a good choice if you do the proper prep work, but if you are not sanding down to a solid surface to apply the new paint to, then latex will be as good as any other.

the reason is, if you are painting over old paint, and the adhesion is questionable, it will probable fail and the quality of paint that is going to peel away because of it matters little.

even latex on a good clean surface will adhere well for a long time, but if you are working at prepping the surface like it should be done, then dont waste your efforts by applying anything but the best over it, as it takes no more work to paint on a good quality paint than it does to apply the cheap stuff.

a lot of people use an exterior house paint with good enough results to keep them happy for a long time...

 

[Charlie Jones s/v Tehani]

As I emphasized- HUGE difference between the older latex paints, and the ACRYLIC (note- acrylic) latexes. And yes, you can add a mildewcide. Comes in a small package to stir in

I can show you a boat in our marina that I repainted the interior of in 1998, and it's still in great shape, except where there have been damages from scrapes.

Personally, I would never even dream of putting Brightsides on a boat interior. But that's me and I've come to not like Brightsides. I don't like the way it works, either brushing or spraying. I DO like EasyPoxy, but that would be on the outside, not inside.

And someone asked- why a house paint instead of a marine paint? Several reasons-

1. It's just as good- designed to hold up on a house for years and years. The research has been done, and it last's

2. I can walk back into a Sherwin Williams store anywhere and give them the paint numbers, and walk out with a dead match in color. Even from that 1998 paint job.

3. It's a LOT cheaper, because it doesn't say "marine"

Note- we ARE NOT talking boat exterior- that's a whole different subject.

 

[Roadking Larry]

The three most important stpes in any paint job are:

1. Preperation
2. Preperation
and of course
3. Preperaton

 

[mitiempo]

Personally, I would never even dream of putting Brightsides on a boat interior. But that's me and I've come to not like Brightsides. I don't like the way it works, either brushing or spraying. I DO like EasyPoxy, but that would be on the outside, not inside.

Why?

 

[Charlie Jones s/v Tehani]

Why?

Personal preference really. I've painted 5 boats using Brightsides, using both spray equipment and roll and tip, and I simply don't like the way it handles. It sags, it runs, it curtains. And it'll do it 10 minutes after you stop.

In addition, in colors it covers very poorly- shot a boat with a dark green. Took 4 sprayings before I had cover over repairs underneath, and those done with close to matching shades. In other words I didn't expect the green to cover a bright red patch. White on the other hand, does well.

I don't use it anymore

Outside, I prefer a two part (for me), because I have the the gear to use it. Last time I did any work on a hull, I used Imron. Allgrip is a great paint too, but VERY costly for a small job. Bought a quart a year ago to touch up some scrapes on a 32 footer. Total cost , ready to use? $225. Quart of paint, quart of reducer, quart of catalyst. Bear in mind that any 2 part LPU is a dangerous thing to spray. Better have professional respirators.

If I were rolling and tipping (outside the boat) I think I'd go to something like Perfection from Interlux.

On small boats, like dinghies, EasyPoxy is great. Just did one last year (for me) Glidden's Porch and Deck also works well- it's a one part modified poly, similar to Brightsides. Sherwin Williams Porch and Deck is pretty much the same. Formulated to last under exposure to sun and foot traffic- on a porch. Tough place to be

But on the interior, I'm totally sold on acrylic enamels. They handle well, clean up with water, are scrub-able, hold up very well and are reasonable in costs.

 

[Jumpstart]

Preparation is the key . Paints fail because of adhesion problems. If you want the job to last and to be scratch resistant you should use a bonding primer. The absolute best for adhesion is XIM 400W available at Sherwin Williams. If it were me I would use an oil alkyd topcoat with gloss finish. The downside is that combination of paint and primer will smell for a couple of days. The upside is that you will have a very durable finish that won't scratch easily and will be easy to clean.

Acrylic latexes are soft and subject to easily being scratched. Urethanes and epoxies are hard but not too flexible which might lead to some cracking as the hull flexes.

 

[Charlie Jones s/v Tehani]

Acrylic latexes are soft and subject to easily being scratched. .

Nope. VERY durable, and quite hard. SOLIDLY agree on the prep, and the primer from Sherwin Williams. Used to use Anchor Bond, but they stopped making it. Great stuff.

A little back ground on where I'm coming from

Ran a furniture repair and refinish shop for 28 years, then got into building boats, repairing boats, restoring boats for the next 12 or 14. Built some 15 in the last 12 years, did total gut out the interior rebuilds on 4 (Other than two of my own) and painted, or repainted a good many others.

I'm telling what works for me, after a good many years of experience. Now semi retired