topside and deck paint that DOESN'T blister

[Troy Scott]

Folks,

I know that polyurethanes, both two-part and single part, will blister if a wet cushion is left on the paint for several days. I'd like to know if any of you know of a durable, glossy paint that is NOT prone to blistering. I plan to use a "mooring cover" to help protect my teak from the sun. I will use a "breathable" cloth, but the blister thing is still a worry.

[Jim Davis]

Troy

I don't know of any paint that won't blister from exposure to having a soggy cushion left on it for extended periods. That said for fiberglass I have been happy with Briteside in most applications. On Bootstripes I personally use Rustoleum oil base enamel. It holds up better to the wet, but isn't hard enough to be a good a choice for a deck with the higher scuffing traffic.

My boat with a lot of structural wood gets nothing but Rustoleum for the painted surfaces. It does breathe and therefore less prone to blistering.

Thr real key is to not leave wet things laying on painted surfaces for extended periods. When possible hang your soggy cushions, solar shower up from rhe life lines, boom, etc and let them dry.

[Russell]

I was not aware that two part paints were prone to blistering as well. The blistering has been the main dissapointment for me with brightside, if awlgrip(and others) blisters as well I might have a hard time justifying it.

[Troy Scott]

I was not aware that two part paints were prone to blistering as well. The blistering has been the main dissapointment for me with brightside, if awlgrip(and others) blisters as well I might have a hard time justifying it.

Russell,

I've been thinking the same thing. Another thing about Brightsides is that you can touch it up easily.

I've been informed that some folks maintain their 2-part finishes by keeping a small can of Brightsides of the identical color for the occasional touch-up. But here's the catch: You can't put two part paint over single-part paint. When it comes time to re-coat that two-part paint, these guys will have the unenviable task of removing every trace of the single-part touch-up paint first. How would you know? Of course the "problem" can be avoided by touching up with two-part, but that is decidedly a pain. I'm thinking maybe the somewhat shorter life of Brightside (compared to Perfection) is worth it for the ease of use, ease of touchup, avoidance of poisonous chemicals, etc.

[Troy Scott]

Jim (and all),

Sure I will never leave a sun-shower on my painted deck. But I want to use a full-deck cover, made of Sunbrella or something like that. This will of course get wet in the rain, but it breathes and it should dry quickly. I would also have plenty of ventilation and drainage holes. Despite the good qualities of this kind of cloth, I wonder it this cover idea is really compatible with a painted deck. I'm sure there must be some combination of paint and cover cloth that would make this a non-issue. Certainly the most "wrong" way to do it would be to use polyurethane paint and convertible top cloth. At the other end of the spectrum of choices there must be some not-so-blister-prone-paint which could co-exist with a nice, BREATHABLE, UV-filtering cloth for my full cover idea.

[winthrop fisher]

hey,

if you are getting blister above the water line,

who did the painting ???

you should not have to touch up ever year, just because you left some thing wet in the cockpit.

people do get bad paints, from time to time.

marine paints seats in warehouse for up to year before they ever go to the marine stores,

they seat on shelves for months before they are sold in the stores.

you can take paints back to store with in 90 days.

"they will want to see what it looks like first"

i have returned all types of paints for above and below the water line,

you should have ask the store long they have had it, it only takes one phone to find out.

i never have to touch up the way you two are talking...

all you are doing is putting more bad paint "maybe" and most people don't known that,

most people in marine don't known that, you need to go to the store manager...

the dates on the cans are batch numbers for shipping, they can tell by the batch numbers about how old the paint is.....

i send back over 60 cans of different types paints because of that...

hope this helps...
winthrop

[winthrop fisher]

also all marine stores get recalls on all products in the paint department on ever thing in that area....

any time they have big sales on paints and ever thing in that area,

half of the time its taken by to the store, because its to old or dried out....

keep that in mind when buying what you need....

i have been a store manager for boat u.s. and west marine and now a manager for boaters world......

they are all run the same way....
winthrop

[Jim Davis]

I don't see a problem with the cover as long as it is supported like a tent, or winter cover. My experience with polyurethanes is they do hold up quite well as long as they don't stay wet for extended periods. The only time I've seen it blister is when wet cushions, sun showers, tarps or rags are just left on the surface and boot tops where it stays wet. Read the label on the cans, they are not designed for immersion for long periods of time.

[Russell]

Have you looked into spraying on new gelcoat?

[Troy Scott]

Winthrop,

Thanks for your advice. I believe you must have inferred that I have painted my boat and that I am now having blistering problems. No. I have bought and experimented with several marine paints, but I have not yet put finish paint on my boat. My experience with blistering polyurethane is limited to observing the problem on other folks boats. I don't believe I have any "bad paint" that I need to return. The point of this discussion, for me at least, is to try to learn from the vast experience of this board. I am simply asking what paints seem more prone to blistering and under what conditions, so I can avoid those.

[Troy Scott]

Jim Davis (and all),

Almost all small airplanes that suffer outside storage are painted with two-part polyurethane paints, and most of them have tightly fitted covers made of something like Sunbrella. The covers usually don't cover the entire airplane, the idea being to protect the plastic windows, the upholstery, and the expensive avionics from UV degradation and the greenhouse effect. Often these covers are tightly draped over large painted areas. These covers are left to be rain-soaked and wind or sun dried. I've never noticed any blistering of the paint as a result of a wet cover being left in place during the rainy season. It seems to me that this situation is not so different compared to having a well-fitted cover on the deck, not supported by a tent structure. In fact, Don Casey has included a drawing of just such a cover in his This Old Boat, so I can't claim to have invented the idea. Thoughts?

[Troy Scott]

Russell,

I have checked into spraying gelcoat enough to have learned that it's a lot more difficult and fussy than paint. It probably is better. Can anyone add to this?

[Jim Davis]

Troy

If I were to cover Isa Lei with a sun cover it would be much like a boom tent. This would protect the fabric and finishes from chafe and allow for breathing. I would use Sunbrella for the base material with vixatex patches sewn on stress and chafe spots. It could come out and lace to the lifelines, then drape down.

Personally I haven't seen the need to do this, although I do have near full awnings that I sometime use when staying in an anchorage for a while.

I'll warrenty this for twice what I have charged.

[Troy Scott]

Jim,

The check is in the mail.

It seems to me that the cover would have a better chance of staying in place for extended periods if it is on the deck and well fitted. Of course, I've never actually SEEN one of these, except the sketch in Don's book. I'm sure most folks are thinking: "Yeah, this is something that he would pay a lot for and then never use." To those I would say: I used my airplane covers faithfully for years.

[Jim Davis]

I'm thinking ventalation, being able to move under it and of course not flapping on the grabrails, cabin top along with the other junk we keep on deck. Also being up it won't cause periods of wet on the paint.. Like I said, the only time Isa Lei gets long term covering is for winter when she is at home. Maryland can expect one more major snow - I took the cover off last week.

Also consider where are you going to stow the thing. My awnings are light weight sail cloth, no poles and get folded and actually stow below. Sunbrella ????????????/