What kind paint?

[winthrop fisher]

you need to stay with;

bilgekote or epoxy paint,

because of how hard it is,

any thing else will not hold up...
winthrop

[Maine Sail]

you need to stay with;

bilgekote or epoxy paint,

because of how hard it is,

any thing else will not hold up...
winthrop

Winthrop,

The Bilge Kote used in my anchor locker has NOT been tough nor held up well to actual real world use of chain and anchor. I doubt even Awlgrip would last in there. The only thing I have ever seen last a while is good old gelcoat. As I mentioned above though, a good friend had some left over Interprotect 2000E and rolled it in his locker and it has held up surprisingly well but this product is a lot closer to gelcoat in durability than a paint.

[Tom Keevil]

Well, I just cleaned the anchor locker. All the mud and crud cleaned off of the bare fiberglass portions with no problem at all. The biggest mess was from the flaking old paint. Cleaning will be an easier job after all of the paint is gone. I think manufacturers paint it because it looks nice, covers layup imperfections, and helps sell boats. I can't see that it serves any function, and it becomes a nuisance, since paint is not designed to survive conditions like this. I'm not saying you shouldn't paint your anchor locker if you want to spend the time and money at it, but I haven't yet heard a good functional argument for it.

We also just had a very pleasant day on the water, when we could have been prepping the anchor locker for a new coat of paint.

[Troy Scott]

Tom (and ALL),

I wonder if, after removing the old anchor-locker paint and a thorough cleaning, an application of lxLYPA200Q Interlux Fiberglass No Sand Primer might improve the adhesion of BilgeKote or other similar paint. It is said to eliminate the need for sanding preparatory to putting bottom paint onto gelcoat. I suspect it softens the surface to make it more readily accepting of a good chemical bond with new paint. For that matter, I wonder if it wouldn't help most paints,including topsides paints..., bond to gelcoat? Why would it only work with bottom paint? Does anyone understand how this stuff works? Has anyone experimented?

[Ron M.]

In my experience priming before top coating almost always results in a superior bond, as long as the 2 are compatible. I try to use paint/primer manufactured by the same company for that purpose. Thinning the first coat is a primer in itself, wether it's paint or varnish like finish.
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SUZUKI CAPPUCCINO SPECIFICATIONS

[winthrop fisher]

your right, i should have explain better...

you need to use two part epoxy paint made by interlux,

they have a few different products out there to use,

go too west marine site or interlux site...
winthrop

[Maine Sail]

Please keep in mind that no paint is water proof not even Bilge Kote or Awlgrip, Interlux or Awlgrip tech support will freely admit this. You are storing wet line on there with no real way to dry it in a closed box. This can cause the paint to peel and blister no matter what you do for prep work. This happens quite often with Awlgrip when an owner shrink wraps the Awlgrip and water gets trapped in-between.

If you want it to last I would still suggest striping, de-waxing, sanding it and rolling on waxed gelcoat, easy, quick and very, very durable compared to paint.

When you're done yours feel free to come remove the failed Bilge Kote in my anchor locker, I'll roll on the gel...

[winthrop fisher]

you make a good point,

two part epoxy paint or gelcoat, both of them will hold, just fine...

but, i have all was put a thru hull fitting in the anchor locker to drain all the water out side of the boat...

or to your bilge to be pump out thru your bilge pump...

you can do that on any boat...

thats an easy fix...
winthrop

[Como No Cruising]

Maine Sail is all too right about Awl Grip. It does not take to being constantly wet or submerged. Just leave a wet towel on your AwlGripped finish long enough and it will blister. Also, boats making long crossings on one tack can experience the same thing. We encountered this Problem when
we sailed across the Pacific, from Galapagos to Marquesas, 21 days on starboard tack. Our boot top Awlgrip was blistered.

As far as the anchor locker goes I have believe that the only way to coat it sucessfully would be with Gel Coat. Epoxy may do as well.

Just finished putting on 3-4 coats Cetol and 2-3 coats gloss on the bow sprit and toe rails. It actually looks good--for Cetol. Next in line will be the cockpit coamings--before tackling the anchor locker.

Fair winds to all.

[Troy Scott]

Como No,

It sounds like you're using Cetol even though you don't much like it. What's up with that?

[Como No Cruising]

Troy: My preference would be varnish. The Cetol has the advantage of ease of application and maintainance, but does not give the beauty of varnish. Always a compromise. I do varnish the pin rails and belaying pins on the mast pulpits, the companionway trim and below decks, but they are easier to maintain. That said, well applied Cetol does look pretty good and we do get a lot of compliments on our brightwork around the marina here.

Oh yes, I also keep the boom gallows varnished. The pin rails and boom gallows have a minimum of 10 coats and are lightly sanded and revarnished with two to three coats about 3 times yearly.

Will & Annie

[Troy Scott]

Will,

My preference is varnish as well, but like you, I have to consider maintenance.

Two to three coats of varnish two or three times a year sounds like a lot. Do you think you're sanding away about two coats as you prep for maintenance coats? Or does that much wear away? Is the coating getting thicker and thicker, or does it stay about the same?

I'm sorry for so many questions. I've owned several Cape Dorys, and I've always tried to keep up the teak, but I've never gone down the full varnish road before. I did once build up the complete Deks Olje system, which is similar to varnish if you go all the way. That was "reasonable" to maintain. I also tried the Epifanes two-part varnish followed by several coats of their regular varnish. That was disappointing. I want a system that will allow me to do reasonable maintenance and still sail a lot. Right now I've pretty much narrowed the field to Epifanes Gloss Varnish (the traditional stuff) or Cetol Natural Teak followed by Cetol Clear.

[Como No Cruising]

Troy: No doubt, the Cetol is easier and quicker and doing the toe rails is a pain. I will continue to do the Cetol and just varnish the two previously mentioned items topsides.

I am with you on the Deks Ole, it looks good and wears well. I did it on my Pearson 35 back in '78 in the Caribbean. It seems to wear well and looked good. For now-I will stick with our present plan.

In answer to your question, I usually sand with 280 to 320 grit for the maintainance on the varnish and always apply at least two coats. I use Schooner and add a small amount of #333 thinner and Penetrol to help with the flow in this warm climate. It comes out like it has been sprayed on.

Incidentally, I did spray on varnish on our dining table, after having it overlaid with 1/4 inch Burmese Teak. I used the PreVal sprayers and thinned the varnish at one part thinner to 4 parts varnish. Put on several coats and it looks terrific. First time I have sprayed varnish.

Will

[Duncan]

... doing the toe rails is a pain. I will continue to do the Cetol and just varnish the two previously mentioned items topsides.

Thanks for the "varnish some places/Cetol other places" idea from both of you (Troy and Will).

My teak is weatherbeaten and "grooved". It also suffers from having been treated with one of those gummy mixtures of oil and varnish.

In a perfect world, I would prep it all down to a base worthy of a real varnish finish. Now I'm thinking I will varnish the pieces in best shape, and Cetol the rest (mostly the rails). By the time the Cetol wears off, I may be ready to do that part, too.

Meanwhile, I can enjoy the nicely varnished tiller, eyebrows, and companionway, and the ratty toe rails will look better for a bit of the Cetol treatment.