Things doodlebug learnt about… Painting narrowboats.

[Doodlebug]

The next instalment of stuff I have learnt. I find that when people ask questions on canalworld they are answered before I see them - so never get to put any input into the forum. So will continue to do these posts.

Painting a narrowboat can be done the cheap way or the expensive way. And if you want a shiny boat finish then take it to a boat yard but expect to pay a four digit number for it!

If you don't like the sound of that then painting a boat is not as hard as it might seem. So having repainted our boat from bare metal 3 times here are my findings!

Prep

Scrape off the old paint if you can. Sanding down paint is a boring and horrible task. When we got our boat I found that with a paint scraper I could take the boat back to bare metal. I was taking strips of paint off the boat in 1m lengths. Try that first, if not then you've got to sand it.

Use wet and dry paper and make it wet. It clogs up otherwise and you just get covered in dust. Make sure you finish up with the highest grit you can for a good finish.

Application

You can use a paintbrush in which case get the best you can, but I found you end up using loads of paint and you can not avoid the lines in the surface. I use a foam roller which gives a good even coverage and is quick to do. If you don't like the effect you get from the roller then use a brush to smooth over the orange peel effect.

I use the cheap cheap rollers from Wilko, I get the roller and the tray all packaged together for about £1.50. Rather than clean the rollers with white spirit, which is totally impractical next to a canal I just use new ones for each colour of paint. I figure that is actually more friendly to the environment.

Solvents

Use cellulose solvent to dilute the paint. It works really well. If rolling then a small amount added to the tin stops bubbling from the roller. Wilko sell it for about 80p.

What paint to use

In terms of the type of paint used, you could use special boat paint at about 22 pound a tin. I found that using standard outdoor gloss paint works very well, you just need to use cellulose thinner to get the right consistency for painting. As you can tell I was in WIlko when I was painting the boat but I used their outdoor gloss paint which was fantastic and has not faded at all.

Dont use non drip paint. It is horrible to use.

Add a good few coatings leaving a week in between for the paint to dry, it may seem dry but it scraped off easily. A week to harden is enough. If you add loads of coats the base layer never really dries properly and is prone to chipping off.

Make it shiny

Some people have said about using baby oil to make it shiny. Don't bother it comes off. Use car wax and apply it as per the tin and it stops stuff sticking to the paint.

Masking tape

Masking tape is a pain to get off if it dries. And you can get the paint bleeding underneath. But more expensive masking tapes, (I think it is called frog tape) has a special glue which swells up and forms a good seal, and some stuff from screw fix can be applied for 60 days without sticking.

Make sure the base is dry though otherwise you peel off the surface!

Other stuff

Floor paint is good for the gunwales.

Don’t use the grit you can add to paint, its not that easy to do. Use the tape stuff and paint over. Don’t do it with light colours like I did because the dirt gets trapped and I now have to repaint the roof yearly. I hope eventually it will smooth out a bit!

If it rains whilst you do it then a quick sand when dry will take out the marks.

Candy caning

Candy cane effect on poles and tillers I achieved by using insulation tape! Sounds mad but I wrapped it round tightly and in the sun the glue has stuck it fast to the tiller. Looks good a year later other than some damage through my own fault trying to do DIY on the back of the boat!

Thats all for now!

Doodlebug

[Jim Riley]

Just had a new steel top put on my project, removed the plywood sides and roofing felt roof - it really was a floating shed, so your post is opportune for me, I've come across Tractol, agricultural machinery paint, around £30 for 5 litres, contemplating that.

[mark99]

I would contend that your tape round the tiller will fall to bits as soon as the UV gets on it properly.

[Phil Ambrose]

And cellulose thinners is only good for cellulose paint, normal enamel paint only requires white spirit. Some specialist paints require their own thinners ie Hammerite for example.

But that said, I'm loving the thread.

Phil

[twbm]

One trick I learned the hard way:

 

If insects land on drying paint and get stuck, leave them be 'til its fully dry, then remove with a cloth.

[Señor Chris]

 

Make sure you finish up with the highest grit you can for a good finish.

