Repainting in winter months

[chowdan]

Hey everyone,

Winter is right around the corner, my finances are getting to a place where I can haul out and perform the needed work that my sailboat has desperately needed.

A few of the things I'll be performing in Nov/Dec during the haul out will be new bottom paint job.

I'm also trying to determine if I can salvage my topsides gelcoat, however with the amount of crazing and chalkiness, I may just go the paint route.

I will also be needing to rip up some of the deck to repair some rotted coring material surrounding the chainplates and some fittings.

That being said, my boat will be hauled out in Port of Everett(unless i find somewhere cheaper and closer to Seattle). I will be hauling in November or December for a month to get a bunch of the tasks on the list knocked off.

That said, it looks like November and December has very similar temperatures, with the min being 24F and the max being 57F and the average being 42F.

The boat will be in a tent of some sort to protect it from the direct weather, however, I am wondering what peoples opinions are? Obviously during paint day I'll be applying in the mornings, allowing the weather to get the temps up before the dew comes about in the night and letting the paint set.

Is the primary reason people dont paint during winter months due to the fact that it takes much longer for the paint to harden? I was planning on painting in the mornings, allowing 24-48 hours to cure before applying a second coat depending on the temperatures. That means i'd be looking at 2 days of drying time per coat giving me a total of 6 days time to get 3 layers on the topsides.

As for the bottom paint, I've found that Super Ship Bottom paint can be applied below 50F but will also take longer to dry.

Opinions? Tips? Ideas? - I am not looking to "wait till spring", rather I am looking for a way to do it during winter months as this is the time I can afford the haul out and have the time to do everything needed.

[model 10]

You end up painting late in the day so it's a rush to get done before it starts getting cold and humid again. I hate it, moisture everywhere. Expect only fair results if you are doing this in such a short time.

[UNCIVILIZED]

Have you looked into having the paint applied in a climate controlled building? And I ask, due to the cost of the paint, plus all of the prep, etc. So it would suck to have things go wrong, & then have to start again from a worse point than where you are now.
Even in the mild weather of SoCal, & AZ, it's the norm to apply LP inside. The stuff's just too pricey, & finicky.

Also, were it me, I'd wait until I'd done most of the other big exterior jobs first. So that there's less chance of them screwing up the topsides paint.

And, much like an important delivery or run at a race record, it would definitely pay to monitor the weather, & wait for a premium window. Even to the point of asking a semi-pro navigator/weather guy to monitor things for & with you. As in your locale, there are definitely some really nice lulls in Winter from time to time, & a stable, warm painting temp. is key, IMO. As I wouldn't paint in some of the lower temp's you mentioned. Though on those, what does the paint's manufacturer say?

I almost forgot. A couple of other painting options are, to use Imron. The automotive cousin of LP. It's slightly less durable, but a good bit cheaper as of last check, & it has lots of other good qualities. A key one being that there are lots of guys around who spray cars, & who are quite good. To include knowing "the spell(s)" for getting a great finish, even under variable climactic conditions.
Though the flipside is that most boats are a good deal bigger than cars, which can complicate things. But it's an option worth looking into.
I had it done this way, ages ago, using Imron up in the PNW. For a lot less than LP would have run. And had nary a complaint.

[chowdan]

Originally Posted by UNCIVILIZED

Have you looked into having the paint applied in a climate controlled building? And I ask, due to the cost of the paint, plus all of the prep, etc. So it would suck to have things go wrong, & then have to start again from a worse point than where you are now.
Even in the mild weather of SoCal, & AZ, it's the norm to apply LP inside. The stuff's just too pricey, & finicky.

Also, were it me, I'd wait until I'd done most of the other big exterior jobs first. So that there's less chance of them screwing up the topsides paint.

And, much like an important delivery or run at a race record, it would definitely pay to monitor the weather, & wait for a premium window. Even to the point of asking a semi-pro navigator/weather guy to monitor things for & with you. As in your locale, there are definitely some really nice lulls in Winter from time to time, & a stable, warm painting temp. is key, IMO. As I wouldn't paint in some of the lower temp's you mentioned. Though on those, what does the paint's manufacturer say?

I almost forgot. A couple of other painting options are, to use Imron. The automotive cousin of LP. It's slightly less durable, but a good bit cheaper as of last check, & it has lots of other good qualities. A key one being that there are lots of guys around who spray cars, & who are quite good. To include knowing "the spell(s)" for getting a great finish, even under variable climactic conditions.
Though the flipside is that most boats are a good deal bigger than cars, which can complicate things. But it's an option worth looking into.
I had it done this way, ages ago, using Imron up in the PNW. For a lot less than LP would have run. And had nary a complaint.

