Deck Paint Quandary...

[KevO]

Having received such good advice re gelcoat etc, I'll chance my arm again...

My NTM Hustler has 3-tone uppers. The original white gelcoat survives in the cockpit, the hatchway assembly and around the sides of the coachroof. In the cockpit area are a number of poorly completed repairs where previous instruments and fixtures have been removed and the screw holes etc glassed over in various mis-matched tones of white and with varying degrees of smooth finish. It could do with a coat of suitable paint once I have tidied up the surface.

The deck area and the top of the coachroof has been painted (?) with a light grey, slightly satin, finish (def not hi gloss anyway - actually, to the touch it feels just like the unpolished white gelcoat). It has worn almost translucently thin in some areas and the white layer beneath is showing through.

Some areas of the deck and coachroof have a non-slip texture which has been painted over in a light blue which I dislike (a lot ) and I would much prefer to be a darker, more complimentary, tone of grey.

Boat is outside in a boatyard. I cannot afford to get it all fettled and sprayed up by a high-falutin' profeshnial. What compatible DIY paint options should I explore for a long-lasting solution.

 

[sarabande]

i used a textured exterior masonry paint on deck , with one coat lastring >5 years before needing repainting.

I have recently bought some more Dulux Weathershield Textured, to do the same for next season. Other brands are available, and are probably the same stuff anyway.

Easy to apply on a well-prepared surface, it comes on umpteen colours, and is a doddle to touch up if you ding a section of the deck. It seems to have good anti-fungal properties as well, so bird**** does not stain if left.

 

[rob2]

You really can't do much until the weather allows. If you want to go two-tone rather than three, then obviously when you have prepared the cockpit area, then paint over the grey too. A single pack paint is simpler to apply, with a two pack you really would find an assistant needed. It is usually advised that the paint should be applied by roller and tipped off with a top quality soft brush, unless you find an orange peel effect attractive! I believe that masonry paint is available in a neutral grey which should sort the blue out.

Rob.

 

[chinita]

i used a textured exterior masonry paint on deck , with one coat lastring >5 years before needing repainting.

I have recently bought some more Dulux Weathershield Textured, to do the same for next season. Other brands are available, and are probably the same stuff anyway.

Easy to apply on a well-prepared surface, it comes on umpteen colours, and is a doddle to touch up if you ding a section of the deck. It seems to have good anti-fungal properties as well, so bird**** does not stain if left.

Me too, except that I use smooth rather than textured - still seems to provide non-slip pretty effectively. Do this with both boats (UK and Portugal) and costs a fraction of marine deck paint.

No answer for your other problems as I am facing the same dilemma with my 1974 32ft GRP Van der Stadt Pioneer. Similar gelcoat filler problems on the coachroof and cockpit, similar mis-matchings over the years. Every time I decide to bite the bullet I look at all the deck fittings and other problems I retire below and open a bottle. Thank God the UK boat is wood!

Doing it myself is the only option - the yard here quoted €14k !!!

 

[KevO]

I'm happy to keep the 3-tone although the blue has to go... a darker grey would work nicely instead. If there weren't so many blemishes in the cockpit I wouldn't even paint the white at all but I think that's the only way to make the cockpit look nice again and I'm not convinced weathershield masonary would work there (cockpit sides and locker fronts, sides etc). I suspect it needs to be something harder and less 'matt' than typical masonary paint finishes.

For the deck though I could see a light grey weathershield as the base coat and a darker grey overpainted on the non-slip textured panels. Does that stuff need any kind of special primer/undercoat?

 

[Tranona]

Would not paint the bits that are supposed to be shiny white with Weathershield. Really needs a gloss and as suggested it is a massive job if you are going to do the whole superstructure to get it to match and look good because of all the odd shapes and fittings to either remove or work around. For the non slip bits that looks like International non slip deck paint which you can just mask off and overcoat with the same stuff in a different colour. One tin should do the whole area.

 

[Boathook]

i used a textured exterior masonry paint on deck , with one coat lastring >5 years before needing repainting.

I have recently bought some more Dulux Weathershield Textured, to do the same for next season. Other brands are available, and are probably the same stuff anyway.

Easy to apply on a well-prepared surface, it comes on umpteen colours, and is a doddle to touch up if you ding a section of the deck. It seems to have good anti-fungal properties as well, so bird**** does not stain if left.

