Paintwork touch up

[Noggin]

Need to touch up paintwork - mainly gunwales where we have bumped etc.   Hints & tips welcomed on all stages from preparation to top coat - not expecting a professional finish, but a general improvement.  Is there a product that can be painted on the rust spots that prepares it for painting - know I have used such on a car, but will it affect the coach paint?

[Slim]

6 minutes ago, Noggin said:

Need to touch up paintwork - mainly gunwales where we have bumped etc.   Hints & tips welcomed on all stages from preparation to top coat - not expecting a professional finish, but a general improvement.  Is there a product that can be painted on the rust spots that prepares it for painting - know I have used such on a car, but will it affect the coach paint?

On the gunwales. wire brush, sand down, coat of Vactan or Fertan, quick coat of matt or satin Ruskins black (not Hammerite). Couple of hours labour each side (or less) . Repeat 3 months later. Gunwales get scraped.   

[Tony Brooks]

4 minutes ago, Slim said:

On the gunwales. wire brush, sand down, coat of Vactan or Fertan, quick coat of matt or satin Ruskins black (not Hammerite). Couple of hours labour each side (or less) . Repeat 3 months later. Gunwales get scraped.   

 

I agree with the the matt or satin finish helps hide the inevitable dings and scrapes.

[Rob-M]

I use raddle black on the gunnels from the top rubbing strake up.

[David Mack]

10 minutes ago, Slim said:

coat of Vactan or Fertan,

Remembering that fertan needs rinsing off, but vactan doesn't.

5 minutes ago, Rob-M said:

I use raddle black on the gunnels from the top rubbing strake up.

I use bitumen blacking on the hull side from the top rubbing strake up. Same as below the top rubbing strake. Cheap, and easy to apply even to a less than perfect surface.

Not suitable for the gunwale top surface that you walk on, but that isn't really subject to dings and scrapes.

[David Mack]

5 minutes ago, Rob-M said:

I use raddle black on the gunnels from the top rubbing strake up.

I use bitumen blacking on the hull side from the top rubbing strake up. Same as below the top rubbing strake. Cheap, and easy to apply even to a less than perfect surface.

Not suitable for the gunwale top surface that you walk on, but that isn't really subject to dings and scrapes.

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

18 minutes ago, David Mack said:

I use bitumen blacking on the hull side from the top rubbing strake up. Same as below the top rubbing strake. Cheap, and easy to apply even to a less than perfect surface.

Not suitable for the gunwale top surface that you walk on, but that isn't really subject to dings and scrapes.

That’s what I’ve started to do for same reason. 
 

[LadyG]

I had black gunwales but felt the boat lacked definition, so I've used satin blue grey from SML (Marine Paint), it looks pretty smart, and I've done the top rubbing strakes in red, this is gradually not so smart, but I sand and coat with red oxide followed by Sandtex red gloss, it looks fine from one metre to infinity.

If I have the boat hauled out, I'll be ready to tart up these bits, or even a day in a painting shed would make a big difference. The paints I use tend to be suitable for touching up, OK it's not as good as a full-on pro paint job every five years, but hey ho, I don't stress over a small scrape here and there, some people do, but once you've been through Bingley three and five rise with a novice boater to-ing and fro-ing alongside, it's all relative.

 

[ditchcrawler]

You paint your rubbing strakes?

46 minutes ago, LadyG said:

I had black gunwales but felt the boat lacked definition, so I've used satin blue grey from SML (Marine Paint), it looks pretty smart, and I've done the top rubbing strakes in red, this is gradually not so smart, but I sand and coat with red oxide followed by Sandtex red gloss, it looks fine from one metre to infinity.

If I have the boat hauled out, I'll be ready to tart up these bits, or even a day in a painting shed would make a big difference. The paints I use tend to be suitable for touching up, OK it's not as good as a full-on pro paint job every five years, but hey ho, I don't stress over a small scrape here and there, some people do, but once you've been through Bingley three and five rise with a novice boater to-ing and fro-ing alongside, it's all relative.

 

 

[Mike Tee]

Question for those of you that paint above the top rubbing strakes in bitumen - did you do much prep to the existing / knocked about gloss, or just rub down the worst flakes and bung on the bitumen? (The lazy part of me hopes you just bunged it on top of the gloss!).

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

Scratch up the surface and bung on the bitumen. 

