PAINT PREFERENCES.

[Nesting Ray.]

Hi all.
I am now about to reach the painting stage of my backyard build, can anyone recommend which paint to use. The boat is ply and has been sheathed and epoxied on the outside and epoxy coated inside.l presume the 2 part polyurethane is the norm for the outer skin, has anyone a preference of which product? Also can l use ordinary duluxy gloss for the inside, will it stand up to the wear and tear of wet muddy feet? The boat will not be kept in the water just the occasional couple of hour dips. I was thinking dark green on the outside and ivory/cream inside with varnished gunwales and thwarts. All responses will be gratefully received. Cheers.

[Chris Waite]

Hallo Ray

I use two-part polyurethane on all my boats and Jotun from SML comes out the best for price:

https://www.smlmarinepaints.co.uk/topcoats/two-pack/hardtop-xp

Though you may wish to compare International and Epiphanes.

I also suggest you use it inside as well as out, it really is that much stronger and you'll probably never need to go near it again.  These companies also do deck paints that are non-slip single pack polyurethane.  Don't try and paint this stuff over the two-part polyurethane, once painted, only two-part ever adheres properly to itself.

I get the best results with mini sponge rollers; note two provisos -

1.  Roll on then 'tip off' lightly after a couple of minutes, either with the roller or some prefer a brush, to get rid of the tiny bubbles, but don't go on fiddling.

2.  The sponge rollers start to dissolve in the solvent after about twenty minutes to half an hour - watch out for the sudden appearance of little crumbs in the paint.  It has occurred to me, but I've never tried the fuzzy ones....

An interesting challenge, but worth the effort

Hope this helps

Chris W.

[Paul H (admin)]

I totally agree with Chris. Having spent hundreds of hours on your baby you need to protect it as long as possible.

MilliBee's 2 pack is nearly 8 years old and still rock solid with no need to touch up....except for a few scrapes along rusty bolts on rotten bank protection on The Broads.

Get a good supply of mini rollers and brushes; its impossible to clean or reuse them.

Wear gloves as the 2 pack cannot be completely washed off - you have to wait a few days for new skin to grow.

The most important layer is the undercoat; wash and sand the hull thoroughly for a good key. In fact one member never bothered with a top coat!

Paul

[Nesting Ray.]

Thanks for the advice, 2part poly is obviously the way to go. But is it available by the litre? My boat is only 3mtrs long x 2mtrs gunwale to gunwale = 6 x2 coats = 12sq mtrs = 1 litre, but can only find it on sale in 5ltr tins which at £55 + vat + del, x 2 colours = 2 much.