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Condensation. Insulating paint?


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Hello all. 

 

After living on my boat for a year now I discovered that I don't have any insulation along my gunnels. 

 

It seems to be picking up a fair bit of condensation and I'm not in a position where I can insulate it sufficiently. It's a older boat so not spray foamed unfortunately.. 

 

I need to paint my gunnels with some anti slip paint so I will be sanding back to the bare steel. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with insulating paint? From what I've read it could help, even if it's just a little bit. Does it work? 

 

Any advice greatly appreciated 

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Is this outside?

i'm not sure I can recommend  anything other than International Interdeck Anti slip though if taking back to bare steel, I think you should prime, two coats, with light sanding, then undercoat two coats, light sanding, then if no rust paint with Interdeck. Not in winter as you need to be applying paint at the appropriate temperature, this relates to the dew point. Essentially you need T shirt and shorts weather. Good paint can be expensive, and though you can get some good stuff about £15 per litre, the Interdeck will never normally be discounted, it's about £27per tin.

 

Edited by LadyG
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8 minutes ago, Ally said:

Can you get to the under gunwale areas? Could you use some sprayfoam insulation in a can? Or even, just for now at least, some kingspan or rock wool?

Not canned sprayfoam.Tried that on my boat,and spraying it on horizontal undersurfaces,it just drops off.

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If it is internal, then almost any good insulation like Kingspan should insulate, but it wont be pretty just stuck on. Thinsulate is a fabric, you could try that,  but you really need to think about a proper lining or the boat will look very strange. Of course some people line with carpet, again you need to have real insulation, a coat of anti condensation paint is just not going to insulate.

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2 hours ago, Mad Harold said:

Not canned sprayfoam.Tried that on my boat,and spraying it on horizontal undersurfaces,it just drops off.

It does, you have to persuade it to stay put, lots of support and encouragement!! We did manage to get a small area done on the studio boat, but for a full stretch, System 4-50s suggestion is ideal.

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2 hours ago, Tracy D'arth said:

What were you reading? Fairy stories?  Highly unlikely that outside insulation will make a ha'penny of difference. Insulation needs to be inside.

That's not strictly true. Insulation is often applied externally to buildings. I've insulated my steel sliding hatch from the outside and it works well to prevent thermal losses and prevent condensation. However I agree that a thin "insulation paint" applied to steel isn't going to do anything.

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If it were me I'd stick lengths of 1" kingspan or celotex on the underside of the gunwales using canned sprayfoam on the board as the adhesive which should expand to fill any gaps. You might need a few short lengths of wood with some smaller blocks underneath as spacers to prop the board in position for half an hour before the sprayfoam goes off.

 

Anything you want to protect from dripping foam needs to be covered with newspaper or smeared with vaseline.

 

Edited by blackrose
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10 hours ago, blackrose said:

That's not strictly true. Insulation is often applied externally to buildings. I've insulated my steel sliding hatch from the outside and it works well to prevent thermal losses and prevent condensation. However I agree that a thin "insulation paint" applied to steel isn't going to do anything.

Oh No! You don't mean like tower blocks? Do you think I live in a cave and know nothing?:apple:

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16 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

Oh No! You don't mean like tower blocks? Do you think I live in a cave and know nothing?:apple:

I wondered if I should insulate my sliding hatch externally, gut feeling says internal will be best, might try one and then the other, or not bother, last year I just used stuff for car windows, sort of silvery, it 's not recommended, btw, but it's cheap. I've insulated the inside window frames with rubber draught excluder, now that does work, any condensation on the windows just ends up in the drip channel and exits on a drip by drip basis.

 

4 minutes ago, Mad Harold said:

Nice to see you are feeling better.?

I got that inpression too, we need to have a virtual group hug ?

Edited by LadyG
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18 minutes ago, LadyG said:

I wondered if I should insulate my sliding hatch externally, gut feeling says internal will be best, might try one and then the other, or not bother, last year I just used stuff for car windows, sort of silvery, it 's not recommended, btw, but it's cheap. I've insulated the inside window frames with rubber draught excluder, now that does work, any condensation on the windows just ends up in the drip channel and exits on a drip by drip basis.

 

Now that is a good idea,  especially if you get one with a wipe down outer surface.

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5 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

Now that is a good idea,  especially if you get one with a wipe down outer surface.

Yes it's not the old fashioned open foam, its lookes more like two rows of piping, the kind used in dressmaking, but rubber, its not absorbing moisure. I no longer have to wipe windows every morning.

Edited by LadyG
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16 hours ago, LadyG said:

I think you should prime, two coats, with light sanding, then undercoat two coats, light sanding, then if no rust paint with Interdeck.

You is 'avin a giraffe, innit?  Wouldn't it be best to confirm the bit in bold above before going to the trouble of applying the primer and undercoat rather than after?

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1 hour ago, Sea Dog said:

You is 'avin a giraffe, innit?  Wouldn't it be best to confirm the bit in bold above before going to the trouble of applying the primer and undercoat rather than after?

Well I assumed having got the metal back to steel he would think he had removed the rust, but if he hasn't, it will soon re-appear, and usually due  to weather etc, the process will have taken about a week, or more which is enough time for the rust to develop. I can't be the only person who has found this, or am I?

Anyways, turned out he is wanting to paint inside, and I would expect him to have his four coats overr a weekend, maybe three would be enough, and presumably has the boat warm and dry, if the outside temperature is very low, and the condensation continuous I am not convinced that the painting will be successfull, but I suppose it's worth a try. 

Edited by LadyG
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1 hour ago, Sea Dog said:

You is 'avin a giraffe, innit?  Wouldn't it be best to confirm the bit in bold above before going to the trouble of applying the primer and undercoat rather than after?

Remember the problems getting 'Miss Max' (Mad Max) to see reality and think sensibly ? 

 

A thread called "42 feet of pure prettiness" (2016)

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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