Dulux trade smooth masonary paint. You can get it tinted / coloured and as mentioned seems to stay clean and provides grip. I'm in my first year with the stuff, but so far very pleased. I spent more time cleaning, sanding and masking off than actually painting. It also dries fairly quickly though mine had at least a week before I went sailing.

The sides of the cabin top I have used international toplac mixed 1 to 1 with a flattener? to remove the shine. I had this tinted by my local Dulux trade centre to a very light grey to try and match existing. This has lasted for around 3 years with only one coat and still looks good.

 

[Ex-SolentBoy]

We used International Interdeck on this. Pretty easy job really, just remove the flaky stuff beneath and roller it on. Worth spending time masking properly of course.

Two of us did this boat in a day.

 

[KevO]

That looks very nice

 

[richardh10]

Ex Solent Boy

That looks great! I'd be well pleased if I could get mine looking like that!

Presumably between removing the flaky bits and rollering it on you filled and sanded, or did the interdeck just fill the gaps?

Cheers

 

[WestWittering]

Very nice exSB - available for commissions?

Di

 

[V1701]

First go after filling all the holes in the cockpit, etc. was with weathershield - very hard wearing but horrible finish, way too matt. Second go used light grey hempel multicoat, not matt but not too glossy either & miles better. Comes in lots of colours, the light grey is very light grey as you can see below, not as hard wearing as the masonry paint but should last a few years I hope...

View attachment 27656 View attachment 27657

 

[Ex-SolentBoy]

My rates are very reasonable, as long as the boat is on the Isle of Wight! I require no more than food and wine.

I was actually very surprised how easy the job was. The original surface had no holes as such, other than pin holes. No filling was required. The paint is quite thick so acts as its own filler. We also applied a second coat to the high wear areas. Very important to keep stirring the pot as the grit in the paint sinks to the bottom.

I have used masonry paint on houses before and I think this stuff is a bit more gritty.

I reckon that more than half the time was taken to mask up. We started masking up together and when we got halfway I switched to painting using one of those smaller rollers that you get for antifoul. At the end I was waiting for the masking man!

We did the job last January and fortunately just managed for it to dry before it snowed.

 

[lustyd]

Use a 2 pack paint without doubt as it's much harder wearing than any single pack. Don't use weathershield or similar unless the boat is past it and you don't love it enough to spend £30-£40. Is your boat cheap/shoddy enough that £30-£40 is a lot of money? Don't use sand for texture, it will destroy your oilies and any crew's oilies so you won't be popular. Non-slip pearls are about £3 from a chandlery and work extremely well while not destroying the things which come into contact with them (made of soft plastic).

ETA - forgot to say, whatever you do don't choose white paint. No boats are really white and you'll be surprised how white white paint can be!

 

[V1701]

Use a 2 pack paint without doubt as it's much harder wearing than any single pack. Don't use weathershield or similar unless the boat is past it and you don't love it enough to spend £30-£40. Is your boat cheap/shoddy enough that £30-£40 is a lot of money? Don't use sand for texture, it will destroy your oilies and any crew's oilies so you won't be popular. Non-slip pearls are about £3 from a chandlery and work extremely well while not destroying the things which come into contact with them (made of soft plastic).

ETA - forgot to say, whatever you do don't choose white paint. No boats are really white and you'll be surprised how white white paint can be!

Yes, the light grey I used is very bright in sunlight, the matt white weathershield was terrible...

 

[ianj99]

I used Interdeck but will repaint with a darker shade of Weathershield or similar this year. The combination of Interdeck on top of Treadmaster is painful to kneel on!

The white was Toplac ontop of the original PU (with primer in between). Wish I could afford a pro respray all over.

 

[KevO]

So... I think it's gonna be light grey interdeck on the deck sides and coachroof with the grippy areas picked out in a darker shade.

Now to the cockpit...

The teak on ply floor panels were rotted out underneath so have been lifted and binned. Floor hatch and surface is being filled and faired and will be painted light grey with the same interdeck paint then reclaimed teak gratings put down on top. But what about the rest of the cockpit,. i.e. the sides, the locker fronts and sides, the coachroof to either side of the companionway steps etc? The original white gelcoat has seen better days with spider cracks and poorly filled holes (the site of previous instruments etc) in places. It would really benefit from a paint over but I don't want anything too white, too gloss, or too rough, or too short-lived. Would the interdeck be too textured for such use?

Sorry to keep asking so many dumb paint related questions but I want to get it right first time if I'm gonna do it at all.