I had considered applying the paint in a climate controlled building. The problem that I can't seem to get around is the cost of the facility.

Port of Everett has a winter monthly rate of $10.5/foot(per month), which means my cost will be right around $285 + tax/fees/haulout. I found a place in seattle that had a climate controlled facility, but they were charging $3.5/day/foot + haulout fees and all the other things. At 4 days in the facility at that rate, I'm looking at roughly $380 + fees and such.

It seems like it makes far more sense to haul out for the month, take a week off work, erect a tent structure and hammer out all the needed/required projects then going ahead with the painting.

I'll have to take a look at Imron paint products and see what I can find out about them. This is the first I've heard about them.

Painting isn't guaranteed yet as I'm going to be testing a small area to see if i can polish it up. If it's salvageable, I'll definitely be going this route.

I would love to have that "off the production line finish",however, as long as it doesn't look like a 2-year-old just whipped a paintbrush around and it's mediocre/half decent for two or three years, I'll be happy. I would just hate to apply the paint, wait till it dries to find out that some reaction doesn't occur causing it to be comepletely aweful and need to be stripped.

That said, I guess I probably should start calling manufacturers and talk with them.

Fortunately my boats only 27ft x 8ft, so we aren't talking about gallons and gallons

[Joel E Felt]

Possibly try wet sand (600 and then 2000) then 3m rubbing compound with a Makita variable speed, then (forgot name ) cutting glaze. Waxed and my gelcoat on hull came back to life. Boat is 26 years old.
In any event, good luck !! shoot us a pict when done

[barnakiel]

It all depends on what you want and to some extent on materials you use.

No chance you can move this on to late spring / early summer?

b.

[minaret]

Perhaps some professional help might be in order? I'm booked for some time, just about to do a Broward 110, but always willing to take a look in person and give some free advice to a fellow boater. As long as it's not too far out of my way, that is..

[UNCIVILIZED]

barnakiel, how ironic, your post count currently reads 14,410. Which is the exact height of a certain tall mountain near minaret. Who just posted here

[Snowpetrel]

Uncivilised, I think you win the post of the year award for that one! What an awesome bit of obscure pattern recognition.

Very funny on so many levels..

[UNCIVILIZED]

Well, it helps that for 10 years I lived 70 miles from it. It being Mt. Rainier, at 14,410'. Which, after a Winter storm clears the air (& clouds), it always makes a spectacular sight.

[chowdan]

Originally Posted by minaret

Perhaps some professional help might be in order? I'm booked for some time, just about to do a Broward 110, but always willing to take a look in person and give some free advice to a fellow boater. As long as it's not too far out of my way, that is..

Minaret - I've followed your posts, threads and comments a while, not just because of your pro level, but because you are in my area.

The boat is docked in Port of Everett right now. I live in Seattle so the trek up is somewhat of a pain during traffic times.

If you're going to be in the area, I would LOVE for you to take a look at it and give me some advice!

I'll PM my contact info to you.

PS - I am grateful for forums like this because I am not one who is going to ask for help from a professional/shop, but if a professional offers to take a look/give advice, I will be glad to accept it!

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by UNCIVILIZED

barnakiel, how ironic, your post count currently reads 14,410. Which is the exact height of a certain tall mountain near minaret. Who just posted here

;-)

You imperial* buster!

* - divide by 3 to convert to metric.

Love,
b.

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by UNCIVILIZED

barnakiel, how ironic, your post count currently reads 14,410. Which is the exact height of a certain tall mountain near minaret. Who just posted here

Ha ha ha!

You rock!

Ironically enough, your post count came up at 2312, which happens to be the tittle of a s-f novel!

What did we do before we started believing in them conspiracies ... ;-)

Love,
b.

[JOHNMARDALL]

I think you're really asking for trouble. Bear in mind that most resins don't "dry', with solvent evaporation, they set by a chemical reaction, usually exothermic. If you use any of these products below the manufacturer's temperature recommendations, there's a good chance that a set will never occur. I've experimented with polyester and epoxy resins on fiberglass at low temperatures, and the resins simply drain away, leaving the glass looking as though it had never been wetted out.
There's no point in spending all of the money on marine coatings and then not applying them correctly. Apart from the wasted time and money, you may permanently damage your boats appearance. I've seem amateur paint jobs gone wrong that looked as though the boat had been splattered with cornflakes between coats.
Ten cuidado!
John Mardall
Vetus Maxwell Group

[knockabout]

run a heater inside the boat /make sure its fire safe/check the hull temp with ir thermometer/keeps dew off the hull and condensation from inside plus keeps paint at or above curing temp/only works for epoxy and northane