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Our doors are looking a bit worse for wear with flaking paint although they are still solid. They are red and I'd like to change the colour (or even just strip them back and varnish them), whichever is likely to last longer. Any suggesting of paint or materials I should look at for longevity? Thanks so much.

Hi all and hive mind - question: how often does a boat need painting? I had a professional paint in 2017 but blacked to the gunnels. Paint is now looking tired and i have topped up/done areas but am unsure how long a professional paint job should last (am not impressed with job done btw). I did try to search google and this site for this but have had no joy.

A neighbour boater has an old boat with lots of stains inside from old leaks, bad painting jobs, red wine splashes ( hopefully its not blood! ) and general old muckiness. The wall panels are bare and seem to have never been varnished. Some of the woodwork is painted black and brown. Some is MDF. She is wanting to paint the inside white. As the wood needs priming is this the right paint to use and has anyone any experience with it? Zinsser Cover Stain Primer Paint White 2.5L Does it really stop the stains bleeding through? Will it cover dark paint? A top coat of white satin paint afterwards?

A previous owner of my boat decided in their infinite (or lack thereof) wisdom to paint over the original gelcoat. Now their sketchy paint job is starting to flake off to reveal the original gelcoat. I was going to just wait and let it all fall off, but it'll probably take years at this rate. Is there a paint stripper I can buy that'll take off the paint, but not damage the gelcoat under the paint? Thanks nice people!

This web site about water tank coating has just come up on Facebook. It looks to solve everyone's problems, who knows? https://www.specialist-coatings.co.uk/narrowboats__barges__wide_beams__canal_boats__houseboats__leisure_cruisers___general_water_craft?fbclid=IwAR0AnvbZR3flGhpCeYHYLsPFufoAT72498lik4rMivNN4dq0oxa7zJ1CRDI

We are in the middle of renovating our narrowboat (aren't we all..) and have come to the point where we need to rip off the material that is above the gunnels. Firstly, I'm not sure what the material that is on there currently is called. It is glued on and thicker than wallpaper, easy to clean (wipeable) but peeling at the sides and a grotty colour. Other than it being grotty/peeling in multiple places it is inoffensive but haven't been able to find anything like it anywhere. Any ideas what it would be called? Picture attached of this. We have put wood in under the gunnels and are wondering what others have done above the gunnels to complement? It potentially would be difficult for us to paint due to the glue that is already on the underside of the wood. I've heard about vinyl, wallpapering, carpeting. We do have leaky windows/condensation so questionable what is suitable. Thoughts welcome!

Hi I have just had some artwork done inon my boat im now looking for the name to be painted on in fancy writing. Can anybody recommend a signwriter. I'm based in manchester. Thanks

Hi, We have painted the outside of the panels on our sides and are yet to paint the actual panels. We have heard that we need to remove the tape whilst the paint is still wet - but won't have painted the inside of the panels until later this week. When do you recommend taking the masking tape off? Do we remove the masking tape straight after painting the final coat of the outside of the panels, then re-mask when we come to paint the inside of the panels? Do we just leave the masking tape on, even though it'll be another 4 days until we finish painting the inside of these panels? We are painting over night because of work so time is a little scarce. This is where we are up to: https://www.instagram.com/theadventuresofdreamcatcher/ Thanks so much for your guidance! Gemma

Hello, We foolishly decided to paint our narrowboat roof and sides. Once you've completed the first primer coat and you have paint over the roof/sides/foot rail. How do you get to the roof without dirtying the paint? I'm not that short, but my arm still doesn't reach the centre of the roof for laying off/rollering. Tips welcome!

What would you recommend to take off the paint on the side walkways along the narrowboat? Eg. Where you walk along that has the sandy paint for grip. Fast stripping metal disks seem to work well on the angle grinder for in the corners. Taking back to metal.

Hello, I'm current moored up in a marina and the boat will be kept here for the rest of the winter. It's fairly windy and I've just noticed my rope fenders are rubbing against the side of my boat and causing paint damage, so I'm hoping for advice please! - any pro tips from you experienced boaters on tying onto a pontoon to avoid damage? Keep the ropes a bit lose or tighten them? - I use rope fenders, should I get some little rubber ones? - how should I best care for the exposed metal where the paint damage has occurred? It's a good few inches above the waterline so maybe I can just move the fenders and repaint? If anyone knows any existing forums on this topic I'd appreciate a link to that too! Many thanks, Bex

A couple of weeks ago I stocked up with half a dozen sacks of Excel, stuck them on the roof, as I had done in the past, and was surprised to find when I took one down that there was a patch where the top coat of paint had been stripped off. (Wrinkled and softened) Plenty of people seem to store coal on the roof, presumably without problems. It's Rylard enamel paint. What causes this, and is there any way of stopping it?

I know this is a bit of a long shot (asking people about paint from photos), but does anyone know what kind of paint this is on the sides of my GRP? I'm hoping that maybe next year I can scrape it off and paint it, but I'm not sure if that's enamel, household gloss (I doubt it), or is it anti-fouling or some other special type of paint?

Over many years I have painted ramsheads, swan necks or Z irons ( take your pick of preferred title) with stripes. I’ve worked out an almost foolproof method of setting out, which works for me. Until recently, I’ve never given much thought as to the direction of the stripes, my only preference being that the spirals are gentle rather than tight wrapped. In a recent Facebook post, one highly experienced boater with boat feet in the traditionalist/working boat camp, suggested that in working days, the direction of the spiral was a visual reminder of the direction of rotation of the blades. This is a new one to me...have any others of you come across this idea? Imagining myself standing behind the counter of a motor, I’m not sure I could see which way the spirals ran, right or left....over to you.

