Deck Painting

[David Hodos]

I'm considering repainting the deck/cockpit area of my CD25. The question is, should I attempt to do it or should I have someone else (who knows what they're doing) do it? Has anyone attempted to do this or have any information that they could share with me to help me make the decision. Right now, the cockpit is a mess. Anything would be an improvement.



dhodossr@aol.com

[john]

I'm considering repainting the deck/cockpit area of my CD25. The question is, should I attempt to do it or should I have someone else (who knows what they're doing) do it? Has anyone attempted to do this or have any information that they could share with me to help me make the decision. Right now, the cockpit is a mess. Anything would be an improvement.

I will be doing my cockpit sole within the next month & will be doing it myself. Will be a first for me, but since we love our boats, we will do a good job. I'm about to paint my hull & then move to the cockpit. Any suggestions are appreciated.



redzeplin@yahoo.com

[Richard Formica]

I'm considering repainting the deck/cockpit area of my CD25. The question is, should I attempt to do it or should I have someone else (who knows what they're doing) do it? Has anyone attempted to do this or have any information that they could share with me to help me make the decision. Right now, the cockpit is a mess. Anything would be an improvement.

Dave,
When you say painting the deck are you referring to the non-skid or the entire deck. If you are referring to only the non-skid this is quite simple. The hardest part is taping around the corners. I tried to make a template but the paint ran underneath, so I went slowly got the tape down and rounded the corners with a craft knife. A tip here is that blue tape does leave a residue so don't leave it down too long. I used interlux paints and followed the instructions exactly. Surface prep is key. I choose Hatteras off white. The purists will not approve but it is cooler on the feet. I used the flattening agent and non-skid additive in the recommended proportions. Since it was my first major paint job I choose the one part teflon topsides paint. My reason was this. I'm a novice and was concerned about 1. the added complexity of the two part paint 2. the more permanent nature of the epoxy paint-I rightly assumed the first time I would make mistakes 3. after talking with the technical support people I found out that one can prime over interlux topside paint with an epoxy primer and then go right to the epoxy paint. Therefore I would not have to repeat the prep work. My initial plan was to 'practice' first and then do it for real. That being said I am going into my third season and the paint still looks good. At this point I my, just redo the paint as needed however I am concerned about build up of paint.
If you refer to the whole deck two suggestions. 1. you may wish to rebed you deck hardware at the same time therefore you can paint with the hardware off and make it look more professional. 2. Paint the areas aroung the nonskid first. Don't bother taping because you know the tape will not stick to the non skid and paint will wick undeneath. Then paint the non skid using tape as above.

Good luck
rich
s/v Inerarity



richard.formica@yale.edu