Sailboat Paint

[dscribner]

I bought a 25' Lancer last year. She's in pretty good shape but could benefit from a coat of paint. Looking around, I see lots of marine bottom paint, anitfouling, ablative, copper, anti-slime and the like. What I want is the "pretty, shiny white paint" that my wife likes on the sides. (after 28 years of marriage you learn to listen). The boat has plenty of freeboard so this makes sense. What do I look for? Ablative will rub off. Antifouling doesn't seem to make sense since there are no flying barnacles this far north. And is there a lesser expensive product that I could use?

Thanks,

Clueless in Maine

 

[Steve Dion]

Have you considered trying to rubbing out the finish first?

There is also the option to use a finish like Poly Glow or one of the other products (check the SBO store).

There was a very detailed process for restoring the gelcoat several months ago. It is very doable if you have the boat on a trailer.

Painting the hull and topsides is not the end of the processes. It really never ends once you paint.

 

[Warren Milberg]

You seem to be mixing up paint used below and above the waterlline. If you want to paint the topsides -- above the waterline -- I suggest using 2-part polyurethane paint following the directions on the paint and that written by Don Casey. As with most painting tasks, preparation is the key to success. With topsides, this often means sanding and fairing the topsides until smooth, and practicing your "roll and tip" techniques before applying paint to the boat.

See: http://www.boatus.com/boattech/TipPaintTopside.htm

 

[dscribner]

Thanks Warren,

That's exactly what I was doing. I really wasn't sure where "topsides" begin. I'm guessing bootstripe up. Looking at the boat in the sun, there are variances in the color of the finish. This tells me that it has been previously painted. Also, there are a couple of small patches on the deck where the "new" paint has chipped away, revealing the original gelcoat. So I am looking for a 2 part poly.

I'm brand new to sailing. I bought my little hole-in-the-water November of 08 to build father-son time. We both were trained by the Coast Guard Auxilliary at a local college in "Sailling and Seamanship" so we have a small clue, just enough to know how much of a clue that we don't have. We launch her each time and have sailed in calm winds to 3o knots. Our last time out on Casco Bay was Novemer 14. What a day! And only 76 days until the dock go back in!

Thanks again and fair winds,

Don

 

[sailingdog]

Instead of painting her, I would highly recommend that you try to restore the finish of the gelcoat first. In many cases, you can clean, compound, and polish the gelcoat to a nearly new state.

Maine Sail has a great post on this topic...

 

[Greg PA]

Two part paint is the best.

If you are on a budget (like I am) I found P22 by Benjamin Moore to be a first rate 1 part polyurethane paint. It is am industrial paint that can be tinted and runs about $30/gallon. The car restoration guys swear by it. I used it on my dinghy and after one summer the dark blue still looks new.

Dog-
Love that quote, it's where my boat got her name.

 

[Ed Schenck]

Some years ago I used Interlux Toplac, a one-part, for the decks and cabin trunk. It still looks good I think. For the topsides I did as 'Dog suggests and had the gelcoat professionally done. It was not cheap but looked great and still waxes well and looks good. The pro told me it was the last time however, that the gelcoat was so thin that the next step was paint. That was almost six years ago.

But if you are correct about a previous paint job then there might not be a choice except to repaint. It might be possible to remove the paint but only to find bad gelcoat. I painted my Highlander with Interlux Brightside, another one-part. I did a roll and tip and think it looks great. But that is a lot less topsides then your Lancer.

 

[sailingdog]

If you're talking about bottom paint, you might look at some of the more modern anti-fouling paints, which are cosmetically more appealing than the older variants. Jotun makes a paint that is not copper based and is fairly white and shiny that might work for you. It can be seen on this boat:

 

[jcastle]

You may want to try to restore the gelcoat first. You can try the 3M gelcoat restorer. It works really well

Otherwise, there are some nice white bottom paints out there. Sea Hawk has a white bottom paint called mission bay. Works really well eventhough it is copper free.

this place has both options: http://www.bottompaintstore.com/

 

[Douglast]

i used interlux 2 part epoxy over my gelcoat below the waterline (shiny white) and i do not use any antifouling as i am in fresh cold water and it seems to hold up great so far for two seasons..and easy to recoat anyway

 

[waternwaves]

Paint v gelcoat

awlcraft. not awlgrip.

a boat of that vintage is not going to come back as good as a great paint/application.

Unless you paid a price for a boat that has been maintained , you will spend so many hours prepping and polishing to get that new shiny on top dull finish that 60 to 80 hours of painting will seem like a small investment.

furthermore. the condition of the deck is important. most 25 to 30 yr old boats have checks, nicks gouges, hairline crazing not to mention the molded nonskid areas and other elements that must be rapaired prior to refinishing or repainting.

Most of those beautiful paint jobs you see in the trade literature were done inside with building to protect the paint. and are going to be more difficult to obtain in a yard.

But if you can protect the boat during painting. The color depth and richness are unequaled.

I am not selling paint, But I have spent my fair share of hours on a dozen boats bringing back that gelcoat finish. I have had my share of successes, I have a 21 year old ski boat with like new colors, but she is not red, lives under a cover and costco shelter, and only gets two weeks of use a year.

Everything else.......Is a lot of work to keep shiny all year. the major advantage of maintaining your gelcoat is the ability to use a fairly aggressive jet wash down. You give that up when you put paint on. Out here in the pacific northwest, keeping the surface shiny is harder than it should be. maybe its the mildew on every horizontal surface, maybe its the dull rain clouds everpresent, but it sure seems like that finish should shine more. Like you, we only have about 5 months of the year warm enough to apply paint outdoors.


Maine sails advice is excellent, and shows the amount of effort required to restore a finish.
I have used variations of that method for boats on trailers, in yards and in the water. None of them are particularly easy on a large boat. Applying the proper cutting, polishing, and buffing pressure on the top of a ladder is er....is interesting. most marines do not care for abrasive refinisihing performed in slip. Tho lying on the dock with the boat sprung tight agasinst the dock is not too unconfomfortable of a position.

Since you are in Maine, the UV is normally less of an issue than the other weathering. But that size boat can easily exceed 40 hours for an new owner.

you could put 50 hours or so into restoring and polishing the gelcoat, and not be satisfied. Start with just the transom, If you are happy with it and get the finsih you want go for it. If I couldnt get the transom to the condition I want, I would be looking at painting, or shoot gelcoat again. but shooting gelcoat is an entire boat option only, just like paint.