Best paint for topside

[kevsbox]

Last job for us as the weather (hopefully) gets better is to paint the above water parts of the yacht. She is a centaur and white in colour but looking a bit grubby with marks, stains and some paint spills.
So we are looking at a gently rub down and the a couple of coats of a good quality white paint.
Which one would you all suggest please?

 

[peteK]

Is it already painted or is it gelcoat you want to paint?

 

[Tranona]

Better to put some effort into cleaning and polishing the gel coat than just applying 2 coats of paint. The effort required to get a good finish with paint is considerable. The gel coat is fairly thick and does not need any additional protection.

 

[rib]

From gel coat ..course rub down .2 part poly primer.2 part poly finish .finding the right roller head was hardest part here in Turkey..40 year old dark green Hull.that had been regelled 15 years ish ago ..didn't like the med sun ..2/3years in still great .couple of anchor dinks on bow to touch up when I stop sailing next month

 

[rib]

Ha wrong picture

 

[Refueler]

Sadly the 'good' two part paints are now no longer retail and only for accredited painters to buy.

I have this problem where International Perfection - my boat is painted Rochelle Red - is no longer available to private buyers - replaced with single component Toplac ... a softer paint.

Yard who has the job of doing my hull is looking at what they can use

 

[shanemax]

International Toplac. If you do it the first time right (gentle sanding then primer/undercoat then topcoat) it will only require a quick recoat every 3-4 years

 

[Egret]

I think Epiphanes 2 pot polyurethane is still available - last year could mix virtually any RAL (or similar system) colour on a turn around of about a week.
Only will work on original gel coat or previous 2 pot.

I would give it a good clean first though and see how it comes up.

 

[rib]

 

[rib]

 

[shanemax]

Trouble with a two pack is if you screw up or the paint goes wrong it's a job to remove. One can be in a muddle quite quickly.

 

[kevsbox]

Is it already painted or is it gelcoat you want to paint?

Paint so will be running down and cleaning first

 

[shanemax]

View attachment 205205

They will both look better once they are painted

 

[Sea Change]

SML Lustre Polyurethane Gloss Topcoat | 2-Pack Finish

This stuff is great. Cheap, hardwearing, and a good helpful company to deal with.
The only downsides to two pack paint are that it's a little more sensitive to conditions when you are using it, it can't be applied over a one pack paint, and the brushes/rollers need to be a higher grade solvent resistant type.

I've painted a 33ft boat using International Toplac, and I would never do it again. Just not hardwearing enough. Two pack all the way.

 

[Concerto]

Westerly used a double brushed gel coat, giving 1.5 to 2 mm of thickness. You can sand 0.25 mm off and you will have original colour to compound and polish. Look at my presentation on gel coat that I did to my Fulmar. The whole process for a Centaur should take about 4 days, which is not different to painting. Even buying the tools and materials will not be that different to using paint. The big difference is the paint finish will not be as good as original gel coat.

https://wiki.westerly-owners.co.uk/images/8/86/Gel_coat_renovation_19May2020.pdf

There are more articles and videos in the link in my signature.

 

[Tranona]

Paint so will be running down and cleaning first

Then if you are painting outside in the spring then Toplac is the way to go. Recommended after prep 2-3 coats One Up primer and 2-3 coats Toplac.

 

[Refueler]

Painted hulls are always a discussion point ...

My 38ft was painted professionally by yard in Sweden at request of previous owner .... they used two pack Perfection. A hard wearing paint ....

I bought the yacht and moved her to an alongside pontoon berth ... the fenders ended up stained red ... the hull ended up with worn through patches where the original white hull could be seen.



Note the fender in the far left bottom corner of photo ..... stains that I have tried everything to remove - but impossible.



Now I have a boat with a perfect port hull side and a worn patched stbd side.

It has been suggested to me to strip the hull back to its original white GRP Gel ... but despite my general dislike of Red hull boats - I have actually come to like it ... but OH the shite to get this sorted ...

The yard where she is now has the unenviable job of sorting it ... they offered to use a Dutch Brand of two part that they have used for years ... but then found being Two Part similar to Perfection - sale and use was restricted. They looked at car Paints and then the hard lavquer top coat ... we discussed Toplac ... but its softness will mean a shorter life than Perfection.

The discussion revolves around factors :

1. What paint to use that is hard wearing and suited to the environment.
2. Stripping back to white Gel - the transom which has large TORO Yard lettering ... and then completely painting in Red - before applying the Vinyl lettering.
3. Leaving port side alone except for the slight nicks made by some twat who berthed near me just before moving boat to yard for lift out.
4. Blending in patched paint on stbd side - I do have a small tin of Prefection for touch ups.
5. Or a complete stbd side paint job
6. Or a complete hull repaint job ...


Sorry if the post steps outside of OP's thread - but I think it relevant as maybe OP has similar factors etc to think about ? For me as having surveyed many yachts in the past - painting of a hull is a two edged sword ... can be beautiful - but few years down the line or LESS - can bite hard .... consider the probable costs I am looking at for this 38ft boat ... and I know that I will only get a few years if lucky before needing re-sorting.

Its still in discussion as Yard looks at possible solutions.

 

[Sea Change]

@Refueler
Just an FYI, if you're keeping a can of Perfection for touch ups, once you've opened the 'B' part it'll be a ticking clock. The stuff is highly hygroscopic and within a few months will have turned to useless jelly.
I have thrown away far too much of this stuff over the years.

The SML paint I linked to must have a different chemical composition because it doesn't appear to do this.

 

[Refueler]

@Refueler
Just an FYI, if you're keeping a can of Perfection for touch ups, once you've opened the 'B' part it'll be a ticking clock. The stuff is highly hygroscopic and within a few months will have turned to useless jelly.
I have thrown away far too much of this stuff over the years.

The SML paint I linked to must have a different chemical composition because it doesn't appear to do this.

The can I have was used to touch up boat last year along the anti-foul line ... base and catalyst were fine ... had been closed for 2 yrs according to info from previous owner

I haven't opened it recently - so have no idea what its like now.

 

[vyv_cox]

Painted topsides are never going to achieve the durability of gelcoat and can sometimes be a disaster. I would make every effort possible to recover what is there now, following the advice in post#15.

However, if that fails I would consider re-gelcoating. I watched a husband and wife team strip and apply new gelcoat to a 38 ft boat in Greece. Not a very arduous process, belt sander to remove, rollers to apply new, sanding between coats. On a small boat this would be a relatively easy job, no more difficult than a two-pack paint but so much more durable.