Looking for advice on hull repaint

[ben331]

+1 for Desty and awlcraft, had my v39 resprayed by Desty a couple of years ago, still looks a1 today and far easier to repair than gel coat.

 

[Boatbore]

Thanks Crossy and ben331, Really helpful to hear you’re both pleased with Awlcraft and Desty.

Ben331, Did you use a metallic paint ?

 

[Boat2016]

Yep agree ^^^
Investigate Dupont before committing.:encouragement:

Well with painting I herd some yards have a baking oven like cars I think the Monaco marine @ Cogolin ( SOF ) have a large one .
I guess it’s just reputation, that “ WILD “ group look ok
Lucci in Roma do a lot of Itama s
https://imgur.com/gallery/hWPXu

Wild group and Grapefruit were the two companies recommended to me, neither were the cheapest but quality of work was way above that of the others.

Thanks also from me for all for the advice, this was something I was about to ask but the OP beat me to it, is always good to get some first hand experience from those that have already parted with some of their hard earned

 

[jrudge]

Where did you hear that ? they have been wrapping high speed craft and helicopters for a while now and curious to know who’s had a problem with it peeling off as not been told of that one yet, been researching hull wraps in a big way as I’m looking at doing same as the OP with a boat I’m currently looking at as don’t like the hull colour

I will reply better in the morning. Boats and wrap don’t mix please believe me. It is expensive snake oil. Jfm just might have a view also !

 

[jrudge]

I’ve seen it on boats lifted in the yard .
It’s to do with the shape of the bow and the position of the spray rails - those bits of “ Tolberone “ attached .
If they ride up above the waterline then the wrap is pounded off - delaminates .
I have not got any pics of the failed wraps but can post a few pics of what I mean

Here you can see the Tolberone is below the water line - does not get wrapped .If wrapping was done it would end at the white stripes on smooth surface .
https://imgur.com/gallery/sBPmS

View attachment 68389
Here I have marked in red where I have seen wrap delaminate on two fast boats in the yard at random 1 week in May .

Porto

That is the hull where anti mould goes ... not wrap!

 

[jrudge]

I will reply better in the morning. Boats and wrap don’t mix please believe me. It is expensive snake oil. Jfm just might have a view also !

So as promised a better reply.

I would be very wary of using wrap on a hull.

We had a brand new Squadron 65 wrapped from new.

I wont name the wrap company. Some of what follows was their fault ( not passing on care info etc) but on each occasion they stepped upto the plate and fixed the issues. The core problem is that wrap is simply not fit for purpose for a boat.

Boats have water rushing over them. They do scuff things ( ropes, fenders) etc. Cars dont tend to have this issue!

The day we collected it the wrap was damaged on both sides where it was lifted.

Lifting takes extreme care and lots of Yoga Mats. Even then you can easily damage it. Ignore any claim that repairs are invisible ... they are not.

On the first big trip some came off the port side. This is where they have applied the wrap around skin fittings. The theory might be to remove the fitting but if you look at the number of fittings on a big boat you will know this will never happen. Most are tricky to access and it would add days to the process.

On the first mooring in Jersey we tied up along side. The rope rubbed on the wrap and immediately tore the wrap. Unless you (a) know this is an issue - you get no warning or advise (b) take extreme care and are VERY bossy with people doing your ropes it is very difficult to avoid ropes touching the wrap ( design of your boat will also dictate this). In the med with stern too mooring this effect is reduced, but you still come along side for fuel and as soon as the rope touches the wrap will tear. Note not might tear - it will tear.

So bear in mind at this point the wrap was a few days old .... and had cost £6k.

The underlying wrap for a 65 foot boat at retail price is £500 ish. It took a few guys a full day ( woking in to the night) to wrap it ... so there is VERY good money in wrapping boats.

After a year or so and a heap more scufs and tears the wrap looked dreadful. On all scuppers and drains were white lime type marks down the wrap. It was also fender scratched. Nothing would remove the marks.

The life of this stuff is somewhere between 3-6 years depending on what you read and who you believe.

We claimed on warranty.

Pics sent to the wrap manufacturer - you must have used some terrible chemicals on the boat. Denied. Nothing odd was used on the boat. It was not under guardinage so was actually not washed that often. The teak had been cleaned once by the dealer.

My solution was to say to the company I would stand in as the wrap manufacture and pay £500 for the wrap and they could do the rest under warranty.

It turns out there are 2 types of wrap. One is supposed to be better than the other. Apparently we had the less good one due to the colour we chose ( not mentioned!). One the second go we had the "super wrap"

This they duly did and it took them 2 days - one days to strip and clean and one to apply. So fast if you know what you are doing. They "lost" the wrap whilst the boat was out of the water and they also paid for a lift which cost some E2000 so I really have no service complaints.

A year later. The same. Great streaks down it and the odd tear. The boat passed to my Ex wife and is now for sale..... the wrap has been removed. The good news is the gelcoat underneath is brand new ..

