Painting the deck

[fla_sail]

Hello,

Does anyone have any advice about painting the deck a 28' monohull? (1979 SanJuan 28)

We plan on doing it in the slip, after cleaning and removing as much deck hardware as possible (at least the cleats and stantions for the lifelines). A few boats in slips around us have done it this way to good effect.

Since it might take a while, any advice on temporarily filling the bolt holes left by removing the hardware? I had thought about having my dad hold some cling wrap underneath while I filled from above with silicone, as I think it will clean up easily when we replace and rebed the hardware.

About how much primer/paint... 1-2 gallons each?

Definately doing at least 2 coats of epoxy primer, and 2-3 of a single part marine paint.

We want to spiff the boat up a bit, but I am not looking for a mirror finish. Mostly I want to protect the boat from the Sun as over the years the gel coat has been almost polished away.

We will be renewing non-skid as well, probably using advice from some Don Casey sailnet articles on the subject.

We will likely do the topsides and bottom in the next few months when we pull the boat. It has been about 3 years since the last bottom job, but it is holding up well.

Thanks
Jon
Stormbringer
St. Pete, FL

I am in the midst of the same project. We had severe gelcoat checking, and the prep work was intense. My first word of advice is don't hire grunt labor to help out. (long story, just trust me)
Our boat is 40' with 14' beam. We used 2 part epoxy primer/sealer, and 2 gallons covered it. I have chosen to use single part polyurethane for the color I have had very good service from this paint, but it is lower quality than allot of what is out there. The material should have coverage area listed on the can. A roller works fine for most materials, so spraying is not necessary. Consider where you will store the larger parts you take off the deck. THey may not fit in the cabin. Tape on the backside of the mount holes has worked for us, but we are replacing the headliner, so we have not really been concerned with a little leakage. If you put down drop cloths, you should be able to clean up with some thinner if you do it right away.
Hope this helps.

[Alan Wheeler]

Hi Jon. Firstly, go to a paint supplier and ask for info on what they sell. I also recomend a System. As in, a primer, undercoat, topcoat of all the same name and type. What I suggest is, you get hold of a pamphlet on the product. Most good paint names have good info to go with it. It should be free. Read it well. But most importantly, stick with the system. Then you can't go wrong. The info should give you info about how many coats and how much area/gal the coverage should be.
PREPERATION is the biggest part of the whole excersise. 80% of your finish is from the preperation. That means elbow work with sandpaper. It sucks, but there is no easy road here. Wash thoroughly before you start sanding and inbetween sanding and painting. Use a tack rag to catch dust of the surface after you have sanded. Don't sand to deep. You onlyhave to dull the surface of the Gelcoat. Thats one easy thing about sanding that stuff. Fill cracks and dents and dings with epoxy filler and sand it smooth.
Sealant?? keep silicon well away from the place. It is easy to contaminate the surface with silicon and then you have no end of problems getting the paint to cover. If you just want to block a hole so paint doesn't pour through to below, use putty. Simple and cheap and it is easy to remove afterward.

Then go back and search here. I can't remember just where, but there are some real good posts here about how to paint to achieve a perfect finish.

Good advice. I must admit that I am using products that I know through experience work well together. I stand by my recommendation of a two part epoxy primer/sealer, This stuff is bullet proof. When selecting the paint, UV protection should also be a consideration. Keep it clean is another importan message here. Wash it, scrub it, dry it. Going over the surface with a tack cloth before painting is also important. Do small areas, as you do not want to touch the area after you have gone over it with the tack cloth. I would also suggest setting a tarp to protect from seagulls. Temperature is also a consideration. Make sure you have a few days of good weather before you paint.

After rereading your post fla_sail, I noticed that you were talking about sealing the holes for a while, not just durring painting. a bit of masking tape on the outside will work fine for this. We got put off due to the rainy season, and this has worked fine to keep things sealed up.

[GordMay]

As Wheels indicated, Silicone does not clean up well, and should never be used as a temporary measure. It always leaves residuals, to which nothing will stick (including silicone itself).

[fla_sail]

Thanks so much for the repsonses. We will start the cleanup work this weekend, and I might just be "sick" from work a fewdays next week. We are having nice 75 degree days In St Pete this week, so I will keep my fingers crossed that we can get it done without rain!

