Topside Color Scheme- seemed like a good idea at the time

[Rperlot]

I have a CD28. I was interested in putting on a more contemporary color scheme. I have Royal Blue canvas. I thought of using the Interlux Cream color for my non-skid with a white deck. I thought this would go well as the Cream is more yellowish than the beige colors. I thought this would work well with the blue or if I changed to a green canvas. My thought was then to go with a deep, navy blue or forest green hull based on the canvas.

I did a test on one of my lazerettes using the Cream. WOW! Now that's yellow. This may be a bolder move than I originally imagined.

Putting the whole "that's not how God (known as "Carl" to those closer to him) intended" arguement aside. Has anyone used the Interlux Cream non-skid against a white deck, or seen anyone do it? What is your impressions? Is it too loud against white? Would it need a beige deck to tone it down?

My other though was just to go 100% white on the deck using a flat white non-skid. Are there any pictures of a CD out there like this?

Rperlot.

[Scott MacCready]

Last fall, while still looking for the "right" boat, I Looked at a Cape Dory 30 with Blue topsides and all white deck (even the non-skid). The white was very white. It just didn't look like a Cape Dory anymore. It was weird too; I didn't feel that I could ever love her.

[mb taylor]

When we refurbished our Typhoon, the color combo we ended up with was white decks, light gray non-skid areas. Ours was an older Typhoon whose original colors were white decks/blue non-skid. Like you, we wanted to keep her looking traditional, and this worked for us.

[Russell]

I have a friend who did his boat with white for the deck and interlux cream for the nonskid, and your right, it is VERY yellow, I do not like it at all. I am redoing the nonskid this summer and I bought white interlux nonskid paint and a lot of tubes of various colourings, I do not like any of the default colors for the interlux nonskid so I am going to do my best to replicate the cape dory beige myself.

[viejo]

White non-skid is not a good idea for two reasons: 1 - shows dirt too easily, and 2 - the glare will kill your eyes.

Set your boat up so that it works well for you regardless of what it looks like. You're sailing it, not on the shore watching it go by. Doesn't matter what it looks like as much as how well it works for you.

Just my thoughts.

[Stan W.]

The closest color match I have seen to the original buff is Interlux Brightside Grand Banks Beige. Brightside dries very glossy so to use it on deck you would want to add a flattener and, depending on the condition of your existing nonskid, maybe some grit.

If I wanted to keep it quick and easy, I would use Interlux Interdeck Beige, although it is quite a bit lighter than the original buff. John Ring chronicled a deck painting job on his website and I believe that is what he used. Either beige would look good with blue or with green canvas.

If I wanted change for the sake of change, I would go with the Interdeck Grey. That would look good with blue canvas but would not go as well with green canvas.

Do you really want to cover your gelcoat with dark blue or dark green paint? Nothing is easier to maintain, lasts longer or hides damage better than the original white gelcoat.

[Scott MacCready]

I have to agree with Stan. When I looked at that CD30 with the navy blue hull, every little blemmish showed like it was under a microscope. On a new boat in perfect condition I'm sure it looks great. On a 25 year old boat it looked awful IMHO.

[Rperlot]

Thanks for the input. I think I'll forgo the Blue hull and stay with white. My deck is already bright white and in decent shape. I was hoping to just do the non-skid. My cabin top is also white, including the non-skid. But it is in good condition.

I'm interested in hearing about mixing my own colors. I haven't seen any of the coloring tubes. Are these purchased at the same supply stores, or do I use some other pigment I might find at an art store?

Anyone "in the know" of another brand of non-skid that might have a very light, flat, oxidized '65 Mustang like yellow? I've looked at Petit and Interlux.

[Russell]

I'm interested in hearing about mixing my own colors. I haven't seen any of the coloring tubes. Are these purchased at the same supply stores, or do I use some other pigment I might find at an art store?

I bought my tubes of pigment at the same store I bought my paint, Fawcetts Chandlery in Annapolis. I just looked in the West Marine catalog, and on page 368 of the 2006 catalog they show Evercoat Coloring Agent and it says it works well with nonskid coatings. So I am figuring you should be able to find the stuff. There is a good chance its the same pigment you would buy at art supply stores and the art stores it might be far cheaper, but I would hate to paint the whole boat to find out this is not true and the paint fades in the sunlight.

Getting the right color is going to be a lot of trial and error. I have not done this yet, but was instructed by someone who has, so will tell you what I was told. A very small amount of pigment goes a long way, exact measurements are also very important for consistancy. Use disposable syringes for measureing pigment. Buy a bucket of cheap white house paint and experiment on making your color with that, it wont be exactly the same when you move on to your yacht paint, but close enough to not worry about it. Yacht paint is too expensive to experiment with! Formulate your mix for low quantities.

[Rperlot]

Thanks for the sources. I didn't think about the fading issue with the art store pigments. I was mostly concerned about compatibility.

The boat paint is too expensive not to modify if I don't like the color. At $32 a quart, a lot a money is going to go into "testing" otherwise.

Besides that, I don't think a quart is going to do the whole boat. So I'm going to have to mix up another quart. This is a little unnerving. I'll have to be real carefull to get the exact amount recorded so the port side is not just a little bit brighter than the starboard.

What am I getting myself in to?

[Oswego John]

Rperlot,

I have a friend who is an interior decorator. (ID) I guess that there's a difference between an ID and a house painter. Read $$$$. He told me that some of his customers can drive him nuts with what they want. They are ultra fussy, but the cost is immaterial to them. They want a perfect job.

Most cans of paint have printed on their label the average square foot coverage of it's contents. The ID estimator figures out the total square foot area of the room and then figures out how many gallons of paint will be needed. He always figures on the heavy side rather than try to stretch the paint out for the job at hand. Then all the paint is mixed together to insure that it is all of the same hue.

The very worst thing that can happen when using a custom color is to run out of paint toward the completion of the job and have to try to mix the exact color to finish up. He says that the dry paint is usually a little different in color than the wet paint that you are trying to match.

The recipe for the custom color is then written on the cover of the remaining paint with a magic marker. The left over paint will be an exact match for touch up.

So I guess what I am trying to tell you is to figure how many quarts that will be needed for the total deck job. Mix (box) all the paint together so it will all be the same hue, and save the leftover for later use. Mark the recipe on the cover, and if you like the color, you can easily duplicate it at another time.

Good luck with your project.
O J