Topside paint, another question of the ages

[dennismenace111]

I live in South Florida where the sun is relentless. 5 years ago I painted the topsides.. above the waterline... Of a 17 foot whaler with Rust-Oleum topside paint! ! It still looks great! Even sitting on the trailer in South Florida dun. No chalking! Still shines! My only complaint us that there is a very limited color selection!

I've cleaned a couple of times with a mild acid wash to remove tannin stains from the waters I cruise in! It still looks great!

[zstine]

I am a proponent of NOT PRIMING. Here's a few reasons why. My deck was gelcoat and repainted about 15yrs ago (by PO) with the same-ish Awlgrip paint color. It still looks pretty good. He did not prime, which is real nice when you have a ding or a wear spot that rubs through the paint. Since the gelcoat under is the same color, wear though and shallow chips are almost invisible. There has not been any adhesion issues, though I can't say what he did for surface prep. I have painted many things with and without primer and have found in general, primer reduces adhesion because you have more dissimilar coatings relying on a mechanical bond that can fail for many reasons. The less there is to fail, the less often it will fail. If a primer will stick, then generally speaking a quality top coat will stick too. There are some exceptions where I would prime, but in general I would not when over-coating a deck.


NOTE: if the PO paint is failing and flaking off, you need to remove it all

[jmschmidt]

I've had my boat painted professionally twice Awlgrip. It failed both times. Topsides are looking the OK after five years. Big problem is with inside radii where vertical surfaces meet horizontal surfaces, like where the cabin coach roof, hatch combings and cockpit side walls meet decks and soles. Due to the hardness of Awlgrip and it curing process it pulls away for the substrate at inside radii as it ages.