Hull Paint

[RichCarter]

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My wife and I painted our topsides once again.  I think this is about the fourth time we’ve done this.  We only do it about every seven years or so and between I tend to forget the details.  Here are our notes for this job.

 

When I bought our boat over 30 years ago, I had her Awlgripped.  I’ve never had to do the entire process starting with primer so I can’t really comment about the priming process.  We’ve painted over the existing paint and have had good success.  We’ve been using Interlux Perfection for the past two applications.  Each time we’ve done it, our technique gets a bit better.  We finished painting the top-sides yesterday and had very good results.  The finish has a beautiful gloss.  You can see your reflection in the side of the boat.  If you look very closely, you can see brush marks but from a few feet you really can’t tell it wasn’t sprayed.  Here’s how we did it.

 

There are utube videos out there that show the process.  I suggest watching some of them.  If there’s any secret to the process, it’s getting the coats as thin as possible and don’t thin the paint too much.  Once painted, the surface is too slippery for dirt to stick.  You can wipe down the side of the boat with a mild detergent and a rag to clean it off.  As the paint gets old, it starts to trap dirt however.  After about 3 years, the gloss starts to fade and dirt will stick.  After about five to seven years, it’s time to consider repainting.  Don’t wax.  Wax just makes it harder to repaint the next time.

 

I have staging that gets used for shelves in our garage.  When we paint the boat, I must pull everything off the shelves and use them for staging.  The staging shelves are a pair of 2×8 boards nailed together with strapping underneath.  I have about a dozen saw-horses that get setup down one side of the boat.  I lay the staging down one side using the saw horses.  Most of the work involves cleaning and sanding each side.  You must remove surface contaminants before sanding otherwise you’ll drive the dirt and wax into the surface and get a less than perfect result.  I use a commercial wax remover to clean off the surface.  I don’t wax the boat since it’s really easier to just lay in a new coat of paint than wax.  It takes about a day to prep the boat for painting.  Once the surface is wiped clean, I fill any dings with marine filler and sand the entire side of the boat using a random orbital sander with 220 grit paper.  I hook the sander up to a vacuum to capture the dust.  You don’t want to inhale the dust.  Once one side is sanded, I power wash it and let it dry.  Then I wipe it down with Interlux 202 solvent wash and tape it off.  Then I move the staging to the other side and repeat.  The boat is now ready for painting but it’s usually too late to start painting. 

 

The next day we wait for the weather to warm up a bit.  I wipe down the side of the boat again with a clean rag.  I mix the paint and add about a shot-glass of 2333 thinner.  You need a bit of thinner to prepare the paint for brushing but if you put too much in, the paint will run before it dries.  My wife applies a thin coat of paint with a solvent safe roller and I follow with a 4” badger brush to tip out the paint.  She tries to put on as thin a coat as possible.  The thinner the better.  If she puts on too much, it will run.  One quart of paint will do the entire boat with a bit left over.  I follow with the brush to tip out the paint.  Using the flat side of the brush I lightly pull the paint.  I never add paint but start with a wet brush.  I first brush horizontally over a section about 4 to 6 feet wide.  Then I tip vertically, finishing with vertical strokes.  Don’t finish with horizontal strokes because they tend to drip before the paint dries.  The vertical stroke angle should not be exactly vertical.  I try to use an angle that is slightly different than the previous coat.  We usually apply just one coat but I can see what angle was used the last time we painted and I use a slightly different angle.  The paint is translucent so if the angles are the same the brush strokes from subsequent coats will reinforce each other.  After painting about 12 feet or so I go back over what I just did to look for any drips or missed spots before it dries.  It takes about an hour to finish one side.  Then we move the staging over to the other side and repeat.  The paint might need a splash of thinner before starting the next side.  We can paint the entire boat in about three hours.

 

The paint costs less than $100/qt and will cover the entire topsides.   Once the paint is opened, it won’t keep.  Even if not mixed, the hardener congeals.  You might be able to keep unmixed paint for a couple of years if you are careful about sealing it back up but don’t count on it.  Very little thinner and solvent wash is needed so it runs about $100 to paint the entire top-sides with one coat.  The first time this is done, it will need three coats plus primer.  With solvent and thinner, materials will come to about $500.  You’ll need saw-horses and staging, gloves, tape, and beer.  The first time you do this it will take three or four days.  After that, it’s a two-day job to just renew one coat.

 

Rich

 

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I’ve used Interlux 2-part over the many years I’ve owned BlackSheep. I had her awlgripped when I bought her 27 years ago. The paint lasted about 9 years or so before it started to dull, chip and peel. A repainting job like this is somewhere around $5k or $10k which is a lot of boat gear so my wife and I took on the job of repainting her. I filled and sanded the awlgrip finish and painted over with roller and tipping brush like the instructions say. We can paint the whole topsides in a weekend. The trick with applying the paint is to get it thin enough. If you put too thick a coat on there it runs. The paint hardens to a bright gloss. Dirt doesn’t stick to the surface. It’s almost like teflon. The gloss lasts only three to five years though so the paint must be reapplied to get the gloss back. Before you go running out to paint your boat, lower your expectations a bit. Brush-strokes can be seen in the paint surface if you get close enough. It’s not as smooth as spray job. For somewhere in the neighborhood of $300 plus a couple of days work, I think it’s a good value. (If you apply this stuff over bare gelcoat, add an extra day for the primer coat)

We used the interlux process every 5 years or so, but I’m going to try Pettit next time. I’ve had better luck with Pettit deck paint and wonder if their 2-part topside paint will go on easier or last longer. I’ve used interlux 1-part deck paint. It looks good the first year but loses its gloss by the next season. Once the gloss is gone, dirt sticks to the paint surface and my decks always look dirty. I use a power washer each spring to clean the decks. If the paint doesn’t adhere well, it blows the paint off. I painted my cockpit last year with Pettit paint and it held up much better. I’ve been switching from Interlux products to Pettit for the past few years and find their stuff works better.

Rich

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[Site Administrator]

Thanks – I have to do my hull and topsides. I was considering a professional Awlgrip job. Anyone have one recently? Know what it costs (if I remove all the hardware and do the deck prep, and then paint on the non-skid (kiwi-grip)

Ideas?

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[ewanoleary]

Has anyone used Quantum 99 as yet?

I see some good things about it on Boatworks Today:

Any experiences to share?

[Revery]

My email replies don’t seem to be showing up on the board…

Hadn’t heard of it until now.
I watched the videos (Part 1 and Part 2) and wasn’t impressed with the finish. The biggest surprise was not tipping it, and the results matched what I imagined they would be…orange peel. Granted, it’s a HELL of a lot easier to apply than most paints but I wouldn’t be happy with the finish. But that’s just me.
Caveat…we’ve only ever painted the cockpit and deck (roll and tip), not the topsides. We used Pettit EasyPoxy for that project and were fairly happy with it.

Evan
Revery

[ewanoleary]

Evan,

I suppose, like anything, really good prep and then a spray application will give you the best results. Right now, my boot stripe looks like it was hurriedly brushed on, so frankly anything will be better!

Back to the boat in the next few weeks again to get going. I’ll have a lot more on the engine and its fit when I get back.

Fair winds!

Ewan

[Author]

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