No fuss deck paint for small repair ...What to use?

[bostonmish]

Hello, Total beginner trying a project here. Need recommendation on what paint to use:

I want to repair a section of the deck to fix a poorly installed pulpit and also to reposition a vent. If all goes well, I will end up with several fiberglass layup sections along with some epoxy plugs. The total of the repairs cover approximately a square foot.

I am reading a lot of threads, but now my head is spinning from all the choices.

Post fiberglass repair, I think I need to prep/sand and then clean with acetone or ammonia and then I read about the 545 primer. If this is OK, the only thing left to find is a no-fuss durable top coat paint. Ideally it will match the aged white of the rest of the deck.

Can anyone share knowledge about the top coat paint ?

Many thanks!

Michael
West Potter 15

[valhalla360]

Unless the area around the repair is already painted, you want to use gelcoat or it will be obvious, you painted the repair (even with gelcoat unless you are good at color matching, it will be visible).


Alternatively, you could paint the entire area. For ease, I suggest Interlux Brightside. It's not as tough as some of the 2 part paints but it's easy to apply with good results and if it does get dinged, it's easy to repair.

[Jim Cate]

Faded white is a bugger to match (in my amateur opinion, based on limited experience), no matter whether gel coat or paint. I suspect that unless you undertake to paint the entire area (or whole deck), it will be noticeable.

One approach is to make it contrasting rather than attempting a match... sometimes this can be attractively integrated into the deck appearance.

And Brightside would be an ok product in a fairly low traffic area, as suggested above.

Jim

[Privilege]

You basically have two choices; a two-part or a one-part paint. Two-part paints (like awlgrip, interlux perfection and Epifanes) look just the same when finished but they are harder and are better suited to high use areas. They need to be mixed carefully and are much more difficult to apply. Not a vey good beginner option.

I agree with the above advice. You'd be best to go with a one-part polyurethane like Brightside. It's easy to apply with a roller or brush and levels very well. Although not as tough as two-part, it's still very hard and if you do get a decent scratch, you can just touch it up with a disposable brush. Neither option will match your faded gel coat. Just mask off a symmetrical area so that it looks like it's supposed to be like that.

Whichever one you opt for, you will need suitable undercoat for direct application to glass.

[bostonmish]

Thank you to all the replies! It is very helpful guidance!

The repair area is the very tip of the bow - not high traffic and naturally separate, sort of, from the rest of the deck. My repairs will fix the PO repairs which already come with unmatched paint over them.

At the end I want to end up with better fiberglass and at least a passable top coat. Since I can (have to) separate the front triangle area, for the new paint, I’ll pretend that it’s my intended design scheme: white nose, less white deck.

I am going to fight hard to prevent "better" from beating up "good" - they are perennial enemies in my projects it seems – and save some time to get out on the water.

Thank you all again!

Michael

[minaret]

If it's in the nonskid portion of the deck of a WWP, I'd suggest Interlux Interdeck instead of Brightside for a polyurethane product. If it's in the finished portion you must match the current finish. Unless the deck has a molded skid, that is.