Paint for vinyl Dorade cowls-?

[DianaOfBurlington]

Does anyone have a good recommendation for painting the vinyl cowl vents? I have several of the otherwise excellent Sea Dog Line ones; but they go really chalky and then actually dark (like they're sunburnt) and after that go very crispy. Really any paint to protect from from UV is all right; but it will have to remain flexible.
Years ago K-Mart had a line of Martha Stewart exterior-furniture paint expressly made for plastic porch chairs and stuff like that. I painted the plastic shutters on my house with this and it was terrific, though it had a very short pot life in the cup and you had to work quickly. Has anyone got experience with any paint like this that's stood up well?
I'm painting the vent deck plates with Brightside because they go yellow rather quickly. But Brightside will not work with the flexible cowl vents.
Thanks for the consideration.

 

[quadrille38]

Does anyone have a good recommendation for painting the vinyl cowl vents? I have several of the otherwise excellent Sea Dog Line ones; but they go really chalky and then actually dark (like they're sunburnt) and after that go very crispy. Really any paint to protect from from UV is all right; but it will have to remain flexible.
Years ago K-Mart had a line of Martha Stewart exterior-furniture paint expressly made for plastic porch chairs and stuff like that. I painted the plastic shutters on my house with this and it was terrific, though it had a very short pot life in the cup and you had to work quickly. Has anyone got experience with any paint like this that's stood up well?
I'm painting the vent deck plates with Brightside because they go yellow rather quickly. But Brightside will not work with the flexible cowl vents.
Thanks for the consideration.

In the past I’ve seen a paint product made specifically for the cowl vents and it was carried by West marine or Defender but for the life of me I can’t find it now. Thought maybe SBO stpre would have it but can’t find it there either.

Maybe if you try searching you will have better luck than I.
EDIT
Found some options
https://www.krylon.com/products/fusion-for-plastic/

Also see some reports that people have used a Rustoleum product made for PVC to paint them.

 

[Stu Jackson]

I find paint brush & roller cleaner to be good for cleaning cowls. Not acetone. No paint required. Maybe yours are too far gone for that to work though. Good luck.

 

[isaksp00]

These are white? I have no experience with it, but may want to consider the Flex Seal type rubberized paint. I have used the black stuff on leaky seams on an aluminum Jon boat and gutters and it is a bit rubbery.

 

[RussC]

Go by most any automotive paint supply store and pick up an aerosol can of SEM flexible upholstery and trim paint, in the color and shade of your choice. not a bad idea to also get a can of the SEM plastic and leather prep spray for a really permanent bond. it's an excellent product. I've even done color changes on full auto interior plastic trim and been very happy with the results.

 

[TomY]

I have one plastic cowl vent on my boat and paint it with a water based acrylic enamel. Seems to stick fine and doesn't crack or show any signs of problems.

 

[thinwater]

Try life ring paint from Flexdel. This is pretty much dead on. I've used it. Not a lot of colors, but they have white. They have other vinyl paints as well.
http://flexdel.com/products/life-ring-touch-up-paint/

 

[Allan12210]

Here is a link when this question came up a while ago.

https://forums.sailboatowners.com/i...-cowl-vents.174934/&highlight=allan12210 cowl


My rubber coated ones are pretty black now. Looks like it's time to recoat again.

 

[WayneH]

Just for fun, I spray painted my cowls with Rustoleum about five years ago.

It covered up the rust spots on the dorade (huh? how?) so that was a plus. The paint isn't very sticky. Getting moved around will cause it to come off the cowl in spots. So I retouched them a couple of years ago. The paint was just something I had at the house and I didn't expect it to last one season so I was surprised when it made it for three years.

 

[DianaOfBurlington]

Go by most any automotive paint supply store and pick up an aerosol can of SEM flexible upholstery and trim paint

Thanks, Russ. Why didn't I think of that? I actually sell the stuff - just did not expect it would work well on something stiffer than flexible motorboat upholstery.

For those who don't know, there IS a 'marine' range of SEM Vinyl Coat. The colors are very good matches to major manufacturers' vinyl upholstery. They're even named for them - Ranger White, Chapparal Beige, etc. I've had customers come in very sceptical, sold them a can, then had them come back in asking for (much) more. Everyone has raved over the stuff. No-one has disliked it. So there's a testimonial for you.

My initial thought was latex exterior paint - this is what I would have used about 5 years ago. But there are modern solutions now; and of these SEM is probably the best.

FYI - I found the other PVC cowl vent that I bought (and forgot about) as a 'spare' for the one that's gone bad. I hadn't thought it was that much of a difference till I compared them!

Thanks for the good suggestions, yachties!