Advice on what colour to paint my boat

[markhankey]

Hi

I have got a 1965 Excalibur 36. She is white GRP and looking very tired!

As a result she is currently in the shed about to be painted. The other half wants me to paint the hull dark blue and the deck etc. white - I am very much in two minds.

Any advice - gratefully received.

Thanks

 

[MIKE_MCKIE]

A Blue hull always makes a boat look a) smaller, b) classy. In my opinion a white deck may be more difficult to keep looking dead smart, ie need more day to day cleaning, but would go well with a blue hull.
When in doubt do as SWMBO says!
Best of luck
Mike

 

[Evadne]

White is considered the most stable and long-lasting of the colours (according to Fords paint shop, many years ago). I don't know if it would apply to paint, but you do see a number of "chalky" looking older dark blue (and red) gelcoats. It never happens to white.

 

[aluijten]

Any other color then white will absorb more (UV) radiation from the sun and will, because of this, suffer more. The blue hull thing is great when new, but scratches will be very visible, deep scratches will even reveal the white underground. So if you want it to last long go for white.

Arno

 

[Lee_Shaw]

[ QUOTE ]
She is white GRP

[/ QUOTE ]

I'd paint her white again, you'll probably get a lot longer out of the paint job cos little dings won't show up anywhere near as much as it you painted her blue.

 

[aitchw]

It does happen to white you just don't notice it so much as the gelcoat just goes dull/matt white instead of glossy until of course it gets ingrained grime in the chalking.

 

[aitchw]

Mark, have you tried Farecla (spelling) on a test area? It could be that a good compounding is all she needs to buy a a few more seasons.

 

[simonfraser]

catalacs used to be made light grey, excelent for hiding the dirt

 

[dog]

Think long and hard before painting as white grp can be restored to a good finish quite easily. Both my current and last boats were purchased looking very tired and you could see your face in both after some hard graft. I believe that an unpainted finish is always more desirable than painted and is easy to keep on top of when regularly maintained. How bad is she? Just dull and chalky or requiring much filling & repair as well?

 

[Lakesailor]

Ford (again) used to select bodyshells on the production line to paint black as they had to be as true as possible. Dark Blue is similar. Any imperfections will show up. Wavy panels between bonded-in bulkheads etc.
Blue boats do look classy.
On the subject of opacity, a new Beneteau nearby was lifted out again when the owner discovered the blue was almost see-through over the white GRP beneath. It looked very patchy.

 

[Rabbie]

I like royal/navy blue but for some odd reason they seem to show dirt more than lighter colours.

 

[graham]

If you go for a low tec one pot paint I can recommend international brightside.

Easy to use and seems pretty tough .

We did ours late last year and so far so good(boat has been well used this winter.)

If you can restore it I think an unpainted hull is more desirable to a potential purchaser. On the other hand if you dont like the paint colour your not stuck with it forever.

 

[Joe_Cole]

If the GRP is sound then, as others have said, it's well worth looking at a really good polishing. My boat was very dull when I bought her. I sanded the whole thing down with a very fine (1400 grit) wet and dry paper, followed by rubbing compound, followed by polish. A lot of work, but a lot less than if I had repainted her. A lot cheaper too!

I now just give her a good polish each season.

 

[sailorman]

[ QUOTE ]
Hi

I have got a 1965 Excalibur 36. She is white GRP and looking very tired!

As a result she is currently in the shed about to be painted. The other half wants me to paint the hull dark blue and the deck etc. white - I am very much in two minds.

Any advice - gratefully received.

Thanks

[/ QUOTE ]

i have "Off White" Awlgrip done 5> 6 seasons ago still as just as good as new. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Awlgrip is really the best paint system imho /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[kandoma]

mine is red AWL grip and it starts to look tired after 7 years. International 2P red was good for 1 year. I painted another boat AWL Grip "Endevoure blue" and it looks still good after 6 years.

If you are painting blue, do not use a white underbase. You must use the grey underbase and everything is ok. But make sure, the grey underbase is consistent in colour, otherwise you will see patches.

By the way, I would not hesitate to paint it blue: the work needed is minimal, if you are using the roller/brush method. Myself, I would never spray it myself, as there are many more steps involved then using the roller/brush method and more possibities to do it wrong. Redoing it after some years is just a full days work.

Temperature is an important ingedient when painting the hull. 15 °C would be optimal.

I refrain from painting my deck, as long as there is some gelcoat left. Paint is very critical to falling down winch handles, as every metal boat owner knows.

Peter

 

[itsonlymoney]

Agree with previous posts why not try a good cut back and polish.

 

[john_morris_uk]

Sorry - have been away a while and then the computer crashed!

If the topsidea are really bad - as they were on our Sealord that we bought last year - why not have them regelled. We had a GRP man come and grind off most of the gellcoat from the entire boat waterline to deck. He then made good any underlying damage and then re-gelled the entire topsides of the boat. He also did some of the cockpit that had got UV damage. He trowelled/rollered on six coats of gell to build up the finish before cutting back with a random orbital using various grades - then cutting compound and finally polish and wax.

Result is an immaculate boat that looks like new and no paint to peel/discolour!

 

[Stemar]

I'd second the polish if possible suggestion. If this isn't possible, here are a few things to consider:

1. Dark colours absorb heat, so sun on a dark hull can make the boat V hot inside. This is why the deck/cabin top is usually a light colour.

2. White cabin/deck can glare and be uncomfortable on the eyes. A darker colour is easier on the eyes (but remember 1)

3. Red is the worst colour for fading, especially bright reds.

4A. Spend £3000 on a professional paintjob and it'll look absolutely superb. Spend £300 plus time on an decent - I'm not talking about a dulux horror - imperfect amateur job and it won't look as good from 5 feet away. From 50 feet the two jobs are indistiguishable.

4B. Compare how loud and long you'll swear when you find someone's put a ding in the £3000 job compared with the £300 job.

4C. In three years time, the two jobs will have the same number of stains, smears and scatches

4D. In 4 years time, the cheap job will look far better because you can afford to do it again.

By the way, I've seen some cracking looking boats with dark blue topsides and cream decks. I've also seen a 6 year old boat with dark red topsides and cream - almost beige - deck that looked really sharp with matching, though now rather faded spray hood, dodgers, etc.

 

[Evadne]

I never thought of that - I suppose you wouldn't notice white going a chalky white colour.
Mine got ingrained with Blackwater mud and now I Toplac her (snow white 001) every 5 years or so.

 

[Lakesailor]

[ QUOTE ]

Spend £3000 on a professional paintjob and it'll look absolutely superb. Spend £300 plus time on an decent - I'm not talking about a dulux horror - imperfect amateur job and it won't look as good from 5 feet away. From 50 feet the two jobs are indistiguishable.



[/ QUOTE ]

Absolutely. I painted my little yacht yellow (it had yellow gel coat, but was repaired). As it's on a swinging mooring no-one gets that close - although it's not a bad finish - so it looks superb, it's bright and catches the reflections from the water. 2 years on and I'm doing my boot topping but the yellow is still fine. Apparently the pigments in green paints are the most robust.