EXTERIOR PAINTING.

[Karen Louise]

My widebeam has some scratches acquired when being transported. I have the correct paint to touch these areas up but would appreciate advice on the prep required and what primer to use. 🙂

[LadyG]

Welcome to the forum

Photos might help, I am assuming you are not short of a bob or two if you have bought a brand new WB, so I would recommend finding a boat painter and asking him to sort it. In the meantime, If there is bare steel, then use a very small paintbrush to prevent corrosion. You need to know what type of paint has been used on your boat, ask the manufacturer for advice, and if he arranged the delivery, ask him to make good the damage.

A lot depends on your boat, if its a brand new spray painted high gloss job, it's going to be difficult.

I do all my own painting, but of course any boat painter would know that as soon as he walked by, whereas the ordinary man in the street would think it looks very smart.

Prepping for DIY perfection, I would mask off the area, then use wet and dry (wet), from 240, through to 1200, you may need to build up the coating using primer (this comes in both thick and thin), then you need to undercoat to change both the colour and the adhesive properties to allow the top coat to take. A lot depends on what your boat looks like now,, and if you are determined to keep it pristine, or accept that over the years most paint jobs will deteriorate to some extent.

My attitude is to prevent corrosion while keeping the paint job smart, but I am never going to pay a professional to strip off the old paint, rub it down, and start again.

PS sorry for waffling on, time on my hands!

PPS if you are going to use eg a 1" quality brush for the topcoat, it might be a plan to have a test piece of metal to replicate the procedure. I find most paints have different laying off characteristics, and it takes a few strokes to learn how to get best results. "Practice makes perfect"

Edited January 26 by LadyG

[Karen Louise]

Hi. My boat is 5 years old and I negotiated a good price but am now broke with all the costs incurred.

The scratched areas are down to bare metal and I want to protect the structure and also keep things looking in good repair.

I'm pretty good at doing things myself and making a good job of things.

Thanks for the prep advice. 🙂

[LadyG]

You might find a small pot of Kurust primer in Halfords. It's too cold and damp to paint the topcoat at the moment 

Edited January 26 by LadyG

[Iain_S]

My usual "quicky" for scratches is a rub down, followed by Vactan (which cures to black). This holds everything until I/we get round to  painting. We usually paint side deck to top rubbing strake on one side in one hit, which makes a better job than touching up. 

[BEngo]

For a perfect shiny boat finish:

 

Treat  the scratches with Fertan or  Vactan.  Read the tin carefully and follow the instructions accurately.  Wait until there is some much warmer and drier weather.  Repeat Fertan/Vactan treatment before painting .

 

Paint only when it is warm and dry. 

 

Lightly sand with180 or 240 grit paper either side of the scratches.  Aim for a strip  about 25mm wide and 25mm longer than the scratchq.  Then apply a coat of BondaPrimer to the scratches only, with a fine brush. Repeat when set.  

 

Sand lightly when set. If you can still feel the scratch it will show. In that event keep putting BondaP on  and sanding it till you have filled the scratch.

 

Apply undercoat to  the whole sanded strip.  When dry  sand  with 400 grit wet and dry used wet, feathering the edges.  Be careful not to over do it and sand through to the primer.9a  Repeat.

 

Apply top coat over the sanded area .0  Sand lightly with 400 grit, used wet, feathering the edges. Apply another top coat.  Feather the edges only with 600 and 1000 grit wet and dry, used wet.

Allow to harden for a couple or three weeks.  Polish gently with Farecla G3 or T-cut followed by some good car polish like Autoglym, followed by some hard paste wax like Meguiars or Simoniz.

 

N

[truckcab79]

On 26/01/2024 at 07:54, Karen Louise said:

My widebeam has some scratches acquired when being transported. I have the correct paint to touch these areas up but would appreciate advice on the prep required and what primer to use. 🙂

Have a look at car scratch repair videos on YouTube for the technique.  Far easier to do than for me to try and explain the whole process.  Anything you do to just fill the scratch will be quite visible.  Entirely possible to do a flawless repair by hand but it involves some quite disconcerting work to the surrounding area to blend it in.   If you’re not confident after watching the videos then find a local mobile ‘chips away’ type business and explain what you need. They do this all day every day.  Just not on boats.  

[Karen Louise]

Thank you. Will have a look to get tips. Can't afford to pay to get it done but more than happy to have a go myself.  🙂

[David Mack]

A decent DIY job may not be entirely invisible, but it will stop future rusting and will be a lot less noticeable than doing nothing. Don't beat yourself up about it. You will get more scratches when out boating!

[truckcab79]

1 hour ago, Karen Louise said:

Thank you. Will have a look to get tips. Can't afford to pay to get it done but more than happy to have a go myself.  🙂

None of it is difficult. Like most things it’s just knowing how.   

[Karen Louise]

As with most things in life.....☺

[Tracy D'arth]

Vinyl stickers are great for hiding scratches, temporarily or permanently. Easier than paint especially in winter.