We did it as the hull was cast when we bought it and I did not want blue.

I would advise anyone to think very very carefully before wrapping a boat.

A friend has a V42 with a knackered blue hull. He wrapped it himself and it looks a lot better - so in certain cases it maybe a good idea.

I would look at where your ropes go, and if on your boat they cross an area you would wrap then quite simply dont do it.

I dont know what painting costs but it must be a better option. That said I would never paint a new boat as I would assume people would think i was trying to hide something .

It is just not fit for purpose in my view. A few companies will be making a simply huge amount of money wrapping boats as the materials are cheap and the time to apply it - if you know what you are doing - is short.

I wont steal someone else's thunder but another forum member has an issue at present that is proving difficult to deal with. His is mostly sun related - and the wrap on a horizontal surface does not stand up to UV and fades / cracks.

 

[MAFWeiss]

I will reply better in the morning. Boats and wrap don’t mix please believe me. It is expensive snake oil. Jfm just might have a view also !

For what it is worth, I have had no problems with my wrapped 70 foot Artemisia which is kept under the unrelenting sun and withering heat in Southern Italy now for two seasons. I would definitely consider wrapping again. Yes the odd scuff mark, and very minor scratch, but the cost saving was something not to be ignored!

 

[cvt]

What I really don’t seem able to get much info on is whether there is any other quality paint manufacturer with a darker blue metallic option (than the Awlcraft Bahia blue).

I don't think you've even scratched the surface of what is available. You are only using what is referred to as "factory pack" colors (standard,ready-to-ship today) and doesn't include the thousand of colors developed by the auto manufacturers

Having had multiple boats,aircraft,motorcycles,watercraft,helmets etc etc painted I suggest you seek out the paint company reps nearest to you, like BASF, Axalta, PPG etc, and invest a little time in learning about the properties of the various paint lines --single stage vs basecoat/clearcoat, (e.g. what is different about Glasurit from RM ---both BASF products) and finding a painter you want to work with (they usually stick to one company and don't crossover).

Also,the paint suppliers maintain color labs that can and will provide formulation for paint colors across product lines (e.g. Axalta providing formula for Porsche Guards red for use in its Corlar line of industrial coating to paint iron for highly corrosive environment).

In your case you could have the Superhawk refinished in Aston Martin Mariana Blue if you wanted.

 

[Portofino]

Porto

That is the hull where anti mould goes ... not wrap!

Confused ? Ps elaborate

The pic was an illustration of the place I have seen wraps delaminate .
I thought I made it clear “ I have no pics “
It seems to come off on the spray rails on those boats that have warped rails above the WL .
Imagine if all that while hull ,inc the bow bit was wrapped in say a pale gold or champagne colour like a modern Pershing Btw Pershings are spray painted in silver or champagne or what ever colour is in flavour .

Here’s the pic - it tears off where marked in red - just to be clear I have pic no pics of the two-boats I saw damaged and this pic is an illustrative example to show where I saw it go 1 st start to peel off .
https://imgur.com/gallery/nbwNf


My blue boat inevitably will need some cosmetic deatailing ,so ihave naturally developed an interest in wrapping Vs painting and then the subdivision of which paint and been in touch with a few yards tentatively.
I,am in no rush not desperate and erring on the side of an established Itama restorer like Lucci boats in Roma .

I have researched wrapping paying particular attention to high speed - it does seem 3 M stuff is the best and further to prevent delamination the fitters ( time permitted ) should paint a sealing compound/ lacquer on vulnerable edges like those spray rails or through the hull exists like on your boat which where you report delamination .
Additionally this “ 3M lacquer “ application to the edges should be repeated annually.
Apparently if 3M stuff is fitted carefully and 3M lacquered at the edges annually — then it seems to work .

I have already made my mind up - paint and probably Dupont

 

[Portofino]

Prefer this for my boat when it’s ready
https://imgur.com/gallery/bNgD1

 

[BruceK]

Yep agree ^^^
Investigate Dupont before committing.:encouragement:

Well with painting I herd some yards have a baking oven like cars I think the Monaco marine @ Cogolin ( SOF ) have a large one .
I guess it’s just reputation, that “ WILD “ group look ok
Lucci in Roma do a lot of Itama s
https://imgur.com/gallery/hWPXu

I cant comment on paints. I do know that for my own Dupont Imron was used. (Mine is an old boat). Formula Boats use Imron and Formula boat owners pride themselves on the paintwork. Definitely a case of doing some more investigative work

 

[Boatbore]

Thanks to all, I have made further enquiries into a wider spectrum of colours, and also into the Dupont paints. Thanks for the advice.

 

[MapisM]

I am removing the passarelle if anyone is looking for one. besenzoni’s finest......but too heavy for this boat.

Depending on the specs, conditions and price, I might be able to find a new home for it.
If you're interested, just PM me.

Ref. the colour, FWIW I'm in the original blue camp. Really beautiful vessel regardless! :encouragement: