What happened to good old paint?

[pugwash]

I have just read the PBO report about hull-cleaning fluids and it refers only to possible effects on gel coat. I have a wooden boat. I would like to hear about effects on paint. I have noticed often in the past that the mags speak only of plastics and not of good old paint on real wood. Is paint now so old-fashioned that PBO readers are not interested? Doubt it!

 

[supermalc]

I too have a wooden boat. I hate painting, mainly because I'm no good at it, one of my few failings.....however I'm even contemplating painting it this year. I've a friend who has had wooden boats for years. Last year he sanded and applied 2 coats to a 30ft carvel broads cruiser (as well as scraping and applying 2 coats, plus filling the underneath with bitumin) one day. This boat looks great, with far less effort than polishing a grp boat. Also it still looks ok almost 1 year on, with only a light wash required.

I'm not overly fussy about colour, and have two 1 litre tins of Dulux no less, from the £1 shop.
http://community.webshots.com/album/149288759WsJRWV

As it's a Mahogany clinker it would look gorgeous if stripped sanded and varnished....but let's not go there eh! I'd rather use it.

 

[tcm]

Paint discontinued

Hah. Paint has been discontinued. You can only have decorative marine applications, single or multi-season hull protection, and single or multipart all-weather "systems" but NO PAINT. Far too cheap.

 

[aztec]

most of my boats are painted, GRP and wood. although i have 3 that are in gelcoat and as such just get a polish.

i use el cheapo B&Q gloss for the hulls, and leyland gloss for topsides. i get good results with the leyland although it's dearer (someone told me it's used on brighton pier... if it's good enough for that, then it's good enough for me) repainted a microplus a couple of years back, finish was mistaken for gelcoat... impressed or what!

keep it real!

steve.

 

[SlowlyButSurely]

I think PBO stands for "Production Boat Owner" these days. The "practical" content seems to have reduced significantly over the years. However, good old paint is alive and well and available at your local builders merchant.

 

[BarryH]

You obviously haven't seen brighton pier lately!! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif. Anyhow to be a Municipal Coatings Applicator takes a special sort of worker these days with qualities of "slap it on" and "whats rubbing down"

 

[Gordonmc]

Stand back and wait for guffaws of laughter, but I am only wiating for the temp. to creep up a few degrees before painting the boat in the water. Carvel mahogany.
She's not been lifted since spring 2003 when the topsides were taken back hard, faired and painted with x4 coats undercoat primer and x4 Blakes.
I reason for a mainly cosmetic job this time it will be easier to flat off and paint from the pontoon than lifting out and using scaffolding. Cleaner too.

Any thoughts?

 

[tcm]

i reckon that's safer, yes. I wd paint in the mornings 11-12 ish giving the paint lots of time before evening when the dew turns up.

 

[pugwash]

Who needs yacht enamel anyway?

Thanks for all these replies, they really got me thinking. In NZ three or four years ago I found a lot of boats like mine were painted once a year with acrylic (including Peter Blake's old family boat). It went on easily, could be retouched any time, and was usually put on from the dinghy. Now I have to clean stains off my own topsides that were done a few years ago with Blakes enamel. Given the remarks from you guys, when it comes to recoating, Leyland gloss or B&Q would seem to be as good. What's so great about yacht enamel anyway, apart from the price? If PBO lived up to its name we'd have more comparitive tests of this kind of thing.

 

[LittleShip]

I have used Dulux weather shield and the doubting Thomas's in the yard said it would fall off in the marine environment in no time??
Anti fungal additive in the mix designed for demanding conditions and stays flexible with a life expectancy of 8/10 years if correctly applied.
Tried the overpriced marine guff and will never use it again.

 

[Gunfleet]

Ah yes, the foggy foggy dew. Peter Piers. Aldborough. East Coast sailing. Mud on the boots. None of your Solent plasticated rubbish.

 

[pugwash]

Whee do you get anti-fungal additive? I just asked my paint shop and they said "What's that?" Mind you, their main market was paint for kids' nurseries.

 

[anglo_saxon]

i use spend more than 4k amonth on ici (dulux) products and nearly as much on akzo-nobel coatings both are very good. sikens gloss though more expensive is one of the best on the market. dulux w/s gloss is good but undercoat needs a lot of thinners to loose brush marks. dont use undercoat on a unpainted grp hull just key and gloss. that said ive got international top-lac on my boat because its harder. as im ici and akzo direct i pay less for my paint and if your from south uk pm me and you can get it at my prices. what ever you do dont buy from a large diy store, name might be the same but paint is not the same (thinned down and less pigmant and in most cases different formula is used. go to a trade shop and buy trade paints..

 

[tcm]

hm. You'r hallucinating again - in fact, you'd have a flipping fit if those rather poncy south coast style racy sailing boots of yours got any mud on them.

 

[fishermantwo]

I have a 60 year old commercial fishing vessel. The hull is Oregon over hardwood frames, still has all the original planks. The best paint I have found is oil based concrete paint. I use White Knight brand that is a local company. A few years ago when we spent day after day poling fish, the paint kept on getting knocked about on the deck area. The fishing vessel which tied up behind me was always using concrete paint so I tried it. I started with bare timber where the fish used to land as a test spot, painted 3 coats over bare timber. Worked perfectly, the paint handled the rough treatment and if it needed a touch up, no undercoating or primer required. Now I use it everywhere and other fishing vessels are too. Does not have as much gloss as normal paint but handles the weather and hot sun extremely well. Dries very fast too.

 

[oldharry]

Mud! Mud.....!!!

...... Who says there's not mud around the Solent! I grant you Cowes and the Hamble have got it pretty well tamed, but come up to Langstone or parts of Chi and I can show you mud to beat any East Coast resort!!!! Knee deep - thigh deep - or just deep deep. And we can compete on the pong stakes with any East Coaster!

 

[oldharry]

Re: Who needs yacht enamel anyway?

Leyland goes on very nicely, gives a good smooth finish, and is easy to work. I used it for a while, but found it really is too soft for Marine use, you only have to look at it to damage it. My local hardware supplier stopped selling it for that reason. Annual recoating was essential. Adhesion was also questionable compared to other brands.

B&Q paint the same only worse, and doesn't go on so well, and I found an inferior finish

Standard Household Dulux is OK provided you dont mind repainting every season - same thing, its not hard enough.

Nowadays I settled for Dulux Weathershield. I used it first some years ago on a GRP hull. I then sold the boat, and last time I saw it (5 years after repaint) it was pretty well as good as new. Couldnt say the same for the rest of the boat!

I used it on my 'new' boat last winter (wooden) and for the most part its as good as new, and will just need a wipe down and touching up.