Paint choices - your thoughts and experience.

[OldSkool67]

So I have read enough information to make my head spin on topside paints and gel coat.

I plan on gelcoat for the interior but am still up in the air on the exterior. The boat apears to have one or two different top coat paint jobs. It is my understanding the gelcoat will not bond to anything other than fiberglass or epoxy correct?

I would like your thoughts and personal experience with products.

I have looked at, System 3, epiphanes, sterling, awlgrip and some other brands as well. I have not been able to find any information to push me one way or another.

I have a few key points Im looking at when making my choice. I am going with white in color if it matters.
1. I want to roll and tip
2. Durability
3. I want to be able to make a repair and blend the paint (cause sh*t happens)
4. It has to be good for above and below the water line but the boat will not be stored in the water.

So lets hear it, someone please sell me on something.

[wingtime]

Gel coat is polyester resin based and as such it will only adhere to polyester type resins.  It will NOT stick to epoxy, so if you used any epoxy in your build gel coat is out as an option.

[kraw2]

If you are going to roll and tip I wouldn't use Awlgrip. Awlgrip is a bear to touch up or fix. If you can roll and tip Awlcraft (i don't know) it can be wet sanded and repairs easily.

[Cummins24v]

I am not really good at the marine coatings. I can tell you that if you are going to pick a color and want to touch it up later. Make sure you pick a standard color. If they mix to make your color they may not be able to match a year down the road. For an example pure white is normally a common color. A company color book will have a companys standard colors in it. Those will be the colors that they sell the most.

    Also after time in water, sunlight and weather your color will fade. That will make it hard to match anyways. I am a industrial painter by trade. Hope that helps you.

[pete]

Interlux perfection is a very user friendly system and is easy to roll and tip,takes 2 to 3 coats to get a great job,sand in-between coats.Use their solvents,primers and fairing componds for compatability.Good luck

[Blue Agave]

My advise would be to paint it some shade of white as white does the best job of hiding scratches. Then fish the boat, don't worry about repairs.

I like Oyster White.  

[Callyb]

Hi there! I'm a new guy to the forum, so I don't know how much weight it carries, but I have used Sterling several times and have to say it is my preferred  marine paint. The only downside it is is pretty pricey, and you will have had better luck with roll and tip vs. spraying. About the best price I have found on it is http://boatbuildercentral.com/products.php?cat=44here and there is a ton of good/useful info and tutorials if you search around in the forums.

Personally, I would steer clear of System 3. I have never achieved the level of finish with it that I get from the Sterling without wet sanding and polishing, the Sterling just flows out better. Awlgrip is pretty easy to use, but again, a lot of work to get it to a "yacht" finish. I kind of view it as the wally world paint and I'm not judging those that use it, because I know it gets used ALOT, just saying it's more of a work boat type of finish paint in my opinion.

**EDIT**- Getting a paint chart from Sterling is a pain in the butt, so if you can't get a hold of one let me know and I'll find mine and lend it to ya.

These are my opinions, and I do not mean to offend anyone who may disagree. :)  

[Capt Matt]

I did lots of research on paint too and finally chose awlgrip, I love the shine on the boat but am disappointed with how easily it chips and scratches. I have touched it up a few times with just a artists brush. Its not perfect where I touched up but looks better than the scratches and chips.
No paint seems to be for below the waterline, just bottom paint or gel coat. I used awlgrip for the bottom as I keep the boat on a lift. Awlgrip say's only keep the boat in the water 18 or 25 hrs if I remember right.
I bought extra paint and ended up with a extra qt of the whisper gret paint for touch up.
If I had to do it again I have heard lots of good things about a marine rustoleum paint that is not close to as expensive as awlgrip and sets up like iron when it goes off, not many choices of color but very durable. I also heard about some kind of paint designed to paint well heads on oil rigs. Next time I paint the boat in a few years I will use one of the above.
Good luck with your choice
Capt Matt

[kraw2]

Even though all my boats have Awlgip and Awlcraft 2000 I bought some of the Rustoleum Marine Topside Paint already mentioned for a small project and the paint came out just as good as the others. It was $11.49 a quart. Great paint..!!

[pete]

I used the rustoleum marine to paint the underside of my t top came out pretty nice for a one part paint

[fishchaser]

i just repainted the 250ccp with interlux perfection love it used the roll and tip method weather has to be perfect if you do it outside

[dburr]

I am an Epifanes fan...

I used their single part topside green on a POS fiberglass canoe that had the biggest hack repair done on it known to man.. The thing was two different colors and looked terrible and I would have put latex house paint on it just to get it uniform.  My brother in law acted as an "agent" for me and was I surprised when I saw it    So, I had nothing to lose.  
I did everything wrong because I didn't care.. Rough sanded with an RO sander with 120. Dusted off with a questionable rag and applied the paint in full afternoon sun on a hot day with a foam brush and  I was barely able to keep a wet edge.  The result was unbelievable.. There were no swirl marks that were visible past 1 foot, no brush marks and the paint was not orange peeled. . It took about two seasons of getting bounced off docks, rocks and pickup trucks to cause real damage to the coating and most often the scratches took glass with them.  Touch up was easy as scuffing up and re applying with a little care and a small foam brush or spraying out of a jet pack and it blended well.
If Epifanes is that forgiving and tough when slapped on, it will hold up really well when done right.

[pigbike]

I used Interlux Perfection on my 17 Hydra-sport a few years back. The roll n tip method worked for me. If you check around on the net you can get a good price on it also. This was a first time attempt for me and it looked great. I also used the Interlux cleaners and thinners. Was very easy to apply.

[Aswaff400]

like others said, lighter colors are more forgiving to scratches.

my boat is painted with awlgrip, sprayed on im happy with it. had it painted last july.

[saltfly]

I used interlux perfection in dark blue.  And this may just be a problem with the really dark colors, but it scratches very easy and after touching it up. The touched up area, stands out like a sore thumb. If I had it to do over. I would go to a harder paint or maybe a lighter color. I have to put a new deck in my boat sooner then later. And when I do I may bite the built and sand the whole thing down and repaint. So I’m going to be watching posts here very carefully to see what every one thinks. About different paints they’ve used. So come on guys, lets hear what paints others have used and what they feel are the good and bad points  of the paint used.