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Kayak and Canoe Design Bulletin Board
It's a boat. Use boat paint
Posted By: Paul Jacobson In Response To: painting a stitch and glue (Roy Ellis)
Date: Sunday, 23 May 1999, at 9:16 p.m.
> Hello. Am seeking help and advice on what to paint onto my stitch and glue
> WestGreenland Kayak. It's pretty much the usual -- marine mahogany, epoxy
> and fibreglass tape. I'm going to paint it myself and would be very
> grateful to anyone who could advise on paint. Should I go marine or
> polyurethane? Porch paint or Tremclad? I've heard it all, but need help.
> Has anyone ever used an autobody spray shop? And then after its painted,
> do I put some kind of laquer or varnish on top, or just wax it with, say,
> mothers carnuba wax. Please, for God's sake, help!!!> Roy
It is a boat, not a car, so use boat paint.
Auto paints are to be commended as excellent products, however, if you use them on a boat and later have problems the paint manufacturer may not be able to help you. And why should he? He markets his products for automobiles, and tests them to be suitable for that market. Similarly, boat paints are tested on boats and marketed for that purpose. If you buy products from a reputable manufacturer you will get materials that have proven their ability to co-exist with constant exposure to marine environments.
Price is probably about the same. Color choice with auto paints seems to be far greater than with marine paints.
There are boat ``bottom paints'' which contain materials (copper and such) that are intended to deter the growth of sea life (things like barnacles). these paints are used on big boats that spend all (or most) of their life in the water. These paints tend to slowly disintegrate as they release their copper. As a result they need to be reapplied each year. You do not need these kinds of paints for a kayak. Instead, look for a ``topside'' paint. While it may seem strange to use a ``topside'' paint on the bottom side of a kayak, this is what works.
If you want to display the wood, use a marine varnish. There are several varieties: Linseed oil base, Tung oil base, polyurethane base, etc. Polyurethane has a glowing and growing reputation. The question does not have to be:``Marine or polyurethane?'' There are marine polyurethanes. The linseed and tung oil base varnishes have been around for years and are the old standbys.
If there is a boat supply store near you, drop in and read the labels on the cans. This will give you info about the materials you need to apply these (brushes, sprayers, thinners, masks) the time it takes for each coat to dry, the recommended number of coats, and other details. You may also be able to pick the brain of the retailer for additional info. Oh, and they will also tell you how much each of these materials costs, right down to the penny. Usually that is a big factor in determining which material is used.
Generally, if you paint the boat you do not need to put varnish over the paint. The paint is probably a more durable material than varnish anyhow, as the pigment in the paint blocks sunlight, which is a big factor in the aging of the surface coating. If you want to see the wood grain from that mahogany, seal the wood with a coat or two of epoxy, sand smooth, and put on several coats of a marine varnish that contains a UV inhibitor.
If you have defects in the wood, paint the thing.
You can do designs by varnishing areas of the boat and painting other areas. If I did this, I'd put on the varnish first, and them paint.
Some people paint the inside and varnish the outside. Some do the opposite. Some paiht the hull and varnish the deck. Some do the opposite. I'm not going to suggest any art trends here, but since it is your boat, you have the chance to make it unique.
If you make a mistake, it can be corrected with sufficient effort and sandpaper. To avoid this, do some cheap drawings. Take your plans to a photocopy machine and knock off a few copies of the page that shows the top view and the side view of your boat. Use crayons, watercolor paints, or colored pencils to sketch you designs on these sheets. Since you'll be working on the exact lines of your boat, you can get really detailed, and later use a ruler to measure your drawings and enlarge things to lifesize, with the certainty they will look right. If your boat supply dealer has color ``chips'' or sample cards with the paint colors on them, you can get some. Lay these paint-sample chips on your drawings to see if you like the combinations. You can use a scissors to cut the samples into smaller pieces, or cut scaled-down replicas of designs out of them with an X-acto knife. A dab of glue holds them on your drawing. When you get the ``look'' you like, buy your paint and have fun putting it on.
Hope this helps.
Paul Jacobson
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