 

 

I'd finish up with the grit recommended for the paint you are using. Too high won't give sufficient key.

[Doodlebug]

Never had a problem with celulose, whereas I used white spirit and it ruined the paint.

 

Good point about the grit, I assume people would stop by the time they get to 1000ish. Dont bother going up to 3200 - it wont show up anyway.

 

Forgot to mention the insects. Unfortunately they are as good as dead as soon as they touch the paint. Dont try to save them or your paint work. Just sand them later on!

 

Tape has been on for a year and no problems yet!

 

Forgot to say:

 

If you want a really shiny finish and want it to look spray painted then I did see an article where someone painted their car with a roller - they diluted the paint to about 2 parts solvent to 1 part paint. Then rollered it on, sanded, rollered, sanded, etc etc.

 

Think it took between 10-20 coats but the thinness of the paint meant it looked sprayed.

[nipper]

One trick I learned the hard way:

 

If insects land on drying paint and get stuck, leave them be 'til its fully dry, then remove with a cloth.

 

With a cloth?

Oh ok, but wont their little boots get stuck in the paint forever?

 

Nipper

[Alan Saunders]

To obtain a good 'key' most modern paints require recoating before they harden, usually within 24 hours or you must abrade them.

 

Adding an incompatible solvent (like acetone to an oil or water based paint) may extend the hardening time, at least until all the solvent has evaporated but the paint may remain 'tacky' forever.

 

In my experience paint takes months to truly 'harden' and become resistant to the occasional scrapes experienced by the average canal boat.

 

Surely the paint manufacturer's recommendations should always be followed?

 

Alan

[Phil Ambrose]

Sorry Doodlebug but what sort of paint did you use, it must have been a cellulose paint for white spirit to ruin it. Every paint manufacturer will print instructions as to what sort of thinners' to use and how to clean up.

Phil

[Doodlebug]

Your points are very true, I dont claim what I have found to be fact, just that its worked for me.

 

It was wilko exterior gloss paint that was all. But when I added white spirit it was like painting a water based paint on plastic.

[dave moore]

Hi

 

I work with several coach painters, all of whom would never contemplate adding cellulose thinners to the single pack enamels widely used in the industry. One inadvertent incident sticks in my mind...I'd been asked to letter Dover for the television series " Narrowboat ". We agreed a date for this when the boat was out of the water at the film company's studios near Malvern. I arrived, prepared, only to find that the cabin side was a mass of crinkles.....the person painting them the day before had accidentally added cellulose thinners to, I think, International paint, which had blistered in consequence. No way could I letter the panels in this state, I filmed the interview with Alan Herd where we discussed what was to be done, I was then filmed supposedly chalking out the lettering in preparation for painting. This was at a distance, no close up shots. Pure flannel! I did the real thing some weeks later when the boat was at Stretton on the Shroppie at Keith Ball's yard. Happy days!

 

Dave

[matty40s]

I have to say that leaving the paint to harden for a week before the next coat is really not letting the coats bond together, you should let it dry, yes, perhaps 24 hours in Summer, but then abraid with fine sand paper or scotch cloth, wipe clean with a tack rag, an then get the next layer on.

[Señor Chris]

 

Good point about the grit, I assume people would stop by the time they get to 1000ish. Dont bother going up to 3200 - it wont show up anyway.

 

 

1000 is probably too high - 300ish is recommended for Toplac.

[Phil Ambrose]

Curiosity got the better of me and I'm ashamed to say I e-mailed Wilko who confirmed that white spirit is indeed the correct medium for their exterior gloss, just saying.

Phil

[Jim Riley]

Just having new steel top on boat, anyone used rustoleum combicolour primer/topcoat combined.

[Doodlebug]

Curiosity got the better of me and I'm ashamed to say I e-mailed Wilko who confirmed that white spirit is indeed the correct medium for their exterior gloss, just saying.

Phil

 

Thanks Phil, though I wonder why it messed up what I did so badly. Anyway, point is make sure you do thin paints because otherwise they are too sticky for rollering.