Painting (or otherwise colouring) a cove line gold

sniffyjenkins

sniffyjenkins

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Hi all

I'm investigating painting - or doing something to - an indented cove line in gold. This on a S&S 34. Eventually. Hopefully.

So, in my internet research thus far we have a number of methods, each espoused by a number of people. These are, in no particular order:

  • Real gold leaf - expensive, not easy to DIY and make it look good, but ultimately super lovely
  • Coveline tape - cheap, maybe lasts, maybe doesn't?, maybe looks good, maybe doesn't? Some folks say it came off after a season, others that it has lasted 15 years. Hmm.
  • Gold Hammerite
  • Some sort of artist's water-based enamel paint like Humbrol - varnished over the top, this sounds surprisingly good, also very cheap

I'd like to get any other advice or experiences with any or all of the above. Ideally, I'd like real gold leaf applied by a professional, because I like nice things, but I think this is off the list simply because of cost.

OR IS IT?

I don't know.

What say you?
 
On my last boat I used gold cove tape, bought from a chandler, British-made. Looked brilliant new, but faded to white after a couple of years. Still looked OK, if rather less regal, and at least didn't fall off.

That was in hot climes, so colour may be more durable in UK.
 
The best visual solution will be gold leaf; if you can find a decent signwriter, they'd easily do it in a day, it would last for years, and it might not be quite as expensive as you'd imagine.

Self-adhesive vinyl tape won't last as long, and might be rather tricky to apply evenly in a recessed curved cove line.

If you paint it yourself, be sure to mask it with fine line tape.
 
Much of the cost for the real thing is for the preparation, which doesn't come cheap.

Being a regular user of acrylic paints I decided to do it myself, using the tubes that I had. The process was simple:

(1) Sand smooth the cove line using wet-or-dry abrasive paper.
(2) Mask the edges using blue painters' tape.
(3) Apply one coat of Cadmium Yellow (Medium).
(4) Apply one coat of Antique Gold.
(5) Remove masking tape.

The paints that I used were Winsor & Newton (Artist Quality) acrylic tubes, which I use regularly for my 'other' painting. Other brands are just as good - if they are 'Artist Quality'. Avoid using the cheap types, even the 'Student Quality from known brands, let alone the type that you find at Lidl and similar places.

Four years later there is no sign of any fading, even though the boat is in the Mediterranean. Taken in June of this year:

IMG_0368_zpsbb6kksro.jpg
 
PuffTheMagicDragon said:
Much of the cost for the real thing is for the preparation, which doesn't come cheap.

Being a regular user of acrylic paints I decided to do it myself, using the tubes that I had. The process was simple:

(1) Sand smooth the cove line using wet-or-dry abrasive paper.
(2) Mask the edges using blue painters' tape.
(3) Apply one coat of Cadmium Yellow (Medium).
(4) Apply one coat of Antique Gold.
(5) Remove masking tape.

The paints that I used were Winsor & Newton (Artist Quality) acrylic tubes, which I use regularly for my 'other' painting. Other brands are just as good - if they are 'Artist Quality'. Avoid using the cheap types, even the 'Student Quality from known brands, let alone the type that you find at Lidl and similar places.

Four years later there is no sign of any fading, even though the boat is in the Mediterranean. Taken in June of this year:

IMG_0368_zpsbb6kksro.jpg
Click to expand...
I like that. I had a boat from new with a gold leaf cove line, but it looked pretty sad after only a few years. I agree about the difference between artists and student quality paints, white in particular, though I haven't used them for an outdoor application. Would the OP's idea of applying a varnish coat improve the gloss or make it worse?
 
 
johnalison said:
Would the OP's idea of applying a varnish coat improve the gloss or make it worse?
Click to expand...

I didn't apply any, wanting to see what happens, so I really don't know. I think that 'normal' varnish would darken to a greater or lesser extent. I could try using the type of varnish that we use for protection of paintings I suppose. However, we usually wait for four to six months before applying it so as to allow the paint to 'cure' properly. This is done not only for oils but also for acrylics, which take some time to fully harden, even though the surface layers may give that impression.
I think that I might make a couple of 'with' and 'without' tests and leave them exposed to the elements but don't hold your breath.
 
Just to throw in yet another method: I use bronze powder (from an artist's shop) mixed into a slurry with polyurethan two pack varnish. This coat is followed by another coat of the same varnish without the bronze powder, as a sealer.
I have found this to look great for five to seven years and OK yet a few years.
 
I used to do a lot of gold leafing to metalwork. Largely self taught I used gold leaf transfer and gold size instead of pure gold leaf. Paint on the gold size then when nearly dry, cut and apply the gold leaf as a transfer and peel the backing paper off. Nowhere near as difficult as loose gold leaf. It's time consuming but not expensive. I always found that when using varnish outdoors it turned muddy brown so don't recomend varnish at all and suggest using lacquer instead.
I tried various gold paints but found none of them satisfactory, once again turning muddy or chocolatey. However I didn't know about "artist" quality paints. Having said all this, I've never done it on boats.
Mike
 
I redid mine several years (10+) ago using gold tape from the local chandlery.

Quick and simple and hasn't faded - mine is a matt old gold colour.

The advantage is it takes less time to apply the tape than it would to apply one side of the masking tape if you were going for a paint job, and very little other preparation needed either.
 
bedouin said:
I redid mine several years (10+) ago using gold tape from the local chandlery.

Quick and simple and hasn't faded - mine is a matt old gold colour.

The advantage is it takes less time to apply the tape than it would to apply one side of the masking tape if you were going for a paint job, and very little other preparation needed either.
Click to expand...
+1
I tried enamel paint but after a couple of seasons it started to break down and produced smears down the side of the boat - chances are the gold effect in the paint is actually finely ground brass (it is in metallic pens) so similar effect when weathered. Use a pukka coveline tape, not an unbranded gold tape from the likes of e-bay.
 
Thanks so much all for really detailed answers. And photographs of your absolutely beautiful boats!

I think at this point I'm tending towards artist grade gold acrylics. I think....
 
Another fan of Humbrol. The designer of Paean personally carved her name and the yard boss that built her, carved "Cowes" into her stern.

Every year or so we paint the carved letters in Humbrol antique gold model paint. One tiny tin has lasted 5 years.

This is usually the last job at the end of winter works. My eldest son always does it. We get everyone who has worked on the boat that winter down and and we crack open a beer or two while he does it. Sort of a relaunching tradition.
 
PhillM said:
Another fan of Humbrol. The designer of Paean personally carved her name and the yard boss that built her, carved "Cowes" into her stern.

Every year or so we paint the carved letters in Humbrol antique gold model paint. One tiny tin has lasted 5 years.

This is usually the last job at the end of winter works. My eldest son always does it. We get everyone who has worked on the boat that winter down and and we crack open a beer or two while he does it. Sort of a relaunching tradition.
Click to expand...

I like your style!
 
PhillM said:
Another fan of Humbrol. The designer of Paean personally carved her name and the yard boss that built her, carved "Cowes" into her stern.

Every year or so we paint the carved letters in Humbrol antique gold model paint. One tiny tin has lasted 5 years.

This is usually the last job at the end of winter works. My eldest son always does it. We get everyone who has worked on the boat that winter down and and we crack open a beer or two while he does it. Sort of a relaunching tradition.
Click to expand...

Right, it's looking like Humbrol is the front runner!
 
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