Painting Inside of Hull

[sashal]

Hello,

I have a couple of lockers that I would like to paint. Has anyone had any luck painting the inside of the hull while the boat was in the water? If so, what climates have you done this in? And what paints have you used? It seems to me that the condensation would prohibit the use of epoxy based paints.

The boat is in San Francisco which means that by the time the temperature is warm enough to paint, the air will be warmer than the water and this will lead to condensation.

Any help would be appreciated,
Sasha

[Morgan Paul]

I used this Mold Mildew Resistant Paint - PERMA-WHITE Mildew-Proof* Bathroom Paint. Warm the surface before and after you paint. You could run a small fan or heater. I live on Long Island (about 50 miles from New York City. Worked good for me.

Paul

[SeaKing]

Does that work on fiberglass

[David M]

I work on the San Francisco Bay. I just use plain old Interlux or Z-Spar marine enamel. Follow the directions for application to the letter and it will work out fine. If you are painting inside and it is cold outside then run a heater or wait for a warm day. My rule of thumb for painting is if it is too cold to be wearing a t-shirt then it is too cold for painting. Paint works especially well on fiberglass because unlike wood, it does not expand and contract nor does it hold moisture, at least not like wood does.

Epoxy paints are excellent for stopping water absorption into fiberglass. Epoxy paints such as Interlux 2000 and 3000 in fact are used as under the water moisture barriers on fiberglass hulls. Interlux 3000 cures as a flat white color but would be overkill for what you need to accomplish.

You can stop condensation by using a heat lamp to keep the airs temperature above the dew point while the paint is curing.

You could also brush on an LPU like Awlgrip, but this would also be an overkill.

[sashal]

Thank you guys for your reply. I have a gallon can of EasyPoxy paint and one gallon of paint. I am going to do some test patches with that using a heater and heat lamp today. I have that paint so if possible, my inclination is to use it. However, I have suffered through the job of having to remove uncured epoxy from a boat that got an unexpected fog right after the paint was laid on and I have a visceral fear of doing it again.

David, as someone who works in San Francisco, would you consider it living dangerously to use an epoxy paint on the inside of a hull during a t-shirt day with heat lamps in the space? It sounds like you are saying it would be fairly safe.

Thanks for listening to my fears,
Sasha

[David M]

Sasha,
Easypoxy is not a real epoxy. It does not require a second part to cure like all true epoxys require. I have used Easypoxy and it is a super durable paint but not an epoxy. It says so right on the can. The name "Easypoxy" is very misleading. It may be just the paint you are looking for though. The organic vapors from Easypoxy are not nearly as bad as those from real epoxy...so from that standpoint, it is a safer paint to apply although you still need to take precautions.

I should have been more explicit about applying epoxy or any sort of two part paint inside from a curing and safety standpoint.

First, if it is a warm day you will not need a heat lamp because the air temperature will be well above the dewpoint and you will not need to worry about condensation. Right before you leave the boat for the evening you may consider using some sort of heating device in case there is a chance of the air temperature reaching the dewpoint that night.

Second, if you do choose to apply epoxy inside (and I still think it would be overkill for your application) then get a seriously large fan, open up all your ports and hatches and use a chemical respirator. A positive pressure mask would be ideal if you can manage to get one. Also, have somebody else around to keep an eye on you. For goodness sake, stop and get outside if you start to feel light headed or "drunk" in anyway.

Let me know how things worked out today.

[never monday]

I did this in Atlanta during the hot humid summer. I used Rust-Oleum oil based paint. About $7.00 a qt at Home Depot.

[GordMay]

As noted, “Easypoxy” is a one-part Polyurethane topside paint.

Easypoxy Application Data:
http://www.pettitpaint.com/fileshare.../easyproxy.pdf

MSDS: http://www.petitprod.com/fileshare/p...ds/1323706.pdf

[schoonerdog]

I might be redoing some interior paint on our boat. The previous paint was a water based enamel. I seems in certain areas which may be more prone to moisture build up from temperature differentials that the water based enamel gets soft with age and become a greyish glue. Would easypoxy be a better alternative? I'm also thinking of painting interior surfaces such as old wood veneers which have become discolored and really are unrepairable (this would be wood veneers over cored fiberglass sandwich), but would want something that gave a very nice finish afterwards.

[David M]

Perhaps I am old fashioned but I always use oil based paints on a boat. Waterbased reminds me too much of latex which would not hold up in a marine environment for very long. You can always buy a respirator with organic vapor cartridges if the area you are painting is not ventilated well enough. I have had white Easypoxy over some marine plywood down in my engine space for about ten years now and it has held up nice.

[schoonerdog]

Thanks Dave!

[sashal]

As an update, I used Easypoxy primer and gloss top coat and am extremely satisfied. I did have to use a heat lamp in certain corners but I was painting in cold San Francisco weather. It dried great and has a very hard finish.

Easypoxy is some very stinky paint but it is the most durable paint I have ever used. As a benchmark, I accidentally dropped some on my big toe. After 6 weeks of showering, wearing shoes, and diving as a bottom cleaner, the paint was still there. I probably could have scraped it off but I enjoyed doing big toe product testing.

[Brent Swain]

A friend in Vancouver had trouble getting paint to dry, so he bought a dehumidifier and plugged it in. The first week he pulled five gallons ( real gallons, not US gallons) out of the air. It tapered off after then but it was still substantial. Then his paint dried very quickly, as did anything else he wanted to dry aboard.
Brent