Craftmaster or Masons paint?

[Slim]

I'm having the boat professionally repainted in the new year and I have to decide which brand of paint I want.

 

I have fairly recent experience of Craftmaster which I liked. It seemed to have good 'depth of colour' and covered well. My experience of Masons is less recent. I used it to paint Vital Spark in 2000 and I found it excellent. Went on well and gave a really good finish. My main concern is that I don't know if it's qualities have remained high. I've read that the brand changed hands around 2000. Does anyone have recent experience of it?

 

Regardless of brand I intend to retain the existing colour scheme of Midnight Blue and a dark green (unsure of shade)

 

The painter's first suggestion was Rapid Narrowboat paint which I understand has recently been re-branded to Sympathy? I had a really bad experience of this brand so would not want to go down that road. He's quite willing to use any brand of paint I choose.

 

Any views?

 

Many thanks

 

 

 

Frank

Edited November 25, 2015 by Slim

[matty40s]

You can get Masons P-Type mixed by any good reputable supplier. I do like it, easily workable.

Craftsmaster is expensive but reassuringly so as the advert goes.

[BEngo]

I had Jarrah done in "Mason's" P Type in 2011. It was previously done in 2001 in Craftmaster. The 'Masons' seems to be holding up as well as the Craftmaster did.

 

The roof was done in Rapidpaint satin grey. Apart from mechanical damage where it gets used as a walkway and a tendency to fade the pink out so it's a pale shade of blue, it too is holding up well.

 

Craftmaster is a bit more difficult to put on IMHO- it seems 'stickier'.

 

The best of the coach paints was the ICI P338 range, but it's gone now. The coach varnish was pretty much immune to sanding discs!

 

N

[Keeping Up]

My roof and gunwales were painted red with Mason's in 1991 and they faded to pink within a year. Since then I have always specified other paints such as International and they've been fine, until last time when the boatyard forgot and used Mason's red again. It faded to pink within a year. Of course their other colours may be better.

[Athy]

We have used Craftmaster for years in our attempts to maintain Trojan's purple hue. It goes on beautifully smoothly and is a pleasure to use (though paying for it beforehand is slightly less of a pleasure).

[pearley]

My roof and gunwales were painted red with Mason's in 1991 and they faded to pink within a year. Since then I have always specified other paints such as International and they've been fine, until last time when the boatyard forgot and used Mason's red again. It faded to pink within a year. Of course their other colours may be better.

'Joanie M' was painted in 2007 with Masons Midnight Blue for the cabin sides and Masons Crimson for the name panels. Although there is a slight bloom on the crimson which disappears when T Fitted and polished it has stood up very well.

 

Rapid Paint is now Symphony Coatings and will mix any colour to your sample. The cream for our roof came from them as did the blue I now use to touch up.

 

The only Craftmaster I've used was gloss black for the hull sides but I thought it rather thin with poor coverage.

[Athy]

The only Craftmaster I've used was gloss black for the hull sides but I thought it rather thin with poor coverage.

Haven't used the black - but I have found that their paint needs very thorough stirring before application. It appears thin if not mixed sufficiently.

[RLWP]

Any views?

 

Yes - I'm amazed that the painter isn't telling you which paint they are going to use and why. Most painters seem to get the best results with one make or another and prefer to stick to that brand

 

Richard

[dave moore]

Masons, as such, no longer exists, the company was bought out years ago and I'm not sure whether those that claim to make it, usually automotive paint mixing companies, are able to replicate the formula or simply the colour. It was widely used in the 80s and 90s and I have fond memories of phoning the Birmingham depot, my nearest, with an order for 1 litre of colour which was delivered by van next day. The P type enamel was especially popular with coach painters in boatyards, including Phil Speight at Dadford's Wharf. They became less obliging over time which was one of the factors that led Phil to found and develop the Craftmaster range. The painters I work with have their individual choices, they are an eclectic bunch...some favour Epithanes, others Symphony Coatings ( formerly Rapid paint, they used to mix Craftmaster for Phil years ago ). I'm finishing an historic painted largely in International, another painter favours a local auto mix brand. I haven't noticed any Masons clones around those docks, just be aware that the original is long gone, a pity....

