Two pack on a wooden boat ??

[vega609]

Hi

I am interested buying a 1960s wooden yacht. Heavy teak deck and planking.

She underwent a comprehensive refit about 5 years ago, including a re-paint, and amongst other things inspection has shown up:
 A two pack paint has been applied to her exterior planking externally above the waterline
 Wooden spars have also been painted in the two pack
 The teak decks have been covered in ply and glassed over, and then painted in the two pack as well

So, is the two pack paint an issue ?? I understand that an oil based paint should have been used / is preferable but do I have to strip the two pack ?? Can it wait a few more years when cash-flow can fund it ??

How about the ply and fibreglass laid over the teak ?? I know it will be heavy but is it detrimental to the integrity of the deck ??

I’d be grateful for your thoughts

kk

[coopec43]

I'm afraid I can't help you but there are a few articles online which would seem to indicate indicate it would not be a problem. I'd be a bit more concerned about about the teak decks being covered up. Why? But I am no expert.....

Painting Your Wooden Boat. - DIY Wood Boat
https://www.diy-wood-boat.com/Painting.html
Painting a wood boat, advice on how to restore, repair and maintenance paint jobs on hulls and topsides to get a yacht finish. ... On wooden boats it is best to stick to the traditional type of oil based finishes, two part paints are not only .

How To Paint A Wooden Boat - AMP Master Painters
https://www.ampmasterpainters.com.au/how-to-paint-a-wooden-boat/
Aug 20, 2016 - This part, to my mind at least, is one of the best parts of boatbuilding, the finish! ... several litres of a iso-cyanate two pack marine polyurethane paint only to be ... a different method such as strip planking or cold moulding, we paint the boat ... The first coat of primer to go onto your hull is metallic grey primer.

wood/epoxy [Archive] - Yachting and Boating World Forums
www.ybw.com › ... › Forum › Practical Boat Owner's Reader to Reader
Dec 20, 2008 - 22 posts - ‎15 authors
I'am looking into buying a boat with a hull made out of wood/epoxy. ... & epoxy then painted with two pack paint, they are relatively easy to repair. ... through strip plank sheathed with epoxy/glass cloth, to multiple diagonal ...

How to paint like a professional - MySailing.com.au
How to paint like a professional - MySailing.com.au
Oct 3, 2012 - The only option for re-coating a gelcoat hull is two-pot polyurethane. ... While steel, aluminium and moulded veneer diagonally-planked wooden construction ... lasts twice as long as conventional one-part enamels and has excellent UV resistance. ... Never use a wide brush to paint pipes of narrow strips.

Clive

[MartinR]

I guess you talk about PU paints. There are several different two component paints available.

For spars, Polyurethane varnishes/paints work very well, if it is a glued spar. And - if the spar was treated correctly and in good shape before varnishing. PU-varnishes are hard wearing, flexible and give very good UV-protection. For grown spars, use oil based.

For hulls, this is depending on the type of wood used and the condition of the hull/caulking. Would definitely not be my first choice on teak.

glassed teak deck can be fine, if the work was done properly, or can evolve into a disaster if you need to change for example deck planks.

[David M]

No paint sticks long term to anything that expands and contracts constantly. Whatever you apply to wood must expand and contract with the wood.

[jasbee]

The bottom line is that if it is a traditional carvel planked boat, it should never be coated with any 2 pack paint because that type of paint prevents the timber from breathing as it is impervious, and also is resistant to normal movement that you get with a planked wooden boat.
There are very good single pack paints around these days - e.g. International Toplac.
I once made the mistake of painting my carvel Gauntlet yacht with 2 pack and was initially very pleased with the result. However, a shipwright acquaintance (and later friend) told me in no uncertain terms that it "had to come off". I was mortified as I had expended a great deal of effort and mental anquish on the project but I did as I was told and stripped her back to bare timber and started again.
We subsequently sailed her from New Zealand to Thailand and then more recently had her shipped to Turkey where she has been sold.
Hope that helps with your decision. Just remember that if you use 2 pack you will hasten her end. Otherwise a correctly and well maintained wooden boat will well outlast any fibreglass or metal equivalent and probably most of us as well!!

[Dougtiff]

The two pack question, concerning the hull is going to be relative to the condition of the frames, planking and seam's. It's all about movement, i.e., you don't want movement, as there will be cracking along the seam's, they should be splined or filled with some kind of epoxy, if two pack is used. i have seen more than one vessel painted this way successfully . As far as the decks, your discription of the work done, sounds good to me, as mentioned, the added weight could make her some what more tender.

[Fore and Aft]

I surveyed a 40 foot carvel planked trawler five years ago that had just been sprayed in two pack polyurethane paint. What a bad idea I thought, since most timber planking moves a bit. Last month I surveyed her again and apart from a few areas where the paint had split on the seams the paint still looked good. The owner was just going to sand those areas and touch them up.
Cheers

[Djarraluda]

Back in late 70s, early 80s I had a carvel boat in Hong Kong. Bootopping was bare wood when I purchased, so I had that repainted. 6 months later, back to bare wood. - and repeat!
Several other had similar, so I had a think and realised, moorings were all in a typhoon shelter, where Harbourside buildings had discharge of cooling water from air conditioning. Large quantities of chlorine were there. Also had food hawkers on sampans and boat dwellers, so got a lot of cooking oil/grease on the water.
Quick test and I saw the surface water was quite acidic, it was simply stripping-off the paint on waterlines.
I had to argue with the boatyard because it was unusual but eventually they stripped the waterline and repainted from bare wood (teak) so I had a 1 foot boot topping in 2 pack polyurethane.
It lasted about 2 -3 years each application and never revealed bare wood.

So yes, you can paint teak with 2 pack, very successfully.
But...
Not as long term aesthetically pleasing as 1 pack oil based paint for topsides as the planks will move and it will split at the seams.
If the conditions dictate aggressive action needed, for durability, 2 pack is great but it does take a lot more work to patch-up when it cracks.

[JPA Cate]

How I see it is, 2 pack LPU is wonderful paint, but it is brittle, and that why the poster above said WHEN it cracks, not IF. What MartinR wrote is where timber is at: it flexes all the time, warm, cold, it moves, not much, but enough to give paints fits!

I would stress, when talking to paint manufacturers, the timberness of the boat, and the need for a paint that stays flexible as long as possible. Then, after you've heard what they have to say, perhaps they shall have convinced you to use latex base whatever. Then see if you have the gumption to make the experiment! It is NEVER recommended for boats, ime, but we had very good luck with it in interior applications on our previous boat. They do use it for timber trim on houses, but houses do not flex from motion, mostly from temperature change, excepting earthquakes, of course.

Plus, it's hard to get good oil base paints some places.

Ann

PS. On Edit: If it has held up well for 5 years, that is a very good sign! Most paint jobs are done at 10 yrs., ime.

[WanderingStar39]

I own a wood boat, all of my boats have been wood. I use single part urethane paints with good results. Oil paints are great to work with, but don't hold up as well. I believe that many wood boats use two part paints, either urethane or epoxy. If the replies here are not enough, I suggest you search or post on the WoodenBoat Forum. They have first hand experience, but strong opinions that vary widely.
Ply and glass makes good decks. I'm sure it was installed over the teak to stop leaks.

[Jdeuel]

Off topic, but I couldn't help but read this as "Tupac on a Wooden Boat"...