[manxmike]

I painted my NB with "tractol" paint (used to be called Tekaloid) with a roller. Roughed up the original surface (having tested a small patch first) and on a very warm sunny day I did the whole boat - roof first, then the sides. The finish was glossy and smooth and durable.

[Karen Louise]

Sounds good. Thank you. 😊

[Troyboy]

On 13/02/2024 at 20:25, manxmike said:

I painted my NB with "tractol" paint (used to be called Tekaloid) with a roller. Roughed up the original surface (having tested a small patch first) and on a very warm sunny day I did the whole boat - roof first, then the sides. The finish was glossy and smooth and durable.

I hadn't heard of Tractol paint until your entry on this thread . I've owned my narrowboat over 35 years and originally it was painted with Woolworths paint which was brilliant easy to apply and a nice shine that lasted a few years however Woolworths paint quality declined so I used other paint. Of course Woolworths are no more but on your recommendation I'm tempted to give Tractol a try , I know preparation is the key but to me paint is to stop the boat rusting and to look half presentable . Was Tractol recommended to you ?

[Karen Louise]

Hi. Vactan kept coming up so I bought some online....now need a dry, warm day. 😂

Am in Tewkesbury so might need to hang on in there !!! 😂😂😂

[LadyG]

1 hour ago, Karen Louise said:

Hi. Vactan kept coming up so I bought some online....now need a dry, warm day. 😂

Am in Tewkesbury so might need to hang on in there !!! 😂😂😂

You  also need a mixed pack of wet and dry, a sanding block, and a pack of paint brushes

Edited February 15 by LadyG

[Karen Louise]

Yep....have everything needed.

Just waiting for a good day weather wise. ☺

[manxmike]

5 hours ago, Troyboy said:

I hadn't heard of Tractol paint until your entry on this thread . I've owned my narrowboat over 35 years and originally it was painted with Woolworths paint which was brilliant easy to apply and a nice shine that lasted a few years however Woolworths paint quality declined so I used other paint. Of course Woolworths are no more but on your recommendation I'm tempted to give Tractol a try , I know preparation is the key but to me paint is to stop the boat rusting and to look half presentable . Was Tractol recommended to you ?

I had used Tekaloid on vehicles in the past - it dries smooth, brush marks disappear. When I went to paint the NB I did a search for Tekaloid and found it had been replaced with tractol - same stuff, different name. It helps if you warm the paint, stand the tin in a pan of hot water. Yes, preparation is key, I did the minimum and it looked great. The picture doesn't really do it credit.

[nealeST]

33 minutes ago, manxmike said:

had used Tekaloid on vehicles in the past - it dries smooth, brush marks disappea

I did a 1973 Rover P5B coupe in that some years ago! The rover like a railway locomotive or a narrowboat suited being coach painted. I also got part the way in with a 1950s Opel Rekord and the German guy who came all the way over with a trailer to get it off me will have had a tricky job dealing with the special primer I’d used for that stuff. Not compatible with conventional auto finishes for a top coat. I’m not sure I like the trend for auto paint finish on narrowboats. Pearlescent burgundy anyone? I know there are I’ve seen it…each to there own. I realise I’ve probably annoyed people now.😳

Edited February 15 by nealeST
Switched a pronoun and tweeked a tense..

[MtB]

On 15/02/2024 at 20:56, nealeST said:

I did a 1973 Rover P5B coupe in that some years ago!

 

 

I too used to hand-paint my cars and vans if I fancied a colour change back in the 70s and 80s. Pretty sure I used Tekaloid too, but can't clearly remember. 

 

No prep though, don't even remember washing them first! But in those days any vehicle with 60k on the clock was usually a worn out rust-bucket. 

[ditchcrawler]

10 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

 

I too used to hand-paint my cars and vans if I fancied a colour change back in the 70s and 80s. Pretty sure I used Tekaloid too, but can't clearly remember. 

 

No prep though, don't even remember washing them first! But in those days any vehicle with 60k on the clock was usually a worn out rust-bucket. 

In the 60s we painted the firms vans with Valspar

[MtB]

1 minute ago, ditchcrawler said:

In the 60s we painted the firms vans with Valspar

 

Was she hot? 

 

 

[truckcab79]

On 15/02/2024 at 18:15, Karen Louise said:

Hi. Vactan kept coming up so I bought some online....now need a dry, warm day. 😂

Am in Tewkesbury so might need to hang on in there !!! 😂😂😂

Vactan is amazing stuff. I’ve been using it for years on Land Rover restorations.  Even had some parts that have been Vactan’d many years ago, never painted, and are still rust free.  Don’t worry too much about temperature within reason. So long as it’s dry it’ll work its magic. Just more slowly.  

[Karen Louise]

56 minutes ago, truckcab79 said:

Vactan is amazing stuff. I’ve been using it for years on Land Rover restorations.  Even had some parts that have been Vactan’d many years ago, never painted, and are still rust free.  Don’t worry too much about temperature within reason. So long as it’s dry it’ll work its magic. Just more slowly.  

Yep....have everything needed.

Just waiting for a good day weather wise. ☺

Excellent news. 😊