Official Bottom/Topsides Primer & Paint Thread

[Splinter]

On my previous plywood sailboat I used Kirby's with no primer coat. I rolled and tipped 3 thinned coats with good results. 5 years later it still looks good.

Joe

[slowpoke]

How did everyone get the colors they wanted? Seems like in the gallon size all they want to sell you is white. Can you tint perfection, or the interthane 990? I'm hoping to find something in a burgundy/dark red, or maybe a burnt orange? (Tequila sunrise maybe?)

[noemar]

Have you looked at Epithanes they claim to have over 400 colors

[i550sailor@aol.com]

Great question Rocky, I am trying to figure out the same thing, I found a boat with copper paint, unfortunately I have reached a dead end trying to figure out what the paint is????, maybe one of you guys can help.

[Chad]

Couple options...
You can buy off-the-shelf Perfection quarts and mix them to get your color. I did this with one of their whites and a dark green, to get a lighter green.

AwlGrip has a color matching service now, sort of like the home paint stores do. As little as a quart is possible, and I'm sure premium pricing applies. Here's a PDF about it, and a list of places that offer the mix service:
http://www.awlgrip.com/literaturecentre ... ssue07.pdf

For metallic, I think you still need to go with AwlCraft.

(I was leaning toward copper for a while too, sort of thinking of vintage Porsche colors. Then I thought of doing something with the Gulf livery, but that was a little too much...)

[i550sailor@aol.com]

Looking for some input from everyone who used Interlux Perfection on the entire boat,,,, what are your thoughts after an extended time (I am especially asking in regards to the bottom).

[Mist]

I think Perfection on the bottom will be fine if the boat is not left in the water for more then a week at a time. I don't understand the phrase in your question 'after an extended time'. Is the paint old or did you need to leave the boat in the water for long periods of time?

BTY, PT Boatworks, Russell Brown, has a pfd about how to apply Perfection with a roller only. I've heard decent reviews about the process and am considering it on my boat.

Also, I decided to use VC Performance Epoxy on my bottom. I bought a gallon but for i550 you only need a quart kit. Warning the stuff smells up the place terribly. I had to put my family in a hotel overnight. Again, this paint is for trailer boats only. I don't think this paint will fail if left in the water just stuff will grow on it as it doesn't have any biocides in it.

[i550sailor@aol.com]

I think Perfection on the bottom will be fine if the boat is not left in the water for more then a week at a time. I don't understand the phrase in your question 'after an extended time'. Is the paint old or did you need to leave the boat in the water for long periods of time?

BTY, PT Boatworks, Russell Brown, has a pfd about how to apply Perfection with a roller only. I've heard decent reviews about the process and am considering it on my boat.

Also, I decided to use VC Performance Epoxy on my bottom. I bought a gallon but for i550 you only need a quart kit. Warning the stuff smells up the place terribly. I had to put my family in a hotel overnight. Again, this paint is for trailer boats only. I don't think this paint will fail if left in the water just stuff will grow on it as it doesn't have any biocides in it.

Hi Tim,
I meant how do their boats look 1/2/3 years after painting. I plan to trailer sail mine and after looking last night at the VC epoxy, it might just be the way to go. On a happy note I got my first coat of primer on the sides tonight, sure looks good seeing some color go on.

[Mist]

Hey i550sailor,
From my experience and watching a few boats around the club, Perfection really holds up. I painted my big boat's deck with awlgrip in 1998 and its deteriorated almost completely down to the primer. But, this boat is out in the weather 24/7/365. The boats I know of with Perfection are smaller and generally under a cover on a trailer. The Perfection on their exposed sides is holding up very well. IMO Perfection is easier to apply and cheaper and its performance exceeds the application I'l put the boat in. Yes, getting primer /paint on the boat is a huge milestone, feels good.

[Tim Ford]

As an aside, I used roller-only method with Perfection® and was/am pleased with the results. I used the 6" white high density rollers....I think there's a photo on my build log-blog. In actually, for my rudder, recently, I used cheap brushes (chup brushes) and that was fine, too. I think you could apply the stuff with a roofing shingle and it would be OK, it seeks its own level like the tides at Fundy.

[ryderp]

I used Perfection and the boat still looks great. I trailer the boat but have had it in the water for as long as two weeks.

I also used the roller-only technique. I tried a coat with the roll and tip method and it didn't look as good as without the "tipping". A good percentage of that coat ended up on the floor as paint dust.