The insides of all my cabin lockers look very dirty, yet I've scrubbed them using the nastiest (bleach) stuff I dared. I know they're clean but there's mold/mildew stains. I was about to paint them with a one-part, flat, white topsides paint. But I just something on the West System epoxy website that's made re-think that. Here's the quote from a ventilation article: "Another issue that should be considered is that any fiberglass boat afflicted with gel coat blistering or osmotic moisture absorption will benefit. Fresh air moving through a boat will remove moisture from the inside. This is important. There are documented cases of boats that were not kept in the water, but water was left in the bilge, and the resulting high moisture vapor levels (humidity) inside the boat caused blisters to form on the hull. The hull laminate can actually dry from the inside, and conversely, hull moisture content can actually increase from the inside out." I'd never heard of this before, and I don't want to cause any hull problems by doing cosmetic painting. So is it OK to paint the inside of a fiberglass hull, or better to leave it "naked"? Thanks, Craig
Painting inside of hull
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Bathroom latex enamel
Craig, We had an indoor/outdoor carpet hull liner in our Wilderness 30 that died a horrible mildewed death. We stripped it out and tried everything (chemical and mechanical) to remove the residue and mildew. Nothing really worked. A friend, who owns a paint store, suggested mildew covering bathroom enamel. We painted 2 coats over the remaining junk. The boat has been mildew-free and easy to clean for over 5 years. It is the same paint that is sold in marine stores for 4X the price! Fair Winds, Dave
Craig, We had an indoor/outdoor carpet hull liner in our Wilderness 30 that died a horrible mildewed death. We stripped it out and tried everything (chemical and mechanical) to remove the residue and mildew. Nothing really worked. A friend, who owns a paint store, suggested mildew covering bathroom enamel. We painted 2 coats over the remaining junk. The boat has been mildew-free and easy to clean for over 5 years. It is the same paint that is sold in marine stores for 4X the price! Fair Winds, Dave
Bathroom Paint.
I've used Behr bathroom latex paint tinted to the right color ... works fine over the last couple of years. Vic
I've used Behr bathroom latex paint tinted to the right color ... works fine over the last couple of years. Vic
The blistering the Gogeon Bros. (sp) are referring
to was first studied about 15 years ago by a famous Midwest university and reported in Sail Magazine. The study went further. It said the vast majority of hull blisters were caused by standing water inside the hull, not water outside. The best cure available at the time was to PAINT the inside of the hull, not leave it bare if water can't be kept out. I've been asking here for some time if anyone recalls the story or the name of the university. Alas, only this old guy remembers.
to was first studied about 15 years ago by a famous Midwest university and reported in Sail Magazine. The study went further. It said the vast majority of hull blisters were caused by standing water inside the hull, not water outside. The best cure available at the time was to PAINT the inside of the hull, not leave it bare if water can't be kept out. I've been asking here for some time if anyone recalls the story or the name of the university. Alas, only this old guy remembers.
Use Kilz
I painted all my cabin fiberglass with Kilz oil based paint after ripping out all the seriously mold infected monkey fur. Beautiful semi-gloss finish, outstanding adherence and the big benefit of built in mold inhibitor.
I painted all my cabin fiberglass with Kilz oil based paint after ripping out all the seriously mold infected monkey fur. Beautiful semi-gloss finish, outstanding adherence and the big benefit of built in mold inhibitor.
Reply to Fred Ficarra
Fred, You are right. there was a study done and their results were like you stated from the inside, although you can get water in other than, but that is what the independant study said too. On a surveyor's net, it was stated 'never heard of a yacht sinkin from having osmaitc blisters' this too is true, as far as I know.
Fred, You are right. there was a study done and their results were like you stated from the inside, although you can get water in other than, but that is what the independant study said too. On a surveyor's net, it was stated 'never heard of a yacht sinkin from having osmaitc blisters' this too is true, as far as I know.
Thanks Guys
The article about blistering from the inside had a ring of truth to me, since there were 3 or 4 little blisters when I had a purchase survey done in March. The boat had sat unused since the previous July with a too-leaky packing gland and rain water intrusion. After serious cleaning, summer use and airing out, I actually couldn't find any blisters when I just hauled (I looked as soon as the pressure washing was done). So I'm thinking that internal water may have been the problem. In any event, I'm going to paint the bilge and engine area with Bilgekote, and the locker interiors with something else. I have to look into the Kiln paint. Of course I could use the topsides paint that I've already bought. Thanks for all the good advice. BTW, somebody mentioned in an earlier post that there's a "projects" area to post photos, etc. I can't find it. Is hidden somewhere or am I blind? Craig
The article about blistering from the inside had a ring of truth to me, since there were 3 or 4 little blisters when I had a purchase survey done in March. The boat had sat unused since the previous July with a too-leaky packing gland and rain water intrusion. After serious cleaning, summer use and airing out, I actually couldn't find any blisters when I just hauled (I looked as soon as the pressure washing was done). So I'm thinking that internal water may have been the problem. In any event, I'm going to paint the bilge and engine area with Bilgekote, and the locker interiors with something else. I have to look into the Kiln paint. Of course I could use the topsides paint that I've already bought. Thanks for all the good advice. BTW, somebody mentioned in an earlier post that there's a "projects" area to post photos, etc. I can't find it. Is hidden somewhere or am I blind? Craig
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