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Repainting my boat - looking for advice


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Hey all,

 

I'm planning on tarting up my boat a little bit and as funds won't stretch to paying someone to do it for me (and thus probably do a far better job of it than me), I'm looking for some advice on how best to do it on a limited budget. I won't be docking it under cover so will be doing bits at a time.

 

What sort of prep should I be doing? If I was going to be paying someone X thousands of pounds, I'd assume they'd probably be stripping the paint back to bare metal, or close enough to. Not sure I'm in a position to do that so will be looking at painting over the current paint. Can I simply just paint over or should I put some kind of undercoat? I'm planning on using International Toplac as when I bought the boat, there were tins of it plus colour samples, so I know what colours to use at least!

 

There are also small areas of surface rust. I assume I should go over this with a wire brush/wire attachment for an angle grinder and then treat it with a rust converter and cover with red oxide paint? Anything else that would be worth thinking about?

 

For the actual painting, I saw a video on youtube of a guy demoing how he repaints boats. Pretty much went over with a roller and then a second coat with a brush. Any thoughts on this or improvements?

 

Thanks in advance! I'm not looking at painting a Van Gogh, just want my boat to look a little tidier for fear of upsetting those who deem the canal should only be populated by pretty boats without stuff on the roof! (I read that The Guardian thread earlier!)

 

Cheers

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If you are patching in many small areas of rust-which will take the time -I would suggest thorough derusting followed by a couple of coats of primer of something like Zinc 182. Made by Isopon it is cellulose based so will seal and hold the repair being waterproof unlike red oxide.

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4 minutes ago, PaulJ said:

If you are patching in many small areas of rust-which will take the time -I would suggest thorough derusting followed by a couple of coats of primer of something like Zinc 182. Made by Isopon it is cellulose based so will seal and hold the repair being waterproof unlike red oxide.

Great stuff, thanks very much. I'll get some of that ordered.

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I find that a mini roller to put paint on and a 3" foam brush to tip off works for me.

 

Prep is the key to a decent finish as has been said and can't be over emphasised...but is the most horrible part of the job.

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54 minutes ago, PaulJ said:

If you are patching in many small areas of rust-which will take the time -I would suggest thorough derusting followed by a couple of coats of primer of something like Zinc 182. Made by Isopon it is cellulose based so will seal and hold the repair being waterproof unlike red oxide.

Bonda Primer is also recommended on here. Also cellulose based.

 

Where the existing paint is sound, wash down with water to remove mud, dirt, bird poo etc. then when dry abrade it lightly to give a key, brush the dust off, then immediately before applying the next coat wipe over the entire surface with a clean rag moistened with white spirit (or the appropriate paint solvent) to remove final dust traces and any grease.  If there is a significant colour change a coat of undercoat is best. For the same colour you may get away with just a couple of topcoats.

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The more glossy the paint the more imperfections in the surface show up, so if doing yourself then not too gloss is best.

Also if not doing it under cover then you WILL get insects and dust on the wet paint.  Best you can do is leave well alone until dry, then wash off leaving lots of little feet/footprints.

Again the more gloss the paint is, the more it shows up.

 

Not wishing the above to put you off, I painted my boat outside, using Dulux Weathershield.

Prep was a good wash down with sugar soap and a stainless pan cleaner which also keys the paint a bit.  A rub with a power sander, followed by spot repairs to any rusty bits, then undercoat. I used a water based undercoat as it dries quick (less time to collect insects etc) followed by a couple of coats of oil based gloss.  Looks ok to me, and from memory  (it was 3 years ago) cost about £300.  I find painting is best in the morning as the paint is touch dry by the late afternoon when insect numbers go up.

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Thanks all! Some good pointers to steer me in the right direction.

5 minutes ago, Chewbacka said:

The more glossy the paint the more imperfections in the surface show up, so if doing yourself then not too gloss is best.

Also if not doing it under cover then you WILL get insects and dust on the wet paint.  Best you can do is leave well alone until dry, then wash off leaving lots of little feet/footprints.

