Let's Talk Hull Painting

[jharding]

i sprayed my hull with awlcraft 2000 9 years ago, I was in a boat yard where it was always a 20 knot wind, I sprayed it a little dry so I could sand and buff, it came out beautiful and has lasted very well. I am making some repairs and changes so I have to do some spot repairs which I can easily do with awlcraft not with awlgrip. The yard I am in now won't allow me to spray, awlgrip I could roll and tip but awlcraft you cannot roll and tip, I like being able to do spot repairs and you can't sand and buff awlgrip. I have heard a lot of good things about Alexseal very repairable and now they have it so you can just roll no tipping and it comes out as nice as a spray job, that's what I am going with. I painted mine Kingston grey and it has held up very well, darker colors never last as long and they are hot.

[dfelsent]

My yard rolled and tipped with interlux perfection. Black. Awesome job!
I painted my dink with perfection in white. Came out super as well.

[foothillsailor]

For me, after considering the various alternatives, I decided to have my Gozzard 36's hull painted white with Imron by Dupont (google it).

For me the advantages were its reputation of being long-lasting, easily repairable and great appearance.

FWIW my understanding is that the awlgrip line of paints are not so easily repaired if the hull gets scratched or damaged .... so for me, realizing that my boat would during its use have the occasional dock or slip encounter or hard landing, I wanted something that could be easily repaired. Going on five years now and with the occasional buffing to repair operator error in boat handling, it still looks fantastic despite being in a saltwater tropical environment.

Also, you should try and speak to the person who is actually going to do the painting (not just the yard or shop) and ask him what type and brand of paint he is used to using, what he prefers or recommends and what he thinks are the advantages and disadvantages of any particular paint--- he's the pro and should be able to give you reliable advice.

Unfortunately the boatyard's or shop's recommendation may be affected by the cost of the paint, their profit margin, applicable discount/credit or whatever ..... but the guy doing the spraying (if he's experienced) is probably the person who has the best knowledge.

[SV Siren]

Originally Posted by acem

I'm watching this as I think mine needs painted as well.

I'm an experienced amateur with automotive paint. I read that sv siren used imron. Is that the same as automotive imron? Imron is a very tough paint.

Does the rolled on paint come out glassy?

I assume all paint is removed down to the gel coat?

Thx-Ace

Same paint, you can get it from an auto supply store, mixed to any color. It is very hard paint once it really cures, you can work it in the first 24 hours much more easily than after it really hardens. I was not in a rush, as it came out well, and tightened up nicely. I just have to work out a few bugs that got into the paint, so I will be wet sanding, followed by compounding and polishing. It will come out like a mirror even more so once done.

[oneilseamark]

I’ve had two boats that were painted, one with Awlgrip and one with Imron. Very happy with both of them and they were dark colors. I would consider a vinyl wrap as an option. Curious if anyone has done one ?

It looks like an interesting option.

https://www.speedpro.com/blog/boat-wrap-vs-paint/

[Paul Reading]

Forget Alwcraft 2000, too soft. Forget Awlgrip G line too hard and un repairable.

Awlgrip have just launched HDT, it is 4 coats of colour and three coats of clear. the finish is outstanding and best of all it is repairable. The finish is outstanding. It is a new product and it is truly fantastic.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by Paul Reading

Forget Alwcraft 2000, too soft. Forget Awlgrip G line too hard and un repairable.

Awlgrip have just launched HDT, it is 4 coats of colour and three coats of clear. the finish is outstanding and best of all it is repairable. The finish is outstanding. It is a new product and it is truly fantastic.

HDT is just a clear coat. The base coat is Awlcraft SE and I believe these products are for spray application only. There is a huge choice of products for spraying, incl. all car paint systems, like the premium ones from BASF etc.

[Paul Reading]

No definitely not:-

https://www.awlgrip.com/products/finishes/awlgrip-hdt

I think I know what my boat was sprayed with, it is a brand new product.

[barmitch]

I watched a guy paint his hull last hull out here in Tacoma AW (of cause as I did our own haul out stuff.) He did the prep with sanding fixing and more sanding, Then he wiped it down with a solvent etc and masked up. Then he used a two pot paint (white) and rolled and tipped. He also placed a new stripe (more masking and painting) and he also painted the hull with antifoul after all this. The marina had the sanding gear and he bought the sand paper, cloths etc. The end job looked great and it too him only a few days. I asked him if he had done this before....no he had not, but he followed the directions from Fisheries Supplies (helpful people that lot.) If you have the time do it yourself and save thousands.



