BoatBanter.com - View Single Post

(William R. Watt) wrote in message ...
On the 'Cheap' side, a great number of people recommend the 100% Acrylic
'Porch Paint'. Easy to apply, easy to clean up, and no 'bad' solvents. A
dash of 'Flotrol' enhances the application - & allows better control for
'roll & tip' techniques. A tip from the Laboratory people - allow AT LEAST
14 days to 'cure' before handling the painted surface. This is the solution
to the complaints of 'softness' & 'peeling'. Next, there is the 'standard'
Alkyd Porch & Trim paints & enamels {oil based, solvent clean-up}. Lastly,
there are the 'Marine' paints, typically used on Fiberglass/Gelcoat boats -
oil based, solvent clean-up.

The *basic* idea of ANY finish over cured epoxy it to prevent degradation
from UV exposure. "Ye pays your money, & takes y're choice".

I've used both acrylic and regular exterior semi-gloss latex on my small
boats and prefer the acrylic. Like a kayak my boats come into contact with
substances other than water frequently, beaches and roof racks to name a
couple. The acrylic holds up better. I've also painted a daggerboard with
a hard floor paint and then again with the softer latex. The hard paint
stood up to the scraping on the inside of the daggerboard trunk much
better than the softer latex. The soft latex is good for a larger boat
which sits in the water because the latex just sloughs off over time
whereas a hard paint will eventually crack, blister, and peel. The softer
latex is easier to maintain in that situation.

All of my cheap boats are just paint over plywood, no resin under the
paint except along the seams. From the condition of the seams I'm not
convinced resin on top of plywood does much good until its built up to the
point it adds a lot of weight.

I let paint dry for 3 days before putting it in the water.

I am like Will, I like paint instead of coats of epoxy although I do
use epoxy sometimes as a sanding sealer. I usually use enamel paint,
sometimes Benjamin Moore, sometimes Interlux Bright sides. The
Interlux dries a little more predictablally and harder, it also
brushed and sprays a little easier. Once Epoxy has had a few days of
good upper 70's with dry conditions, it should be ok to paint over. Be
sure to wash off the blush and rough it up first.

On the other hand, there is a school (one of the big kayak kit
dealers) who reccomends you use your kayak a couple of months with
only epoxy and then paint, or clear coat...

Scotty from SmallBoats.com sorry, to lazy to spell check....