 

Dave

[bizzard]

Mark Knopfler was in dire straits when he faded to black.

[Neil Smith]

The only problem of not going with the painters choice is if it goes wrong he could blame your choice of paint and get some wriggle room on the warranty.

 

Neil

[Athy]

Mark Knopfler was in dire straits when he faded to black.

That was money for nothing, then.

[peterboat]

watched phil earlier this year in johnathon wilsons yard putting the names etc on one of wizards boats, the paint went on like a dream would assume its his own paint and wizard used it to paint the boat as well. also chris in the same yard is changing the colour of his boat and is using craftmaster, it looks fantastic and you cant see the brushmarks so one for craftmaster for me

[Tonka]

A paint developed by a painter would be easy to apply and then fade quickly so as to keep them in business longer

[Neil Smith]

A paint developed by a painter would be easy to apply and then fade quickly so as to keep them in business longer

REALLY ?

 

Neil

[J R ALSOP]

Mason's every time, we used to paint Lorries that carried Lime, never touched it. I have been using it on my boat for 36 years.

[dave moore]

I suspect that the paint Phil was using for the lettering was indeed Craftmaster, though it would have been his signwriting and lining enamel, not the coach paint. The lack of brush marks in the cabin side is a combination of superb preparation in earlier coats, the skill of the painter and the use of top quality brushes. Years ago when I taught signwriting at a local college there was a sign above the tutor's office that read

 

" The essence of good decorating is preparation"

 

Even more true in the coach painting field...applying the paint is a small part of a day's work for the coach painters I work with. The rest is preparation...tedious, meticulous but necessary.

 

Dave

[Richard10002]

I've recently used Craftmaster Alpha Red on my roof rails and it is amazing! Everyone in our club is amazed at my ability as a painter, but I know it's 90% down to the paint

[bag 'o' bones]

My personal view is that whilst craftmaster and masons are undoubtedly high quality paints they are nevertheless old technology. if I were having the boat repainted I would go for 2 pack which is far superior as a protective coating.

 

[dave moore]

I agree, to some extent. Resolute was originally finished in 2 pack paint by a skilled paint sprayer. Only the main blue panels remain, 15 years later and they are still holding up well. The rest of the superstructure has been repainted by others in single pack simply because they were more used to that product. Part of the problem is the environment in which boats are painted, not all docks have the equipment for 2 pack work. Most of those I work with are painters, not sprayers. Our originally flawless blue panels were subsequently cut back with wet and dry 1500 grit paper, used wet....Trevor, sadly no longer with us, took several days of painstaking hand flatting to achieve this look on each side....I'd have gone mad long before he'd finished were I doing the job.....

 

Dave

[bag 'o' bones]

2 pack can be formulated and supplied specifically for brushing. I'm not sure where this myth of it can be only applied using a gun has come from.

 

As for flatting in my experience it does not require nearly as much flatting as air dry paints, even quicker if you use an air driven random orbital!

[Slim]

Thanks for everyone's contributions. I'm waiting for a Craftmaster colour chart and am trying to track down a Masons one. I don't have to make up my mind until I deliver the boat in a few weeks (before stoppages come in). The painter did initially suggest Narrowboat paint but seemed quite happy to use whatever I preferred. We'll see when it comes to decision time

 

Regardless of what paint is used who wants to bet how long it will take me to scratch it?

 

 

frank

[Neil Smith]

You cant wrap em in cotton wool.

 

Neil

[Kraken]

I've experimented with several paints and found the very worst to be Midland's own brand. Second worst is Craftmaster . The black was never really black, but very dark grey. It went chalky after a year and looked much worse than the 15 year old paint. It was difficult to apply and hard to avoid brush marks. It never went fully hard and would just tend to rub off. On a multi coloured item like a pole, the colours would smear over thr top of each other with use.

[bizzard]

Blue is put into black to make it look blacker, hoodwinked, it's not fair. But they don't seem to add black to blue to make the blue bluer.

Edited December 1, 2015 by bizzard