Me I was doing chain plates and bolts and had to carve out between the deck skins and reglass etc. The bolt holes were the same so they got over bored, ratted out between the glass layers and then reglassed with new holes bored. What I did for the shrouds was to micrometer the turnbuckle gaps and then tension back to the exact measurements. Good luck on painting if that is what you decide but sometimes it is better to pay the money and get it done.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by Paul Reading

No definitely not:-

https://www.awlgrip.com/products/finishes/awlgrip-hdt

I think I know what my boat was sprayed with, it is a brand new product.

Okay, did not see that before, thanks for bringing it up!

It seems this is not a base coat that gets a clear coat but a complete finish coat just like regular Awlgrip and Awlcraft.

The paint system that finishes with HDT Clear uses Awlcraft SE as base coat and it replaces the Awlcraft clear so you get a much harder but still repairable finish.

I attached the layers of each system. That said, I guess one can spray clear coat over the HDT top coat even though Awlgrip does not recommend that.

[Painless]

Check out “Boat Works Today”. On YouTube...Andy knows more about fiberglass, Paints, fairing etc. than most. He has several videos on the paints available for hulls and shows how they are applied and the completed finish etc.
He also does “consultations “ for people with specific issues...good luck.

[scareygary]

Originally Posted by kmacdonald

The hull is not very expensive to paint with Awlgrip or something less durable. A 35' sailboat is about $3000. The topsides is what's expensive.

I'm sure that someone will accuse me of being a snot, but "topsides" means the hull...from waterline to toe rail. I think you mean 'deck'. Many professionals, even, seem to misunderstand, as it's somewhat counterintuitive....Absolutely no offense intended....

[Mickeyrouse]

Sounds steep to me. That would have been close to the rate a few years ago on Galveston Bay, but lack of work Has made work more competitive.
We repainted on our major re-fit about 12 years ago with Interlux Perfection, including the primer system they recommend. It lasted about 8 years before the finish coat started peeling. Since our local boat yard closed, I decided to repaint myself. The hull had been prepped pretty well, so I rolled a couple coats on, working from my dinghy. With the right foam roller, I challenge anyone walking by on the dock to call it “spray” or “roll”. No doubt a finish expert could, but those guys are rare.

[SuW]

Originally Posted by gonesail

...the rolling and tipping is not for the inexperienced .. for sure. i saw a hull very botched up by this technique. i really couldn't figure out how they screwed up so badly.. and there were 2 people doing it. maybe as you say they waited too long to tip it? maybe cheap paint or brushes.

I've used both 2-part Perfection (hull topside) and 1-part Brightside (deck/cockpit) on our boat. I've painted smaller boats, dinghies and rowing shells.

Roll and tip is a bit of an art; it's worth following Don Casey's This Old Boat suggestion of using a piece of plane glass to practice. He has a very good description of the technique in the book.

Edit: paint companies for DIY applications have some really good technical applications notes and data sheets with good instructions; follow them! (They want you to have a good result and not to hurt yourself...)
I use a 9 inch solvent-proof "varnish" roller cover, cut into 3 inch pieces on a 3 inch roller, using foam brushes to tip (2-4 inches wide). You'll also need something like a 1 inch bristle brush to cut into edges and around taped structures. A disposable one will do.

Also, thin the paint with the recommended thinners. When the foam brush starts to squeak when tipping add more thinners, a teaspoon at a time. As a previous reply said, when the foam brush starts to sag, it is breaking down and must be replaced immediately. Old foam brushes breakdown faster, and 2-part paint causes them to sag relatively quickly.

Most bad paint jobs I've seen are from inadequate thinning, imo. One was from, what a professional told me was "solvent capture", the previous layer of epoxy primer not being properly hardened, giving a network of tiny cracks in the finish.

If you have the money, getting a professional to paint your boat is a great idea!

[scareygary]

My older Yankee 30 came to me spray painted with Awlgrip in a dark green. It bruised by looking at it! Really tough to repair, but a local auto paint shop took some left over paint and put it in spray cans for me, which helped a good deal. A year later, I painted the cabin top/deck and cockpit with Perfection 2 part in white and roll and tipped. It wasn't 'perfection', but helped the boat a good deal, and I saved a bundle by DIY....Was still good when I sold the boat 8 years later. I sailed her hard and often....