Just painted interior but it seems so easy to chip. What can be done?

[patrickza]

So my wife and I are busy refitting our Catalac to liveaboard. We're painting the interior, and followed the paint shops recommendations. Here's a before picture:

First we sanded everything from 80 grit up to 320 grit, then vacuumed, then wiped with a dry cloth, then with water, then degreaser, then water again, then acetone. Afterwards we primed with
Capacryl Haftprimer which is a 1 part acrylic primer, datasheet here and then painted 3 coats of Capacryl PU-Satin, also a 1 part paint, datasheet here.

To us it looks brilliant, but 24 hours after finishing I went to measure the sink, and my folding tape measure hit the side of the sink, and chipped the paint off really easily. So now I'm wondering what went wrong? There could be a few issues, it rained really heavily just after we painted, so maybe the humidity was too high. I'm also wondering if the paint recommendation might not have been the best from the paint shop. Here's the after picture:

Now the question is what can be done to make the surface tougher so it withstands cutlery being put on it without chipping? Is it simply a case of waiting for longer, or is there something else we can do? I'm wondering if painting over with a clear epoxy would leave a nice hard surface? Anything else you can advise?

 

[KevinV]

Four coats of single-pack paint is going to take some outgassing before it's fully hard throughout, especially low voc paints in cool damp weather - adding anything on top will add to the problem imo, not solve it. I'd advocate patience (and care in the meantime).

IF there's a problem, and without seeing how deep the chip is, my guess is it would be with the first coat adhesion to the bare surface, 320 is a bit fine for my taste (but I understand you followed instructions), and it would have been very tempting for the previous owner to slather it in silicone polish - although your regime really should have sorted that. It could just be a careless hand rested on the edge when leaning in to paint another bit - on a non-porous surface that could easily leave enough grease to spoil adhesion.

 

[Concerto]

I would suggest looking at the data sheet for Capacryl PU-Satin, the drying time of 48 hours provided the temperature is 20C and 65% humidity. The minimum temperature should be above 8C and below 70% humidity. Also seeing this paint can be sprayed, this suggests a thinner coating than brushing. Then you applied 3 brushed coats, so it will be far thicker than a commercial application that was sprayed. My feeling is the paint was touch dry but not fully hard.

If the paint does not stand up to cutlery, etc, then perhaps you should consider either a regular recoat or possibly applying a self adhesive vinyl which you change every few years.

 

[wallacebob]

Just had my living room decorated. Decorators said minimum 7-10 days before we should re-lay carpet or subject paintwork to knocks. It took a week for the smell to disappear : solvents evaporating. Old fashioned paint!

 

[Boathook]

@patrickza did you do any filling, especially the sink. Mine is starting to look bad .....
Regarding the paint chipping, I suspect that it will take a week or so to fully dry. As @Concerto mentioned if it is suitable for spraying hand painting will make the coats much thicker and therefore a lot slower to dry.
I painted some lockers on my Catalac with danboline? and it took quite a few weeks to fully dry. I suspect that lack of air movement in the lockers didn't help.

 

[srm]

If you intend to live aboard my experience, of both cats and monohulls, is that you need thermal insulation on all external surfaces above the cabin sole. This is to stop condensation when external temperatures drop and to prevent the interior becoming a solar oven in the sun. This will greatly increase your comfort.
As you seem to be doing a thorough refit now is the time to fit insulation. Just a thought for you to consider.

 

[Gsailor]

Can you put a heater in there?

Would that help I wonder?

 

[Daydream believer]

A Boat builder told me to use a good quality floor paint. Obviously a bit late for the Op but others may find it useful.
I put 2 coats the heads of the club committee boat & it lasts 2-3 years Ok on GRP. - but badly maintained, not cleaned & left to get very damp over winter etc..
On my Stella it was still good after 4 years. That was over resin coated timber

 

[thinwater]

Make counter protectors from fiberglass shower surround material. Neat, inexpensive, easy to shape, and durable. Place felt or Velcro loop-part strips on the back so that they do not scratch the underlying counter. Sand the edges sooth. Smart with gel coated built-in counters too.

Great looking paint job! It looks like a different boat.

 

[Refueler]

I can only support the idea that the paint being thicker has not cured fully.

Personally - I would have used a full Epoxy based (Enamel) paint which traditionally is hard and work resistant. There are many fancy paints out there supposed for specific jobs - but after so many years - I've come to conclusion that Epoxy based is a good all rounder.

 

[Neeves]

Our cat was built and fitted with a fibreglass galley sink constructed from (what looked like) a stainless steel off the shelf sink and drainer as a mold. I was constantly repairing the chips in the gel coat - the galley sink takes more knocks that most other areas in the yacht. Eventually we, or I, gave up and replaced the sink and drainer with a stainless steel version.

