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To Paint or not to paint.


bodysnatcher

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Hi ,everyone

We’re after your opinions please. We have as our first boat, a classic. A highbridge 32. I love the look of the outside with the cruiser stern and seating in the bow. The boat is very original inside, with oak faced ply which would have been quite light when new. However, 35 years on and it is very dark.

My question is do we keep it original (like I would a classic car) or do we brighten up the interior by painting it a neutral light colour, (cream or off white). The outside we like with its 70’s beige and brown. Would painting the interior lower the resale value or put people off buying it, when or even if we ever sell her.

THANKS in advance Alastair and June

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Great boats. I used to fancy a Highbridge after our Dawncraft 22, but gunwales are a bit high for elderly hips to camber up, so we got a small narrowboat. 

If you use acrylic paint - water based, it can always be rubbed back in the future. However you won't be the only ones that don't like dark wood and prefer it light and airy, so it shouldn't affect the resale market if done nicely. 

 

There will be some along in a minute who will disagree, as a matter of course. They are probably trolls who live in dark narrowboat with only 2 portholes for light. Leave them to their darkness. 

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Hi, we did think about trying to sand the varnish back, but it would be a massive job and I'm a bit frightened we would end up with a mess. It really is, do we paint and lighten the whole interior or just give a light sand and re-varnish (and live in the dark).

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A light sand, then a hi bond primer, then cupboard paint. Use a 4" roller on the flat areas. I've refurbished a whole set of elderly kitchen units, others thought they were new. 

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4 minutes ago, bodysnatcher said:

Hi, we did think about trying to sand the varnish back, but it would be a massive job and I'm a bit frightened we would end up with a mess. It really is, do we paint and lighten the whole interior or just give a light sand and re-varnish (and live in the dark).

Thats why I suggested stripping rather than sanding....

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Have you thought about just doing the ceiling, this has made a huge difference for our boat I painted just last week.

 

It's off-white so it's not too stark. We used Johnstone's OneCoat, quick dry satin, for interior wood and metal - shade is 'Shadow'.

 

The only prep we did was to remove the trim before painting, and put masking tape along the edge of the wall. It took 2 coats, with about 4-5 hours between coats. The paint was put on using a sponge roller, obviously we used a small brush to paint into corners. The paint also doesn't smell.

 

I wanted to have the wood grain show through the paint, which it does.

 

The 'varnished' sides have been brightened up with another coat of Polyvine - http://www.polyvine.com/index.php/en/varnishes/water-based-varnishes/wax-finish-varnish - It's brilliant stuff, and dried within one to two hours, great if you've a dog running around like us. No varnish runs, at all. It's a bit like painting with shaving cream, so easy! All the prep I did was to wipe the wood down to remove grime. I applied the polyvine with a roller, then I used a brush to smooth the surface. 

 

 

ceiling.jpg

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Hi that looks really good. Our boat has the original felt roof lining which goes down the sides and under the gunnals. Its really just the bulkheads and sliding kitchen doors and the darkest part is where you come in through the stern doors down between bathroom and wardrobe/cupboard. If our wood was as light as yours I would leave it. (ours is nearly as dark as mahogany )

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50 minutes ago, Jennifer McM said:

Have you thought about just doing the ceiling, this has made a huge difference for our boat I painted just last week.

 

It's off-white so it's not too stark. We used Johnstone's OneCoat, quick dry satin, for interior wood and metal - shade is 'Shadow'.

 

The only prep we did was to remove the trim before painting, and put masking tape along the edge of the wall. It took 2 coats, with about 4-5 hours between coats. The paint was put on using a sponge roller, obviously we used a small brush to paint into corners. The paint also doesn't smell.

 

I wanted to have the wood grain show through the paint, which it does.

 

The 'varnished' sides have been brightened up with another coat of Polyvine - http://www.polyvine.com/index.php/en/varnishes/water-based-varnishes/wax-finish-varnish - It's brilliant stuff, and dried within one to two hours, great if you've a dog running around like us. No varnish runs, at all. It's a bit like painting with shaving cream, so easy! All the prep I did was to wipe the wood down to remove grime. I applied the polyvine with a roller, then I used a brush to smooth the surface. 

 

 

ceiling.jpg

Do you know if this would cover up water stains in the wood? 

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56 minutes ago, Jennifer McM said:

Have you thought about just doing the ceiling, this has made a huge difference for our boat I painted just last week.

 

It's off-white so it's not too stark. We used Johnstone's OneCoat, quick dry satin, for interior wood and metal - shade is 'Shadow'.

 

The only prep we did was to remove the trim before painting, and put masking tape along the edge of the wall. It took 2 coats, with about 4-5 hours between coats. The paint was put on using a sponge roller, obviously we used a small brush to paint into corners. The paint also doesn't smell.

 

I wanted to have the wood grain show through the paint, which it does.

 

The 'varnished' sides have been brightened up with another coat of Polyvine - http://www.polyvine.com/index.php/en/varnishes/water-based-varnishes/wax-finish-varnish - It's brilliant stuff, and dried within one to two hours, great if you've a dog running around like us. No varnish runs, at all. It's a bit like painting with shaving cream, so easy! All the prep I did was to wipe the wood down to remove grime. I applied the polyvine with a roller, then I used a brush to smooth the surface. 

 

 

ceiling.jpg

Very impressive! 

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5 minutes ago, ianali said:

Do you know if this would cover up water stains in the wood? 

We did have a black mark (it looked like tar or something) on the ceiling which was exposed when the galley was refurbed, I dabbed a bit of paint on the mark, and the first coat practically covered it, so IMO it would cover up water stains easily.

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