[blackrose]

On 05/05/2022 at 13:28, Slim said:

On the gunwales. wire brush, sand down, coat of Vactan or Fertan, quick coat of matt or satin Ruskins black (not Hammerite). Couple of hours labour each side (or less) . Repeat 3 months later. Gunwales get scraped.   

 

On the gunwales you need a non-slip paint. Gunwales don't get scraped? Perhaps you mean the top plank under the gunwales?

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

Ain’t the top plank the gunnel/gunwhale?

the bit you walk on is side decking?

 

 

[blackrose]

7 minutes ago, Goliath said:

Ain’t the top plank the gunnel/gunwhale?

the bit you walk on is side decking?

 

 

 

As far as I'm concerned the top plank is the angled part under the gunwales. The bit you walk on is the gunwale.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunwale

 

On a narrowboat or canal boat, the gunwale is synonymous with the side deck- a narrow ledge running the full length of the craft.

 

Edited May 21, 2022 by blackrose

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

Ok

 

lets agree the OP means the angled part and not the bit one walks on 🙂

[blackrose]

And it seems like everyone else means that too! 😊

[Idle Days]

I slap whatever blackish paint is to hand. I know it's only going to stay on as far as the next lock or mooring, so don't worry too much.

[ditchcrawler]

12 hours ago, Mike Tee said:

Question for those of you that paint above the top rubbing strakes in bitumen - did you do much prep to the existing / knocked about gloss, or just rub down the worst flakes and bung on the bitumen? (The lazy part of me hopes you just bunged it on top of the gloss!).

Did it from day one

[BillD]

Our surveyor recommended Rustoleum paint as it had rust inhibitors and was self priming.  So I slap some black rustoleum on the top plank, or for a better result if doing several scrapes at once, or for non black paint,  see **** below.

 

Rust spots/scrapes/scratches generally:

 

If rusty, I used to use Fertan rust converter, but it was a pain having to wait 24 hours, wash with water and then prime/paint.  Vactan (or Hydrate 80) or similar are better - they are rust converters that then leaves a waterproof acrylic coat than can be overcoated.  The problem here is that if there is too much rust for the Vactan to  convert (or if there is some under the paint edge because you didn't quite strip back far enough), it seals some rust underneath which will then erupt through over time.  I've used 2 coats Hydrate80 in the forepeak/gas locker, and 2 coats Vactan on a well rust removed and cleaned integral water-tank - Vactan is certified OK for use with potable water systems.

 

These days I've found the Owatrol oil products good to use.  Here in New Zealand we have fish oil products which are excellent on boat trailers and other steelwork where it's almost impossible to remove all rust - for instance inside a trailer hollow steel box member.  Owatrol seems similar but less smelly, possibly linseed oil based. It is said to (and seems to to do) to penetrate well attached rust down to the good steel before drying into a tough coating that seals out air and water, and I think/surmise also  penetrates (to some extent) and does the same under adjoining paint that is cracked/slightly loose/slightly rust - all quite possible with a scrape or ding on the hull side paintwork.

 

*****  I remove loose paint with a scraper, wirebrush loose rust, paint on Owatrol which immediately protects and dries fairly quickly, and topcoat it 24 hours or up to several months later.  It's also a paint conditioner and makes ordinary oil based paint more rust inhibiting, so I mix in 10% into the topcoat (in my case International Toplac as that's what the boat was painted with, best to with a small quantity first). I reckon this makes ordinary paint as good as Rustoleum, but with a better colour match.

 

Cheers

Bill

 

PS I've also found Owatrol is great for bringing colour back to faded paint or fibreglass gel coat (but not white).  They sell it as colour restore too.

PPS No, I've no financial ow work interest in Owatrol.  It just seems to work well (with a credible explanation why it does), and takes less effort for a reasonably good result.

 

 

 

 

 

[Higgs]

On 05/05/2022 at 13:14, Noggin said:

Need to touch up paintwork - mainly gunwales where we have bumped etc.   Hints & tips welcomed on all stages from preparation to top coat - not expecting a professional finish, but a general improvement.  Is there a product that can be painted on the rust spots that prepares it for painting - know I have used such on a car, but will it affect the coach paint?

 

I pretty much rely on getting the steel bright, with sanding and wire cup brushes. Surface clean and degrease. Filler, if necessary. Prime. 

 

I hesitate to write anything, in threads where all kinds of additives are mentioned, along with rust treatments. I never use them.

 

 

Edited May 7, 2023 by Higgs