House paint on boat?

[Ross]

It is far more difficult to learn to paint well

with a brush than with a roller but tipping off the roller marks with a brush gives professional looking results without the need for years for experience. Spraying paint has it's own set of problems and requirements. When spraying DO NOT over look the need for respiratory protection. Inhaling two part urethene paint WILL lead to serious health problems. The very best thing that you can do is to talk to the people at the corporate paint stores for their recommendations. Don't tell them that you need a marine paint. Tell them that you need a paint that will endure in an ocean side environment on a fiber glass substrate. Below the water line requirements are different.

 

[RickS]

Been There

Today, I finished repainting our deck; a project that started last October. It was a very labor intensive jib but we learned quite a bit with a lot of research and had numerous pohone calls with Interlux customer service, local Interlux rep, and this forum. The deck was sanded to 120 grit and washed with Alcohol and #216 solvent. Two coats of Interlux Pre-Coat sanding with 120 grit between coats and 220 before the final Brightside . Two coats of Brightside with not treatment between coats. The Brightside must be put on within a certain amout of time between coats to assure proper bonding. I was concerned today when I looked at the first Brightside coat and could see the white primer through the paint. The second coat filled in the gaps and filled assorted nicks I didn't fill. The mystery that was difficult to get a psuedo Interdeck "formula" from Interlux. We applied the Pre-Kote with a 4" foam roller and the Brightside with a high quality non shedding 3/8" roller ($5.00). Test patterns were made with a foam roller and 1/4" non-shedding roller as well. The Brightside "Formula" was 1 qt Brightside. 1/3 qt #2398 non-skid, and 1/3 qt flattening agent. The 1/3 qt flattening agent reduced the Brightside to a shiny semi-gloss and I received suggestions that the #2398 would help hold down glare as well. If the flattening agent wasn't previously purchased, I would have omitted the product. Read the back of the can before you buy and it will tell you that it doesn't cover or resist dirt as well and straight Brightside. After the first coat I could see roller patterns in the finish due to working the paint to much and stretting the paint. But the paint was also being applied on a 220 sanded surface. The second coat covered much better as the previous surface was ruff with the non-skid and a heavier layer of paint. Ironically, the second coat used marginally more paint than the first coat. As an added precaution, after the deck was washed with the #216 solvent, we would wear the blue shoe covers on our shoes. You would be amazed at the amt of dirt that you could carry up the ladder on your feet.Based on the Interlux qty recommendations, I bought from Boatersland.com and a Chicago marina. Net result I have a lot of extra paint that must now get shipped back; If I had paid a little more, I could have returned the excess to West Marine (no plug, just a fact). For a 34' boat with a 11.5' beam a just over 1/2 gallon Pre-Kote and 4 qts Brightside Seattle Grey, 1.3 qts of 32398 and flattening agent were used; the recommendations were 2 gallons Pre-Kote, 8 qts Brightside, 2 qts #2398, and 2 qts Flattening agent. The final deck looked very good and rewarding. If anyone needs Pre-Kote, Brightside Seattle Grey, #2398, or Flattening Agent, please advise.Good luck.

 

[Rick A]

Peeling...

Somewhere in the past, a previous owner painted the hull of my boat with what I believe was a marine grade house paint. It has not stood the test of time well and is probably are large part of why I got my boat so cheap. It is peeling badly, discolored, and really looks like hell.I have been preoccupied with other things and am slowly getting to the stage where I should be dealing with the cosmetic issues. I will likely buff the paint off of the hull and see what the gel coat looks like. From what I can see so far, it does not look that bad, but I may end up repainting again.Bottom line, spend a few bucks, some effort, proper preparation, and do it right the first time. If you don't, then plan on selling the boat shortly after while it still looks good..

 

[Fred]

A top quality porch and deck

enamel is as good as a marine OIL BASED paint. Ok for wood boats or canvas decks. For fibreglass a two part epoxy, polyester or urethene paint is way better. There are some one part "epoxy" paints that are pretty darned good, but not as good as the two part paints.Surface preperation is the key to success. at least some sanding will be necessary. Wet sanding with wet and dry paper or red fibre discs and an air powered sander is a lot more pleasant than dry sanding.Ther are sander/shop vac combinations to make dry sanding tolerable, but I have no experience with them. Wet and air tools works well.

 

[Ross]

Fiberglass is the best substrate that you

will ever find for painting. It the paint is good for wood or metal it will be superb on fiberglass.