Best paint

[zoidberg]

We've worn the 'best anchor' theme almost to death. Time for a fresh Divisive Issue?

I'm mulling over the question of Fresh Paint For Topsides.

Inter-Perfection vs Awlgrip? Or leave well alone and just go sailing....?

 

[JOHNPEET]

We've worn the 'best anchor' theme almost to death. Time for a fresh Divisive Issue?

I'm mulling over the question of Fresh Paint For Topsides.

Inter-Perfection vs Awlgrip? Or leave well alone and just go sailing....?

I’ll throw another one into the ring - Jotun Hardtop AX

 

[Lightwave395]

We've worn the 'best anchor' theme almost to death. Time for a fresh Divisive Issue?

I'm mulling over the question of Fresh Paint For Topsides.

Inter-Perfection vs Awlgrip? Or leave well alone and just go sailing....?

I don't know anything about Inter-perfection but I paid a fortune to have my boat sprayed with Awlgrip and it looked pretyy stunning for a while, however, ongoing maintenance is something of a nightmare when it comes to trying to polish out small scuffs and marks, not to mention a small touch up kit costing nearly £70 for a thimble full. The one thing that is really effective is Awlgrip's own polish, which of course contains unobtainium and is £30 odd for a small bottle just enough to do the topsides of a 12M boat

 

[doug748]

I don't know anything about Inter-perfection but I paid a fortune to have my boat sprayed with Awlgrip and it looked pretyy stunning for a while, however, ongoing maintenance is something of a nightmare when it comes to trying to polish out small scuffs and marks, not to mention a small touch up kit costing nearly £70 for a thimble full. The one thing that is really effective is Awlgrip's own polish, which of course contains unobtainium and is £30 odd for a small bottle just enough to do the topsides of a 12M boat

Where do you buy your Awlgrip stuff Lightwave? One of the issues with Awlgrip is trying to get small amounts for maintenance.

We've worn the 'best anchor' theme almost to death. Time for a fresh Divisive Issue?

I'm mulling over the question of Fresh Paint For Topsides.

Inter-Perfection vs Awlgrip? Or leave well alone and just go sailing....?

My hull has had two Awlgrip resprays, one c 1992 once c 2008. It's now looking pretty faded and really needs another. That's the thing with paint finishes, eventually you need to go back to square 1, like a re-engine, it's a big ticket job.
If your hull is white and basically sound, I would keep it that way as long as possible. If it is very poor or damaged I would consider re-gelcoating rather than paint.

.

 

[Sea Change]

Our topsides were sprayed with Awlgrip yr previous owner, so the finish must be 10-12yrs old by now. Still looking pretty good but the dark undercoat shows up the scratches and dings, of which there are quite a few now.

When I built our ply/epoxy dinghy I painted it with 'Lustre' from SML. Two pack paint and I was very impressed with it. The hardener is still liquid in the bottle, which is more than can be said for my Perfection.

I've started using Perfection because that's all that was available at sensible prices/quantities in Spanish chandlers. It's good stuff but once you've opened a tin of hardener, the clock is ticking and a few months later it will have gone to jelly.

 

[Stemar]

We did the topsides on Jissel a year or two after we got her. Rolled it on and tipped it off with a foam brush. No, the finish wasn't perfect, but you had to be no more than a couple of metres away to tell. By the time we sold her 16 years later, it needed redoing, and there were a few dings that I'd touched up with a one-pack, but she still wasn't bad. As an article I read once put it, DIY and after a year or two of use, the boat will look as good as a professional spray job, and five years later, it'll look better 'cos you could afford to do it again. Nice theory, but see below for why I didn't do it again.

The only thing that keeps me from doing Jazzcat's hulls is the prep work - hours and hours of "oh glorious sanding", to quote Mads (Sail Life), filling, more sanding, first coat of primer. filling the bits I missed, more sanding, final coat of primer - buggrit it still isn't perfect - soddit it'll do. Then painting and tipping off, which is definitely a two person job.

 

[Lightwave395]

Where do you buy your Awlgrip stuff Lightwave? One of the issues with Awlgrip is trying to get small amounts for maintenance.



