painting topsides
Moderator: Jim Walsh
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Michael Davis
painting topsides
I would like to know if anyone has ever painted their topsides with interlux perfection? Any comments on the finish? Was the job worth all the effort?
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John Vigor
Twin-pack topsides
Michael:
I have painted two of my boats with the predecessor to Interlux Perfection, which was known as Interthane, a twin-pack polyurethane.
One boat was a 22-foot Santana, the other a 28-foot C&C racer. I used brush only, not roll-and-tip, and worked alone.
The results were outstanding. After seven years, when I last saw the C&C it still looked brand new. I used white paint, which is the most forgiving, but the big secret to success is in the preparation of the surface to be painted. It must be immaculate before you apply any paint, otherwise all imperfections are exaggerated.
The finish is hard and brilliant, resistant to almost everything except being cut off from oxygen, which will make it bubble for some strange reason. So don't shrink-wrap it. Don't even wax it. It doesn't need it.
Ever since, I have tried to persuade people not to be afraid of twin-pack polyurethane. It's easy and quite safe to apply by brush, but deadly if you try to spray it. The manufacturer supplies copious instructions in a small booklet and on a website.
One thing I must say is that it required patience until the right weather prevailed. It has to be warm and dry (about 65° to 80°F seesm to be best) and out of hot direct sunlight. If I were to do it again, I'd hire one of the huge tents at a local boatyard, just for the final application of paint, and thumb my nose at the weather. You can do all the preparation outside in almost any weather.
Don Casey has excellent advice in his book "This Old Boat," which every boater should own anyway. Casey has more advice in his invaluable work "Sailboat Refinishing" in which he advocates the roll-and-tip method. With two people working, he says the paint application takes less than one minute per linear foot. I have to add that solo painting with a brush only is just as fast.
John Vigor
CD27 "Sangoma"
Bellingham, WA
I have painted two of my boats with the predecessor to Interlux Perfection, which was known as Interthane, a twin-pack polyurethane.
One boat was a 22-foot Santana, the other a 28-foot C&C racer. I used brush only, not roll-and-tip, and worked alone.
The results were outstanding. After seven years, when I last saw the C&C it still looked brand new. I used white paint, which is the most forgiving, but the big secret to success is in the preparation of the surface to be painted. It must be immaculate before you apply any paint, otherwise all imperfections are exaggerated.
The finish is hard and brilliant, resistant to almost everything except being cut off from oxygen, which will make it bubble for some strange reason. So don't shrink-wrap it. Don't even wax it. It doesn't need it.
Ever since, I have tried to persuade people not to be afraid of twin-pack polyurethane. It's easy and quite safe to apply by brush, but deadly if you try to spray it. The manufacturer supplies copious instructions in a small booklet and on a website.
One thing I must say is that it required patience until the right weather prevailed. It has to be warm and dry (about 65° to 80°F seesm to be best) and out of hot direct sunlight. If I were to do it again, I'd hire one of the huge tents at a local boatyard, just for the final application of paint, and thumb my nose at the weather. You can do all the preparation outside in almost any weather.
Don Casey has excellent advice in his book "This Old Boat," which every boater should own anyway. Casey has more advice in his invaluable work "Sailboat Refinishing" in which he advocates the roll-and-tip method. With two people working, he says the paint application takes less than one minute per linear foot. I have to add that solo painting with a brush only is just as fast.
John Vigor
CD27 "Sangoma"
Bellingham, WA
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Pierre Gremaud
- Posts: 21
- Joined: Feb 7th, '05, 15:46
- Location: CD 25 #146, Pin-Up and Sabre 36, Grayce, Belhaven, NC
interlux perfection
Michael,
I used Interlux Perfection for the topsides of my CD 25 this spring. I used the roll and tip method and worked alone. I am delighted with the result.
A couple of remarks:
1. This kind of paint does not hide or cover any defect or little ding. I spent a lot of time prepping and priming the surface.
2. The first coat I applied was a disaster and the sander had to come back out. I commited (at least) three mistakes:
-I did not let the paint sit long enough after having mixed the two components (yes, it is the manual...). 30 mn seems to work fine.
-I tried to be too smart. Following Don Casey's otherwise highly useful advices, I try to micromanage the paint by thining it a tiny bit. In the end, I found out that just mixing it as it comes (2:1) and not messing with it any more than necessary works great.
-I applied too thick a coat, that resulted in ugly curtains. Applying really thin coats is fundamental.
Once I figured all that out, painting was really easy. Even though it is probably obvious, painting on a windy day is not a good idea: you'll have enough work trying to prevent bugs from landing on your masterpiece without having to worry about extra ripples and/or blowing dust.
Finally, as John Vigor mentioned, lighter colors are more forgiving. I used Matterhorn White (my swiss roots talking, I guess).
I posted a pic on this board earlier this spring with the result http://www.capedory.org/board/viewtopic ... ght=pierre
Pierre Gremaud
CD 25 #146
Washington, NC
I used Interlux Perfection for the topsides of my CD 25 this spring. I used the roll and tip method and worked alone. I am delighted with the result.
A couple of remarks:
1. This kind of paint does not hide or cover any defect or little ding. I spent a lot of time prepping and priming the surface.
2. The first coat I applied was a disaster and the sander had to come back out. I commited (at least) three mistakes:
-I did not let the paint sit long enough after having mixed the two components (yes, it is the manual...). 30 mn seems to work fine.
-I tried to be too smart. Following Don Casey's otherwise highly useful advices, I try to micromanage the paint by thining it a tiny bit. In the end, I found out that just mixing it as it comes (2:1) and not messing with it any more than necessary works great.
-I applied too thick a coat, that resulted in ugly curtains. Applying really thin coats is fundamental.
Once I figured all that out, painting was really easy. Even though it is probably obvious, painting on a windy day is not a good idea: you'll have enough work trying to prevent bugs from landing on your masterpiece without having to worry about extra ripples and/or blowing dust.
Finally, as John Vigor mentioned, lighter colors are more forgiving. I used Matterhorn White (my swiss roots talking, I guess).
I posted a pic on this board earlier this spring with the result http://www.capedory.org/board/viewtopic ... ght=pierre
Pierre Gremaud
CD 25 #146
Washington, NC