Painting the V20

[fishingwithblue]

QUESTION:

What paint would I use to "white wash" my V20.

I have grown up around shrimp boats and shrimp docks my whole life. Every year the crew slaps on a new coat of paint covering everything from deck to sides to outriggers. I want to have that look on my boat. I am having a hardtop built complete with kayak racks on top. I plan on providing mothership trips to barrier islands for fishing and touring. I got my Captains License a month a go and have trips lined up for spring 2012.

Any ideas? I want to sand her down and "white wash" her. It doesn't make sense to spend 3-8 thousand on new paint and gel coat on a working boat.

[Curapa]

I have seen hulls painted with Interlux topside paint before, both sprayed and rolled and tipped. The cost would be minimal if you were the one providing the labor. Repair would be cheap but more frequent.

I guess a boat wrap is out of the question?

[garagenc]

I had my transom painted after I removed and fixed the depth finder holes. What I painted mine with was automotive paint and when I come in I just take the water hose and rinse off everything.

We have brackish water here so it's always yellow and leaves a yellow water line, I use toliet bowl cleaner to remove except:: the transom and all I do is rinse it and it comes clean.


My buddy owns a body shop and he painted mine and it's been on for 5 years and it still looks like it was just done.

When I need to do the whole boat I'm doing it with automotive paint.

[Curapa]

Yeah, I have seen plenty of boats painted with auto paint, a bit more expensive.

My boat is painted with an Imron like paint. Supposed to be comparable but cheaper. I think I paid $150 for a gallon.

[Kracker Jack]

I agree with Curapa. Brightside by Interlux is a fairly decent paint. If you look at my Albemarle picture below I painted I sprayed it with Brightside 5 years ago and its still in great shape. In your case just roll it on with a sponge roller if your going for a quick cover up job.

[awthacker]

Congratulations on your new venture! Sounds really cool.

I used Interlux Brightside on my floors with the non-stick additive. It turned out okay, but has peeled up in a few spots... probably from hurried prep moreso than paint quality. But I wouldn't recommend this for heavy duty use. And it stays very dirty because of the non-stick.

Everything above the rubrail to the floors was painted with Interlux Perfection two-part epoxy, which seems to be much more durable, but does chip occasionally. I was very thorough in that process, though -- used all the Interlux recommended products for cleaning between coats, etc. I'd probably recommend a product like this, rolled on, especially because you will not have to worry about having a perfect finish. It does dry very glossy, though.

The pictures are in my gallery. Everything was rolled and tipped. I'd like to paint my hull this year and need to find a product that will look professional, be forgiving for a do-it-yourselfer, and not need repainting annually. I keep my boat on a trailer but do leave it in the water for several days at a time on a regular basis.

[fishingwithblue]

Thanks for all the great advise, any advise on the prep?

[spareparts]

see the other thread