Jon

[windthief]

check out the interlux web site for yacht paint. They have a great product that I am currently using for my non skid areas its called interdeck and has the aggrigate already mixed in with the product. It has gone on really well with a roller and when dry has a low gloss keeping down reflection.

Topside painters unite.

Brad

[Alan Wheeler]

Yes, International make a very good painting system and have a tremendouse amount of info available.
As for anti-slip, I have gone away from the marine applications. Personaly, I find then too hard. I utterly dispise sand in paint. It becomes a nightmare in the end. Especially on ply decks.
But anyway's, I have used a product that was designed for around swiming pools. It is a waterbased latex based paint that has small rubber chips in it, kinda like fine chooped up rubber bands. Mine has been down for over 12mnts now and still looks fantastic and it is excellent for grip and easy under bare foot.
I can't remembe the name, but I will take a look at the tin on the boat this weekend and let you know. Being water based, it is easy to apply and very easy to clean up.

[Sonofason]

Alan - I think I know the stuff you're talking about; they have it here at West Marine - let me look it up - ah, yes there it is -

http://tinyurl.com/cyvxf

Skid-No-More by Evercoat. I used it on my sunfish years back - my golden retriever used to like to hang out on the bow and watch for ducks; I put it on to keep him from going over whenever there was a gust. The stuff held up surprisingly well for the abuse it got. And because it's got rubber bits in it instead of sand or the like, it's kind to bare skin when you're scooting around on your butt (by bare I meant the backs of my legs, not my butt).

Just make sure it's well mixed - I bought a can that had been sitting for a while, and it took me a while to get the bits mixed back up. Rolled it on with a rough-service paint roller. Only drawback is it comes in gray and gray only, although they say you can tint it with latex paint tint, I guess you'll never get a pure white. Oh well, white shows dirt and isn't fashionable after labor day...

[mudnut]

Hey Wheels,Like I have said before ,Im not too up on tha boating thing just yet .But I think if you use putty to temperaliy fill holes the putty should be WATER based & not OIL based.Just thought I would put that little bit of knowledge in.Hope Im not out of place.

[Joli]

My only comment is to buy the best paint you can. That means using a two part brushable paint like Awlgrip. Re-painting your deck is a huge job and you are going to not want to do it again for a few years. Buy the BEST paint!!

Good luck,

Bryan

[dkall]

As any moisture ever gets to the filler, the filler will change and then show. Your best bet is to use any products similar to the material you're filling and most important you products related to what you're painting; ie Interlux products for Interlux paint and US Paint products for US paint. Should anything fail in the process the paint companies have an excuss if you've used any products different from their recommneded painting scheme.

ps. I'm not far from you, in Tarpon Springs and have gone through all lthis a year ago if you want to have a look see email me.

[Alan Wheeler]

Mudnut, you are never out of line. I don't think it will matter what type of putty, I am asuuming it is just for a temporary fix of a hole till it is painted and the bolt will go straight back through it again. As Gord said, Masking tape will alsso do fine and would probably be easier in hind sight.
Sonofason, I would imagine there are a few of those products available. Darn it, I forgot to look what it was called. Mine came as white and it was a good vivid white. I then tinted it with a normal waterbased tint to the desired colour. Infact it is very similar to the blue of this BB. Mine has a slight more grey in it.
Jon, the advice of good paint is good advice. Interlux also have a two-pot system that is very good. Infact, I tend to find it easier to apply by brush than the Alwcraft. But you have to weigh up several factors.
No.1 What was the boat originaly coated with. Yes you have gelcoat, so you can go to a two pot system if you want.But if the surface has ever had single on it, you are always cursed with the single system. Unless you can remove the old paint compleately.
No2. is the boat permanently moored. If yes, try to go to a two pot system. It will hold up for a lot longer in the harsh environment. If it is not moored/birthed, then a single may be more econimical. The decision has to be weighed against cost. the cost difference isn't just the paint, but it is cleaning solvents etc added as well.
No3. Two-pot systems are harder to use, mostly in the mixing. A single is simple and you just use what you want and then put the lid back on.

[Wahoo Sails]

We too shall be painting the decks soon. We have many, many holes where items had been installed, then removed from the deck. I'm filling those with fiberglass resin with some milled fibers mixed in. Next will be Pitthane 35 (a 2 pot paint) ... but for the no skid areas we're planning something a little different http://www.durabakcompany.com
Bob & Lynn