Again the more gloss the paint is, the more it shows up.

 

Not wishing the above to put you off, I painted my boat outside, using Dulux Weathershield.

Prep was a good wash down with sugar soap and a stainless pan cleaner which also keys the paint a bit.  A rub with a power sander, followed by spot repairs to any rusty bits, then undercoat. I used a water based undercoat as it dries quick (less time to collect insects etc) followed by a couple of coats of oil based gloss.  Looks ok to me, and from memory  (it was 3 years ago) cost about £300.  I find painting is best in the morning as the paint is touch dry by the late afternoon when insect numbers go up.

Given your suggestions, maybe not International Toplac because it is very glossy. It appears there is a satin finish for the Dulux Weathersheild - http://duluxweathershield.co.uk/products/dulux-weathershield-quick-dry-satin - and it comes in Oxford blue which is the colour of my boat. This may even work!

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1 hour ago, Chewbacka said:

The more glossy the paint the more imperfections in the surface show up, so if doing yourself then not too gloss is best.

Also if not doing it under cover then you WILL get insects and dust on the wet paint.  Best you can do is leave well alone until dry, then wash off leaving lots of little feet/footprints.

Again the more gloss the paint is, the more it shows up.

 

Not wishing the above to put you off, I painted my boat outside, using Dulux Weathershield.

Prep was a good wash down with sugar soap and a stainless pan cleaner which also keys the paint a bit.  A rub with a power sander, followed by spot repairs to any rusty bits, then undercoat. I used a water based undercoat as it dries quick (less time to collect insects etc) followed by a couple of coats of oil based gloss.  Looks ok to me, and from memory  (it was 3 years ago) cost about £300.  I find painting is best in the morning as the paint is touch dry by the late afternoon when insect numbers go up.

Oh, just out of interest, did you do the entire repainting in one go or over the course of a few weeks?

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7 minutes ago, NB Caelmiri said:

Oh, just out of interest, did you do the entire repainting in one go or over the course of a few weeks?

All of it in about 10 days, but not every day. Using a roller and brush to lay off, I did a coat on both sides in a day.  Front & rear decks and roof take a day per coat as well.  Can’t start painting too early outside as must wait for the steel to be dry and above dew point, and like to stop to ensure the paint is reasonably dry before too many insects etc, I was lucky with the weather.

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Just now, Chewbacka said:

All of it in about 10 days, but not every day. Using a roller and brush to lay off, I did a coat on both sides in a day.  Front & rear decks and roof take a day per coat as well.  Can’t start painting too early outside as must wait for the steel to be dry and above dew point, and like to stop to ensure the paint is reasonably dry before too many insects etc, I was lucky with the weather.

Ok, that's useful to know. It'll mainly be the sides and rear deck (trad stern) I'll be painting.  Thanks very much for your help!

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4 hours ago, NB Caelmiri said:

I saw a video on youtube of a guy demoing how he repaints boats. Pretty much went over with a roller and then a second coat with a brush. Any thoughts on this

Yes. He didn’t follow the roller with a second coat with the brush. He used the brush to lay off the rollered paint. So lay it on evenly with the roller, lay off with the dry brush to leave a nice, smooth finish instead of the pimply roller finish. 

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1 minute ago, WotEver said:

Yes. He didn’t follow the roller with a second coat with the brush. He used the brush to lay off the rollered paint. So lay it on evenly with the roller, lay off with the dry brush to leave a nice, smooth finish instead of the pimply roller finish. 

Ah, gotcha. That makes sense!

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17 minutes ago, WotEver said:

Yes. He didn’t follow the roller with a second coat with the brush. He used the brush to lay off the rollered paint. So lay it on evenly with the roller, lay off with the dry brush to leave a nice, smooth finish instead of the pimply roller finish. 

It might be obvious but you need to lay off whilst the paint will still flow, so I was painting a strip about 0.5m wide with the roller, then brush, then roller next strip etc.  Width depends on drying rate, and how quick you work.  For good results you need to work quickly. By dry brush, you use the same brush but don’t dip it in the paint.