Is it possible to tint International Toplac (gloss enamel) paint using another (non-Toplac) paint, or something from B&Q? Most websites show Toplac Snow White as having a tint of cream to it. Bought it, but (on delivery) it looks pure white to me. I'd like to tint it (just a touch) with something if possible.

Hi I am starting to repaint my narrowboat. Having watched John Barnard video on youtube and http://narrowboats-freyja-and-christina.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/hired-scabbler.html I am looking at hiring or buying a scabbler to remove the paint. Has anyone used one? if so any tips re model, replacing any parts? Has anyone purchased one, if so any tips re model, replacing any parts? Thanks

Hello all, I bought my first boat in the summer. It had some astroturf on the top which I took off asap. The rust was not that bad, but I was advised in my local chandlery that I could wire brush it out and spot paint it with some zinc phosphate marine paint. So I did. This now means that I have grey patches over my cabin, some gloopy. I could sand them a bit and paint them green (the same colour as my boat) but as the old paint is quite faded it would show up as a contrast. The other prospect is repainting the whole cabin in April, but that sounds quite intimidating as I have a 60 foot boat. Does anyone have any advice about how to spot paint a pre-existing old surface whilst getting a respectable outcome? Many thanks Andy

This autumn I have been mostly... painting my boat. It's been going very well. I have used the Jotun conceal which is a thick paint that dries quickly - like cellulose only apparently it is xylene based - dunno what the difference is. Anyway, the first coat covers very well and the second leaves a good thick finish. I've been using a 4" roller and the finish is basically a consistent rollered style as you would expect. I think another coat or two and I could afford to cut it with some strong rubbing compound (I mean, without risking going right through it) to get a perfect finish. The great thing is I can add coats next year as they say (of Pioneer, which is another xylene based topcoat) "It overcoats with future coats of Pioneer Topcoat very well, without the need for rubbing down." Just as well as I'm not quite sure about the colour tbh. I even took the time to run filler neatly over the welds. Just the stern and gunnels to do now

Hi. I need my roof treating. It has some rust areas - not too much but I'm about to place some semi-flexible solars and so need the roof A1 before fixing. I've been offered a quote using paints supplied by Chemco International. In particular, these: http://marine.chemcoint.com/products/applications/topsides-and-boottop.html I'm wondering if folks here have any thoughts on these paints. Many thanks.

We have just brought a new softwood gangplank as our last was so rotten it crumbled. My question is, what is the best paint to use to prolong the life of this one. Primer, undercoat, brands that are good??? Also any advise on how to make it none slip would be greatly apprciated. Thanks in advance.

As a traditional boat owner for nearly 10 years we found one of the most difficult and time consuming taskes was boat paint preparation. 4 years ago, Our boat cost the best part of £6,000 to be stripped to bare metal and repainted. One of the major contributors to the costs was labour and how time consuming the paint removal was, this took over 2 weeks and still it wasn't done to my fussy standards. I found areas around screws and such you could only get in so close, same as getting into tight areas even with with special tools, it was almost impossible. and I wanted perfection, as I was paying top dollar. Sadly because some of the original paint was left and surface preparation could have been better, we feel the boat will require more work as it's starting to show signs of rust and paint flaking, where the substrate had not been correctly keyed to take the new paint. So I may well have come up with a plan to produce a perfect paint preparation application that is eco friendly , dust free, and completely mobile, I can strip my complete boat in less than three days, and I mean complete, down to bare metal in all the nooks and crannies as well. The system was initially created for my Gate business in my workshop but I may make it mobile to take on my boat restoration again this year. the benefits I can see are substantially reducing the prep time, speeding up turnaround of boat being painted by the company, ensuring a complete and proper strip to bare metal, and leaving a good key for new paint to adhere too . but most importantly having my boat back in the water up to two weeks quicker than the last time. i would be happy to advise/help on anything to do with paint surface preparation. if I can save time, it must be a good thing? getting my wife to agree is another..

Hi All I am now busy paint-scraping in prep for my repaint, and have been reading all the threads on different types of paints etc, but a fellow moorer told me to paint my back deck with Hammerite. Sounds OK to me but won't it be slippy??? I painted my garage door with it a few years ago and it's dead shiny

Hello boaters, This spring / summer I want to finally paint my boat. I'm thinking about changing the colour, something less traditional like maybe teal or a warm yellow, and was wondering how to go about this. Ideally I'd go to a shop (in London or the south), look at lots of different brands and pick a colour based on what I see. Looking at the colour ranges online doesn't give me enough confidence to go ahead and order, I'd like to see them in person. Can anyone recommend a physical shop or chandlery who stocks lots of different brands and colours? Plan B is to knock on people's boats as soon as I see a colour I like. But would be good to compare. Thanks

Hello a paint question for you all please, we are in process with a new build, the paintwork is just being applied. Has anyone here had any paint protection applied after the top coat, either as a clear varnish or along the lines as used on cars. Mainly to help protect colour and help prevent deterioration from the elements etc. I'd be interested to here your experience and if you though it is worth the cost. Thank you.

This may have been covered elsewhere if so apologies in advance. I have rust spots/bubbles appearing beneath 9 year old paintwork. Before I go the whole hog and repaint, what is the best rust treatment to apply to the cleaned metal. Have tried Kurerust from Halfords but it was next to useless (sorry Halfords) and rust came back worse after 1 winter. I did overcoat with red primer and have been told that as this is porous I might have made it worse. Any advice appreciated.