My hull has had two Awlgrip resprays, one c 1992 once c 2008. It's now looking pretty faded and really needs another. That's the thing with paint finishes, eventually you need to go back to square 1, like a re-engine, it's a big ticket job.
If your hull is white and basically sound, I would keep it that way as long as possible. If it is very poor or damaged I would consider re-gelcoating rather than paint.

.

Got it here:, small mistake, the 100ml 'touch up kit' was only £49...!

My respray was done in 2016, still looks good except for some chips and scuffs

Awlgrip Coatings

Good service and quite helpful, although they told me I could polish out scuffs with T-cut but either they're winding me up or I was doing it wrongly !

 

[Goldie]

We've worn the 'best anchor' theme almost to death. Time for a fresh Divisive Issue?

I'm mulling over the question of Fresh Paint For Topsides.

Inter-Perfection vs Awlgrip? Or leave well alone and just go sailing....?

After a fair amount of research, a friend of mine (in the marine industry himself) has just had his boat repainted using an Epifanes product. I can’t remember the exact paint but could ask if there’s interest.

This finish (which I think is absolutely superb) was achieved by roller - no tipping off. Passers by keep asking ‘who sprayed your boat?’.

 

[Buck Turgidson]

how much does a vinyl wrap cost?

 

[dunedin]

.... Or leave well alone and just go sailing....?

That

 

[Goldie]

how much does a vinyl wrap cost?

I know someone who received a quote to wrap his (modern-ish shaped) 40 footer. I think he was quoted circa £4k which presumably, includes removing the existing wrap.

 

[KevinV]

how much does a vinyl wrap cost?

It's worth having a youtube on removing it when it's been on too long - it ain't pretty

 

[William_H]

Paint the topsides is fairly easy and rewarding. it does enable you to cover up the inevitable scratches and repairs. I would suggest OP visit a paint specialist shop and consider an industrial polyurethane 2 pack paint. It is a job to safely spray but I found brushing not too bad. Some gloss in white. But easy to touch up further scratches. I think white is good for boat colour. However beware of dramatic change of colour as then paint failure or damage will show up worse than ever.
However as always just go sailing. ol'will

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Well, no-one is going to advertise their paint as "Worst Paint" or even as "Second Best Paint"! Giles used this gag in some of his cartoons where he showed an old-fashioned, cluttered store, usually with Vera and Grandma!

 

[Stemar]

how much does a vinyl wrap cost?

A panic attack every time you or a nearby boat gets it wrong coming alongside...

More seriously, how do wraps stand up to fenders rubbing on it?

 

[vyv_cox]

We watched a couple re-gelcoat the topsides of a 38 ft yacht in Greece. Not too arduous, took about a month that included lots of waiting around. Preferable to painting because runs or imperfections are sanded off quite easily. Several coats rolled on, then sanded and polished.

 

[Sea Change]

We watched a couple re-gelcoat the topsides of a 38 ft yacht in Greece. Not too arduous, took about a month that included lots of waiting around. Preferable to painting because runs or imperfections are sanded off quite easily. Several coats rolled on, then sanded and polished.

Interesting. I've only ever used the little tubes/pots of gelcoat filler. I presume they were using something better, with easier application and longer pot life?

 

[rogerthebodger]

I sprayed my boat and deck with a produce called Alexseal.

Products | Premium Topcoat 501

This was used to spray jet airliners and that fly high and subject to both UV and very high temperatures range from sitting on the runway in the tropics to very cold at altitude

It was sprayed about 15/17 years ago and still looks good except for the damage that it suffered when our marina broke up and scratched the hull paintwork

https://flic.kr/p/WVjvQw

Just before launch in 2009

https://flic.kr/p/VKkYjg

Just after spraying

 

[V1701]

Deleted - not relevant

 

[vyv_cox]

Interesting. I've only ever used the little tubes/pots of gelcoat filler. I presume they were using something better, with easier application and longer pot life?

Just standard gelcoat as used for GRP layup. Theirs was pigmented white. Pot life is usually adequate for a couple of square metres. They had divided topsides into vertical panels, about six from memory, doing one per day. They only used rollers, no brushing.