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Making 10 year old paintwork look smarter again


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Hi All, the steel sides of my narrowboat have 10 year old paint on them.its still intact with no rust patches or broken flaky paint.

The paint  has gone lighter from the sun / weather, my darker greeny grey now looks a few shades lighter.

The other day I spilt some 3 in 1 oil  on it when I was putting a bit of oil on the side hatch hinges. As I wiped it off the colour came shining through and the colours looked rejuvinated in an instant.

It's been over a week now and that one patch of oil which was rubbed in/off still looks better than the rest of the boat in my view.

 

Is there a product other than 3 in 1 that will enhance the colour all over again ?

Or Will a clear varnish work in the same way,

 

Thank you

 

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7 minutes ago, alan_fincher said:

Avoid Polytrol, that some people recommend highly.

It looks great at first, but quickly back-tracks to something that looks worse than you started with.

 

(And please don't ask me how I know this!)

Did you use it Alan and was it really that bad. Have you any photos of it in use etc

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Clear coach varnish will work, provided the existing paint is in good order and not chalking badly. Clean thoroughly, flat very lightly and apply a proper coach varnish, not a tin from the nearest DIY shed.  BUT you will need to flat the varnish every year and put another coat on.

 

Realistically,  if the paint is now 10 years old it will be on its way out. Baby oil will make it look good, but washes off so beware the decks and gunwales if it has rained hard soon after putting it on. 

N

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Use a good quality varnish e.g. Craftmaster.  I kept the red paint on my boat fresh even though it was over fifteen years old (the paint, not the boat)  Lightly abrade the surface with fine wire wool and re-do it each year.

 

eta I see BEngo beat me to it!

Edited by koukouvagia
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Not convinced by varnish, we have done this on our signwriting and after 10 years of recoating most years its still good but starting to look like a lot of varnish over poor paint (a look that I find quite pleasing but most probably wouldn't).  I have seen a few really badly varnished boats.

 

After ten years it could be time for a refresh, a sand and a couple of new coats, it does not have to be a £10k bare metal job, find a wet dock and if you don't want to DIY there are painters who will do a nice job for sensible money. A friends boat was nicely done by Robert Naghi recently.

 

...............Dave

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2 hours ago, alan_fincher said:

Avoid Polytrol, that some people recommend highly.

It looks great at first, but quickly back-tracks to something that looks worse than you started with.

 

(And please don't ask me how I know this!)

I remember you asking for advice on this product........

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A quick fix is WD40, will leave a result similar to your spilt oil - but don't use expensive spray cans, it can be bought in four (or five?) litre plastic containers, much cheaper. Wipe on with a cloth soaked in it, wipe off with a clean cloth.

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50 minutes ago, Karen Lea Rainey said:

Sounds like a t cut restorer and a mer type polish is the first effort.

Thanks for your replies.

Mer is okay. But many like to use the better quality and more costly Craftmaster product. I am one of those. 

 

About a year ago, I washed and polished the whole of one side of Nightwatch. I was disappointed with the result. Very disappointed. Then I realised I had polished it with Craftmaster shampoo. So, don't always listen to all I say. 

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I had to get a boat ready for sale as the broker wouldn't market it in the state it reached brokerage in.

It was a Crick boat show star in 2005 and by 2014 was suffering from plenty of use in holiday cruises, but owners who had no other time to spend polishing.

4 days baby oiling both sides after filling in deep scratched signwriting and diamonds with craftsmaster paints along with bashing out most of the rust from the gas locker, rust treating and repainting made the boat acceptable for sale. 

I was happy with the amount of work I had managed to complete in the 4 days, if not completely happy with the overall standard...I remember Blackrose criticising the finish in the gas locker...I didn't have the luxury of merchant naval tools and time for perfection.

The boat sold within a very short period and still looks good 5 years on, the owners haven't seen the need for an external paint job yet.

 

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Just now, Nightwatch said:

Mer is okay. But many like to use the better quality and more costly Craftmaster product. I am one of those. 

Mer is full of silicone. Horrid stuff that will make touching-up the paintwork virtually impossible. Stick to Craftmaster or another silicone-free high-carnuba wax content polish. 

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8 hours ago, matty40s said:

I had to get a boat ready for sale as the broker wouldn't market it in the state it reached brokerage in.

It was a Crick boat show star in 2005 and by 2014 was suffering from plenty of use in holiday cruises, but owners who had no other time to spend polishing.

4 days baby oiling both sides after filling in deep scratched signwriting and diamonds with craftsmaster paints along with bashing out most of the rust from the gas locker, rust treating and repainting made the boat acceptable for sale. 

I was happy with the amount of work I had managed to complete in the 4 days, if not completely happy with the overall standard...I remember Blackrose criticising the finish in the gas locker...I didn't have the luxury of merchant naval tools and time for perfection.

The boat sold within a very short period and still looks good 5 years on, the owners haven't seen the need for an external paint job yet.

 

Don't think you could sort my sorry paintwork out in 4 days ?

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10 hours ago, matty40s said:

I had to get a boat ready for sale as the broker wouldn't market it in the state it reached brokerage in.

It was a Crick boat show star in 2005 and by 2014 was suffering from plenty of use in holiday cruises, but owners who had no other time to spend polishing.

4 days baby oiling both sides after filling in deep scratched signwriting and diamonds with craftsmaster paints along with bashing out most of the rust from the gas locker, rust treating and repainting made the boat acceptable for sale. 

I was happy with the amount of work I had managed to complete in the 4 days, if not completely happy with the overall standard...I remember Blackrose criticising the finish in the gas locker...I didn't have the luxury of merchant naval tools and time for perfection.

The boat sold within a very short period and still looks good 5 years on, the owners haven't seen the need for an external paint job yet.

 

I'll name that boat in one! ?

 

Actually I better had not, or I'll be in the dog house..............

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11 hours ago, WotEver said:

Mer is full of silicone. Horrid stuff that will make touching-up the paintwork virtually impossible. Stick to Craftmaster or another silicone-free high-carnuba wax content polish. 

 

I agree BUT - if you happen to have any vinyl decals, coach lines or names be very wary.  One outfit that markets such products specifically to narrowboat owners did not bother to make it clear on their website what was printed deep in the  instructions that came with the product.

 

image.png.0e6d19fc63b7ffda801578261e536819.png

 

image.png.b1d26aa6788cc02d21080f419464ebe0.png

 

So just take care if you are unsure.

 

It's worth reporting that the company owner got very shirty when I pointed out to him that the above made his product not ft for purpose and accused me of not following his instructions despite me following then very carefully. Name of company via PM if anyone is interested.

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Very good point, re - T Cut and vinyl graphics! Thanks for reminding me. I was advising the use of a good T cut - based on paintwork only.

Be careful what 'grade' of T cut you can buy. It ranges from a slightly cutting wax, to liquid grit!!

Always put a reasonable quality wax on to protect the newly exposed paintwork. [Atleast 1 coat, preferably more if you have the time and patience].

PS: If you want a professional finish (IE: Nerd level), then this requires the services of a "Detailer". They can be fairly expensive but by God the finish is showroom standard!

 

If anyone does want their boat paintwork to "look like new", let me know and if there is enough interest, I know of a Detailer who would relish the challenge of tackling a NB or two.

{His normal 'vehicles' are high end cars - Range Rovers, Mercs, Ferarri etc}.

Edited by Fly Navy
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