Paint - Steel boat

[summerwind]

Having primed, undercoated, anti-slip painted and over coat painted my steel deck, I have now top coated it with 2 part epoxy. Even though I say so myself, it looks really good and I was pleased with my efforts.

The neighbour on the next mooring congratulated me on the results but then shocked me by saying that 2 part epoxy is no good because it will powder. He said I should now paint it with a polyeurathane paint. This is contrary to other advice I have received, but this guy seems pretty knowledgable about these things.

Can I therefore please ask the advice of the forum. Is the epoxy paint OK, or should I paint with something else? All comments will be gratefully received.

 

[Gaffer]

Epoxy is poor at colour retention, and is suseptable to poudering in sunlight, but this will not affect the other properties of the paint.

If any of the coats you applied first are single pack then there may well be an adhesion problem with the two pack.

The general rule is that a single pack coating can go on top of a two pack, but a two pack coating cannot go on top of a single pack coating.

 

[PaulJ]

I suspect your neighbour is right but why don't you phone/e-mail the paint/epoxy manufacturer who will be able to advise you.

 

[gus]

Just continue to admire it! I have a steel boat and have mixed and matched single pack and two pack without any problems. As long as the base paint is well dry and the applied paint is not too thick then it will cure/dry before there is any reaction. The 2-pack epoxy will give a resiliance to the deck and can be tidied up with ordinary polyeurathane when it is required later.
For any rust spots which inevitably appear on a steel boat, I have found that the best is to abrade the rust to feather the edge and clean the steel. Then apply Hammerite metal primer to which is added some Owitrol. Seals it off a treat, then finish off with a top coat of your choice. Seems to work better than many 'high tech' alternatives.

 

[ccscott49]

I suspect the guy is right, epoxy is UV degraded quite quickly, polyurethane isn't. A lot of wooden boats use epoxy as an undercoat, even as a cl;ear varnish, but always overcoat with polyurethane to gain UV resistance. But now its on, I'd leave it alone and wait and see, if the sun is going to degrade it, it will very quickly on horizontal surfaces.

 

[andyball]

Venezianai sell a paint called Unikote: a 2-pack epoxy ,claimed to be an ideal finish for decks & suitable for working boats. So maybe you'll be OK?.

 

[jeanette]

Yes, your paint will powder but it is much easier (and cheaper) to repaint when the time comes. For your next coat, all you will need to do is de-grease, key the surface and re-coat. I don't think this is as simple a task with polyurethane finishes. Don't try to apply polyurethane over the existing scheme without consulting both paint companies.

The 'matt' look does has some advantages. Polyurethane finishes look great on a sleek or new hull. Most of us will end up patching and repairing the finish for a long time before we get round to painting. In this event, the ordinary epoxy finish will not show the blemishes as obviously as polyurethane.

The powder has some disadvantages, you will need to wash down the decks more often.

If you would like more advice I can recommend this forum: http://www.metalboatsociety.com/.



Jeanette

 

[summerwind]

Thanks for the respnses.

With the "summer" we are having I don't think washing the decks down is goint to be too big a chore ;-)