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1 hour ago, Chewbacka said:

It might be obvious but you need to lay off whilst the paint will still flow, so I was painting a strip about 0.5m wide with the roller, then brush, then roller next strip etc.  Width depends on drying rate, and how quick you work.  For good results you need to work quickly. By dry brush, you use the same brush but don’t dip it in the paint.

When you say "lay off", could you possibly explain that a little bit if you didn't mind? This all mostly makes sense but not sure if "laying off" is a specific technique or something else.

 

Thank you!

 

Ah, I see now. All good!

 

https://www.hamiltondecoratingtools.co.uk/knowledge-room/guides/laying-off-brushes-techniques-and-uses-/54

Edited by NB Caelmiri
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7 minutes ago, NB Caelmiri said:

When you say "lay off", could you possibly explain that a little bit if you didn't mind? This all mostly makes sense but not sure if "laying off" is a specific technique or something else.

 

Thank you!

You put the paint on using a foam roller which leaves little bubbles etc on the surface so then you than take a brush and brush the paint using an upwards motion to smooth out the paint.  Ideally a single fast but smooth stroke from bottom to top.  The brush is not dipped into the can of paint, it just levels the paint. So long as it is all done  quickly and ideally using an oil based paint (water based paint dries too fast and does not flow) the fine brush marks should flow together leaving a smooth, even surface.

 

So roll on a strip (say 0.5m wide)  then brush it smooth with an upwards motion, then move on.  If you go too slow the paint may not flow enough leaving brush marks.

Edited by Chewbacka
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1 minute ago, Chewbacka said:

You put the paint on using a foam roller which leaves little bubbles etc on the surface so then you than take a brush and brush the paint using an upwards motion to smooth out the paint.  Ideally a single fast but smooth stroke from bottom to top.  The brush is not dipped into the can of paint, it just levels the paint. So long as it is all done  quickly and ideally using an oil based paint (water based paint dries too fast and does not flow) the fine brush marks should flow together leaving a smooth, even surface.

Fantastic, thanks very much!

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I've got an alternative approach...

 

I used a fast drying cellulose/Xylene based pain (Jotun conceal, which is semi gloss, though they do a similar gloss version that should be a little thinner and thus easier to get a good finish).

I put 4 good roller coats on each side (doesn't take long once you are masked up - two hours per coat then straight back round). The next step is to flat it off with something... I'm still to do that yet. Or if you don't mind a roller ed finish you are done. You have to move quick though cos it dries. Better than oils because they are all micro porous - don't use weathershield it's for wood. (Unless of course you have a wooden boat).

 

If you are going over old oil paint, you'll need to key it all first :(

 

Just used some of that 182 primer as mentioned above (redoing engine bay) seems good. Definitely get all the rust off, go over with Fertan or similar then 182 zinc primer as you can't really get the proper red oxide stuff anymore.

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1 hour ago, Johny London said:

I've got an alternative approach...

 

I used a fast drying cellulose/Xylene based pain (Jotun conceal, which is semi gloss, though they do a similar gloss version that should be a little thinner and thus easier to get a good finish).

I put 4 good roller coats on each side (doesn't take long once you are masked up - two hours per coat then straight back round). The next step is to flat it off with something... I'm still to do that yet. Or if you don't mind a roller ed finish you are done. You have to move quick though cos it dries. Better than oils because they are all micro porous - don't use weathershield it's for wood. (Unless of course you have a wooden boat).

 

If you are going over old oil paint, you'll need to key it all first :(

 

Just used some of that 182 primer as mentioned above (redoing engine bay) seems good. Definitely get all the rust off, go over with Fertan or similar then 182 zinc primer as you can't really get the proper red oxide stuff anymore.

My can of weathershield states wood and metal.

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50 minutes ago, Chewbacka said:

My can of weathershield states wood and metal.

Mine too. I used it on our garage door a few years back and it’s still almost as shiny as the day I applied it. 

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