Accept the inevitable. Consider constant repair or protect the most exposed surfaces or replace the sink with a stainless version. Give the new paint more time - and buy some silicone mats, the sort to offer insulation from hot pots, use silicon baking sheets in high use areas and invest in a silicone washing up basin to fit in the sink.

Your preparation and painting looks exceptional, you should be proud of the improvement. I can understand your anguish - enough to make a grown man weep.

On insulation - our cat was built with a foam core above the waterline, that offers some insulation, and solid glass below. We normally don't have to worry about condensation but do need to cope with heat - good ventilation is part of the equation and good suncovers for the hatches and windows.

Jonathan

 

[ChromeDome]

If only I could find one small enough I'd replace the stainless sink in our pantry with a composite sink.

Installed one in our house 13 years ago (Franke brand, they call their compisite Tectonite or Fragranite but several out there) and it gets used. A lot.
Still in brilliant condition.

 

[AndrewB]

How is your paint doing today, Patrickza?

I'm left a little dubious of previous suggestions. Paint that is not fully cured is (in my limited experience) liable to scratch, not chip off. Chipping is more typical of fully cured paint that is not adhering well to the substrate. Might KevinK be right in thinking your 320 grit paper polished rather than roughened the bare surface?

 

[Neeves]

If only I could find one small enough I'd replace the stainless sink in our pantry with a composite sink.

Installed one in our house 13 years ago (Franke brand, they call their compisite Tectonite or Fragranite but several out there) and it gets used. A lot.
Still in brilliant condition.

I'm guessing that a composite sink and drainer is heavy - many multihull owners try to keep weight down.

Jonathan

 

[ChromeDome]

I'm guessing that a composite sink and drainer is heavy - many multihull owners try to keep weight down.

Jonathan

Indeed. The existing is probably 1 kg, composite maybe 3 or 4 times that.

On my boat it wouldn't make any difference, though.

 

[srm]

I'm guessing that a composite sink and drainer is heavy - many multihull owners try to keep weight down.

A few years ago I was looking at a smallish US built catamaran at the Toronto boat show. The sales rep was telling me about the way the designer/builder had avoided unnecessary weight until I pointed out the thick domestic kitchen type composite work tops in the galley. They looked very nice and no doubt helped sell the boat, but at what weight cost?

 

[Praxinoscope]

Speaking for myself , I would never paint grp, paint isn’t as chip/scratch résistent it looks good immediately after it has been done but in my experience deteriorates fairly quickly and will have to be re-painted at regular intervals.
.It’s lots of work but after sanding with a médium & dry grit (300 - 400) to ‘clean the gel coat up, I would keep going with 2000 - 2400 wet and dry, these fine wet/dry are fine enough to renew the ‘polished‘ appearance of the gel coat.

 

[srm]

Now the question is what can be done to make the surface tougher so it withstands cutlery being put on it without chipping?

My current boat is a medium displacement monohull. It has smallish ceramic tiles on the worktop around the sink and oven. No problem with chips and scratches. Given that a Catalack has no pretensions towards performance and as a liveaboard will soon become seriously overweight anyway it may be a solution for you.

 

[geem]

Speaking for myself , I would never paint grp, paint isn’t as chip/scratch résistent it looks good immediately after it has been done but in my experience deteriorates fairly quickly and will have to be re-painted at regular intervals.
.It’s lots of work but after sanding with a médium & dry grit (300 - 400) to ‘clean the gel coat up, I would keep going with 2000 - 2400 wet and dry, these fine wet/dry are fine enough to renew the ‘polished‘ appearance of the gel coat.

We painted a bulkhead in our front cabin a few years ago. We used a good quality single pack paint. That experience taught me to never use single pack paints again.
A couple of years ago we did some more painting to tired teak face ply. We used an epoxy primer then a two pack polyurethane. The quality and toughness is in a different league to the single pack paint. Our boat is sprayed with Awgrip. It's super tough. It is common to spray boats with two pack paints for their toughness. I suspect if the OP had used a good quality two pack he would not have the problem he now has

 

[Thistle]

Speaking for myself , I would never paint grp, paint isn’t as chip/scratch résistent it looks good immediately after it has been done but in my experience deteriorates fairly quickly and will have to be re-painted at regular intervals.
.It’s lots of work but after sanding with a médium & dry grit (300 - 400) to ‘clean the gel coat up, I would keep going with 2000 - 2400 wet and dry, these fine wet/dry are fine enough to renew the ‘polished‘ appearance of the gel coat.

Agreed. I wouldn't consider a painted finish on a kitchen sink at home so wouldn't do it on a boat either (though I appreciate that others may have different views.)