Should I paint my cockpit?

[Tam Lin]

The cockpit on my Centaur is looking a bit scruffy especially at the front next to the washboards where there is a lot of crazing and however hard I clean it always looks grey. I saw the PBO project boat, Hantu Biru at the Southampton Boat Show and was impressed and it got me thinking, should is paint my cockpit? However, the GRP on the rest of the boat is fine so can I just do inside the cockpit? If I did, where would I stop? I have the feeling that once I started I would find it difficult to find a natural place to stop and would go over the coamings and end up doing all the boat, which I don't want to do.
Anyone painted their cockpit and how did it go? Anyone got any thoughts on the pros and cons? All advice gratefully received before I do something I may regret later.

 

[Phoenix of Hamble]

I'll be interested in this, as I am planning to paint mine for much the same reasons.... I intend to mask a neat line across the top of the coamings, and have spent a fair bit of time colour matching the paint to try and make it as inconspicuous as possible.

 

[planteater]

I painted mine 2 years ago as I had removed a lot of fittings and it was more filler than gelcoat. I would highly recommend Hempel multicoat if you do proceed - it goes on easily and the satin finish is very forgiving.

Before

After

 

[Kelpie]

My previous boat had been painted- cockpit, coachroof, deck, the lot. I'm sure it looked great for a season or two, but when we got her- about ten years down the line- it looked bloody awful. I always meant to tart it up but being a one piece deck/coachroof/cockpit moulding it seemed like once I started painting, I would have to carry on until I'd done the whole thing- so I never did.
If you have wooden trim on the coamings, and similar well defined edges, that would probably help...

 

[rob2]

Another option would be to flowcoat rather than paint. as you probably already know gelcoat is mixed with wax in styrene and applied like a paint, the wax rising to the surface and thus allowing the gelcoat to cure. The resulting surface is akin to having a brand new gelcoat, although the original surface must be thoroughly keyed to promote a mechanical adhesion. There are those who say that thoroughly cleaning the old surface with acetone softens the GRP and some degree of chemical bond can be achieved, but I wouldn't relish handling that much solvent - it's harmful to your health in any quantity even if you don't manage to accidentally set it alight! But a mechanical key will be better than most paints can achieve as the materials are identical. The resulting finish will be smooth, apart from any sags and dribbles, and can be sanded and polished to reach whatever standard is acceptable to you. It would probably be a good idea to go for a light grey (anti-dazzle) colour so that matching isn't an issue and simply choose an upper limit to suit the topography of the cockpit and make it look "intentional". If you're including the cockpit sole in your plans, then flowcoat would definitely be harder wearing than any paint and you could either add sand for non-slip or use a non-slip paint on top. I wonder whether chlorinated rubber would wear well? It certainly gives a good grip.

Rob.

 

[William_H]

Flow coat is as you say a form of polyester resin. This will stick to old fibreglass but is really best at what it is intended to be used on which is newly laid up GRP ie on the inside of a dinghy hull.
It smooths out the rough laid side. Far better for old GRP is a 2 pack polyurethane type paint. It has much better adhesion and is just as tough if not tougher.
As to the OP question it is avery valid question with no answer. Once you start painting GRP you may not want to or be able to stop.The only real down side is when you paint molded in non skid surfaces cos you paint smooths it out. So you may have to add granules of non skid or use a non skid paint.
So I would advocate that you clean the GRP as best you can with oxalic acid etc and see how it looks. If you are still not satisfied then get out the paint brush.
I painted miner some years back with polyurethane using a brush. It looks OK not brilliant close up but is now easy to keep at that standard of finish. I think inevitably all GRP boats will be painted simply becuase the structure lasts for ever but not so the surface finmish. good luck olewill
PS to Planteater try reducing your picture size so it fits in a standard screen.

 

[vyv_cox]

I have posted about this before, so sorry if you have to read it again. We watched a Swedish couple re-gelcoat their topsides in Greece, on a 38 ft boat. They ground out the old gelcoat and rollered the new on in several coats, finishing by sanding and polishing. It took them a long time but the results were excellent.

At the same time they were renewing the cockpit surface and started with flowcoat. After a short time they decided that this was going to be a very difficult job due to the properties of flowcoat on varying surfaces, so they switched to a two-pack paint system instead. They found this easier but not without problems. The main comment I remember was that working with flowcoat was easy because in the event of a run or uneven surface it could be ground flat very easily, whereas the two-pack needed to be more precisely laid.

 

[fisherman]

I have flo coated the inside of my bulwarks three times since 2001. Temp, mix are critical to the finish, obviously mine gets a lot of muck on it. It can be smooth and hard if you get it right, then easy to clean. Adhesion: well I did a patch of deck recently, pressure wash followed by a brush over with acetone immediately before flocoat, stuck very well.

 

[Iliade]

There are special thixotropic flowcoats for vertical surfaces.
I thought this lot did one, but cannot currently see it on their listing: http://www.ecfibreglasssupplies.co.uk. Maybe ask them?