Repainting your boat.
Careful!
These audio interviews are candid conversations with highly experienced staff from our shop—people who have worked on boats for years. However, the content of these interviews does not imply any particular result on your boat nor extend our warranty in any way. Please contact us directly for specific project questions or bring your boat to the yard for a consultation.
The decision to paint your boat can represent a significant investment. Careful and meticulous preparation can ensure a high quality job that will keep your yacht looking like new for years to come.
In Part 3 of Townsend Bay Marine's Audio Interview Series, Leif Erickson and Trevor Stark discuss what you need to know about painting your pleasure boat (13:38, 12.4MB Streaming MP3 file). Some of the questions that Leif and Trevor field are:
- What kind of paint should you use and how much of your boat should you paint?
- Can Awlgrip be repaired?
- Why is Awlgrip Townsend Bay Marine's preferred paint?
- What are the issues when repainting a boat?
- How can you tell when gelcoat is beyond restoring and it's time for paint?
- Do you have to strip the gelcoat before painting?
- How do you decide whether to mask off or remove deck hardware?
- What's the difference between painting composites and metal?
- How do the seasons affect painting?
- Can you paint inside?
- When a boat is being painted, can you do other projects at the same time?
- Should you restore deck fittings and hardware?
- How many coats of paint should you apply?
- How do you prepare for a perfect finish?
- How important is fairing to a great finish?
- How many boats have you painted?
- What are the consequences of not painting your boat when it needs it?
Issue # 1: Type of paint
There are many paints to choose from, but here at TBM we prefer to use linear polyurethane (LPU) paint for exterior applications because it’s been proven to be the most durable. Topcoat application is the most critical part of any paint job, and in terms of both the quality and longevity of the finish we get the most consistent results by precisely following each manufacturer’s application directions for priming and surface preparation.
Issue # 2: How much to paint
Ideally you’d paint your whole boat from the tip of the mast to the waterline, but sometimes that isn’t necessary or affordable. Either partial painting or repairs need to cover an entire panel to blend in well, breaking at a natural line like a radius or corner. If you can remove hardware and paint underneath it (instead of taping it off), you’ll have a better paint job overall.
Issue # 3: When to paint
When the gelcoat is crazed or porous, it’s probably beyond restoration. At that point, it’s time to paint. For a metal boat, you need to paint before corrosion extends to hard–to–reach areas. Once your boat is painted, it can look new for five to seven years if you take care of it—keep it clean, use the maintenance products the paint manufacturer recommends, and wash it regularly.