Topsides paint choice... Opinions please

[KevinV]

My little 22' er bashed it's bow on the pontoon over the winter - nothing terrible, easy repair, but it'll mean repainting the topsides.

At the moment the topcoat is poorly adhered and looks like it was done by a drunken blind man on a dark night - so that's all coming off (it's so bad I reckon most will come with the pressure washer). My guess is that the colour underneath is the original gelcoat, hence the poor adhesion.

What to put on next? Assuming I use International there are multiple choices - Toplac, Toplac plus, High Gloss HS in 1 pot, Perfection in 2-pot for professional use only now.

I'd really like to go with 2-pot for toughness but I'd really hate to muck it up. Is it that hard to get right? Should I just get a pro in? Assuming I strip the old stuff I can't imagine a little boat costing all that much to have done?

Or should I just use Toplac plus and accept that it'll get scuffed?

Opinions please..

 

[Caer Urfa]

International Toplac

 

[Tranona]

Depends on how much effort you want to put in plus conditions. The prep is roughly the same as for single pot but it is much less tolerant of temperature and humidity variations. Toplac is easy to apply, does not need extended curing time and gives a more than adequate finish for a hull. Easy to touch up and does not fade in my experience (with 105 Oxford Blue)

 

[PCUK]

Use a two pack or don't bother.

 

[Refueler]

Problem as I am now finding - two pack Perfection is no longer available t public - its for professionals only - I even tried via my Company - as it has Marine in the name ... no sale. .... my boat is Rochelle Red on Perfection ... and after storm rubbing has removed areas of paint on stbd side - most of it now on the fenders !! ... I need to have boat painted ...

The only paint now I can get is Toplac Single pot .... luckily the colour should be a match ...

 

[Refueler]

Use a two pack or don't bother.

Which two pack ? as most two packs are now discontinued for retail ... only allowed for Professional Yard use

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Which two pack ? as most two packs are now discontinued for retail ... only allowed for Professional Yard use

A friendly yard is what you need.

 

[rogerthebodger]

I used a 2 pack that was sprayed on.

I went and founs someone who sprayed cars and got then on a weekend to spray my boat as I did not have the skill

I used a paint called Alex seal which is the same as Awl Grip liner polyurethane.

Still shiny after over 10 years except the scratches due to me hitting the dock sometimes

 

[Rappey]

I used jotun 2 pack from sml coatings. 5 litres was cheaper than 2x 750ml international ! Jotun is thicker but didn't have any issues going over single pack.

 

[searocket]

Epifanes 2 component polyurethane is widely available in UK.

 

[Alicatt]

International Toplac

We used that on Casper before we sold her, she came up a treat with the Toplac

 

[William_H]

I would think any 2 pack polyurethane paint would be good. However you must remove all the old oil based paint first. Given that if you use your boat you will probably scratch it then you need a paint easily repairable.
I think 2 pack may be restricted because it can be dangerous when sprayed. I found it ok just brushed on. So easily repairable. Perhaps I am not fussy but it is ok for me. ol'will

 

[Sea Change]

I painted my 33ft boat with Toplac, can't say I enjoyed the experience at all. It was a bit better than the cheap Teamac I had used on a previous boat.

I'm now a big convert to two pack. It's not any harder to use really, in fact I would argue that it has more consistent behaviour. Because it cures chemically, not through evaporation, any runs or drips tend to cure almost as fast as the rest, making it much easier to flatten off.

I've used SML Lustre, which was excellent; Perfection, which was good but once opened the hardener would very quickly go solid; and now trying Jotun Hardtop AX, which seems good so far.

The biggest problems with two pack are that making up a small batch to do touch ups is a bit of a pain, and in the case of Perfection the hardener going off in the can made it quite expensive. The SML stuff didn't seem to do this, and I'm hoping that the Jotun won't either.

 

[lustyd]

The biggest problems with two pack are that making up a small batch to do touch ups is a bit of a pain

Just buy some small syringes or use digital kitchen scales. Both work and can go down to very small quantities. Tongue depressors snapped in half are good for mixing and pots are available in small sizes too. All these can be found on Amazon in bulk quantities for not much money.

 

[Refueler]

Seems that acquiring Perfection is getting harder ... the yard who will paint my 38 were refused ..... as was I when I quoted my Marine Company. The reply was that neither of us were recognised 'Paint User companys' !!

Lets hope that Toplac provides a good finish ...

 

[Stemar]

A good many years ago, I painted the topsides of our Snapdragon with a two pack paint. The trick to a good finish is preparation, preparation, preparation.

Get back to a sound substrate - a long, messy job.
Fill and sand all the dings - a long, messy job
Apply a first coat of primer - that's the easy bit
Rub it all down, then fill and sand all the dings you missed - not quite so long and messy (you hope!)
Apply a second coat of primer
Rub it all down, then fill and sand all the dings you missed
Next coat of primer
Flat it off, see yet more dings
Swear a bit and either say, Sod it, or go back to Next coat of primer
Top coat - this needs a warm, dry day, and two people, one putting the paint on with a roller, the other tipping it off with a foam brush.

You won't get as good a finish as with a professional spray job, and you'll know where all the imperfections are, but no one else will, and you won't be able to see them from a boat length away, so who cares?

When I sold the boat 15+ years later, it really needed to be done again, but only because I'd lost a few arguments with pontoons.

 

[andsarkit]

I've used SML Lustre, which was excellent; Perfection, which was good but once opened the hardener would very quickly go solid; and now trying Jotun Hardtop AX, which seems good so far.

The biggest problems with two pack are that making up a small batch to do touch ups is a bit of a pain, and in the case of Perfection the hardener going off in the can made it quite expensive. The SML stuff didn't seem to do this, and I'm hoping that the Jotun won't either.

+ 1 for SML.
Very helpful for advice and much cheaper than International.
They will make up any colour you want from a RAL number or another manufacturer's paint chart.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

We use standard car paint on XODs. But they are probably repainted a bit more often than you might like to do your cruiser. Rubbing a bit of paint off on marks and fellow competitors is not unknown.

 

[Sea Change]

Just buy some small syringes or use digital kitchen scales. Both work and can go down to very small quantities. Tongue depressors snapped in half are good for mixing and pots are available in small sizes too. All these can be found on Amazon in bulk quantities for not much money.

That's how I deal with epoxy, the difference with two pack paint is that the 'A' part generally hardens on its own eventually so more thorough cleaning afterwards is needed.
Because the mix ratio is usually just 2:1 or 4:1, I've found that tablespoons are good enough, easy to clean, and plentiful.

 

[Sea Change]

Lets hope that Toplac provides a good finish ...

It's much softer.
Can you try sourcing another brand, like Jotun?