Cost of re-spray

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chinita

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I keep a 1972, 32ft yacht in Portugal.

Hull has been re-painted at some stage in the past but is now suffering from UV degradation of the paint.

Deck, coachroof and cockpit are original (very light mustardy) pigmented gelcoat but there are numerous chips, holes and gouges which are difficult to colour match with epoxy filler and/or paint.

The yard has quoted for the full job: Lift out/in, storage, preparation and spray painting with International Perfection or Awlgrip.

€12,500.00.

Of course, 23% of that is VAT but the interesting part for me is the quote for the hull (the easy bit) is about 40% more than the fiddly deck and cockpit where all kinds of remedial work needs doing as well as removal and replacing of all the deck fittings.

Spending that on a boat worth about £15k is probably a bit silly and I shall probably roll and tip the hull myself in the Autumn and consider how to tackle the rest the following Spring.

I just wondered if the quote was 'fair' or an example of 'rich boatowner' syndrome?
 
chinita said:
I keep a 1972, 32ft yacht in Portugal.

Hull has been re-painted at some stage in the past but is now suffering from UV degradation of the paint.

Deck, coachroof and cockpit are original (very light mustardy) pigmented gelcoat but there are numerous chips, holes and gouges which are difficult to colour match with epoxy filler and/or paint.

The yard has quoted for the full job: Lift out/in, storage, preparation and spray painting with International Perfection or Awlgrip.

€12,500.00.

Of course, 23% of that is VAT but the interesting part for me is the quote for the hull (the easy bit) is about 40% more than the fiddly deck and cockpit where all kinds of remedial work needs doing as well as removal and replacing of all the deck fittings.

Spending that on a boat worth about £15k is probably a bit silly and I shall probably roll and tip the hull myself in the Autumn and consider how to tackle the rest the following Spring.

I just wondered if the quote was 'fair' or an example of 'rich boatowner' syndrome?
Click to expand...

I know its your pride and joy but why not paint it with a brush or roller? I have painted many Vintage and Veteran motorbikes with a brush with good results. FYI the Morris factory in Oxford (now the Mini plant) had no spray shop untill 1929-the cars were coach painted untill then. Our narrowboat that we owned in the seventies was brush painted and looked a picture. The advantages are, apart from cost, easy to touch up, very little kit required and no serious masking to avoid overspray. Before I paint a Motorbike tank I practice on an old car bonnet or door to get the paint/ thinners mix just right. My next door neighbour won the Morris Register Concour once with his Bullnose. It was not the best one there but it was coach painted. The shiny one had an expensive spray job, but was not as it left the factory. He painted it himself in three days, including preparation in a normal garage. Worth thinking about. Good Luck whatever route you take.
 
saltylegs said:
Way to much, 2 of us used to get undercoat and 2 topcoat's of international perfection onto a 50 footer in one weekend, roll on and pad off 1 square metre at a time.

ps perhaps I should move to Portugal
Click to expand...

I presume there wasn't much in the way of preparation done during that weekend. I need to do the deck & cabin top on my 24 footer and I'm expecting to spend the thick end of 2 weeks filling and fairing before I even think about picking up a paintbrush.

I was speaking to a paint manufacturer at the Boat Show on Friday. He suggested using 2 pack paint for longest life:

Prep (the hard bit!), then 2 coats high build epoxy primer, rub smooth then 1 coat top coat, de-nib with 1200 wet 'n dry, wash & dry, 2nd coat within 72 hours (absolute max). Leave a couple of weeks (no upper limit) then de-nib with 1200 & finally polish til you can see your face in it.

Application of the 2-pack at over 15 deg C with a roller, finishing with a Jenny brush (optional if you don't mind a bit more work polishing). If insects get on it, ignore them until the paint's dry, when they'l hardly leave a trace. If you try while it's wet, you'll make a Horlicks of the whole thing.
 
It wouldnt cost you that much to get a Rolls Royce resrayed.....

It isnt that difficult to do especially the way that has been suggested, Roll & Tip.

Give it a go even if you mess it up you will always be able to fall back on the quote of £12k :o

Tom
 
Here's a thought - what about vinyl stickers. Ever seen those race boats with cool looking graphics? They cover the entire hull with vinyl. Not just the logos, but the entire hull.

I got an estimate for a 21 footer of about €1500, which included graphics and application. It might be a bit cheaper for "plain" i.e. one colour vinyl. Or you might put something interesting on the side, for not much extra.
 
When I get a quote like that, I always find it worthwhile to understand better how they came up with the figures.

For your job they only have two real components. Materials and labour.

I would ask them to split the quote into those components and then to show the labour as man-hours and rate. If thy will not do this you definitely walk away as they are surely ripping you off. If they do the breakdown I would then:

1. Make sure the material cost is reasonable. Should be possible to estimate yourself.
2. Have a look at the hours. It may be thAt they have misunderstood, or that there is a mismatch between what you think it will take and what it really will take.
3. Check that the labour rate is right for the area you are in. Commercial labour rates may well be many multiples of what the person gets paid. There are lots of boatyard workers in the UK tht are paid say £10 per hour and charged out at £30 plus VAT.

I suspect your problem may well lie in number 3. above.
 
Thanks everybody.

I suspect that they do not really want, or need, the job. With labour rates as low as they are here in Portugal there is a huge mark up on the true cost. I also reckon that to ask for a detailed breakdown will only result in a shake of the head and a wry smile.

A friend here recently had a big job done having agreed that he would only pay the cost of materials (long story); his bill was much larger than expected. When he asked for a breakdown of materials cost he realised that he had been charged for everything at their chandlery retail price!

I am not afraid of rolling and tipping; I have done the job several times on my wooden boat in UK. The main pain is the removal, or masking, of the plethora of deck and cockpit fittings.

I don't even mind the dirty prep work as, thankfully, the climate in autumn and spring is a pleasure to work in.

Will spend the next few weeks working out the game plan!

Again, many thanks to all.
 
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