my first boat- priming/painting/varnishing? ply cunstruction flat bottom boat.

recently purchased my first boat, needs a new slicker so to speak,

would like the  transom and interior unpainted, desplaying the wood and  paint to the hull. wondering how to go about it.

 

Jared.

 

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Permalink Reply by Mike Collier on June 15, 2011 at 5:43pm

I used aotomotive clear on th inside and automotive base & clearcoat on the outside.

 

I am convinced its better for UV protection and it isn't any harder to apply than varnish.

It costs more but I beleive it will last longer and require less maintanance in the long run.

you can see pic's under the thread: "A show of hands Please!"

It's the one with the deep Brown/Red exterior and clear inside.

I have already had a few scratches and it was simple to repair, just sanded them down with 1500 grit and polished them out with polishing coumpound like I did when I sprayed it all on.

Cost: about 800.00 - excluding the spray guns I bought.

Probably 3 times what you could do it for using good exterior grade house paint but, if you are looking for a shine and a hard finish, I still beleive it the only way to go.

 

Others will dissagree I'm sure - just my 2 cents worth

 

Mike 

Permalink Reply by Dave Z on June 15, 2011 at 8:00pm
Wait, $800 for just the finish?
Permalink Reply by Rick Newman on June 15, 2011 at 10:02pm

Yeah and that includes lots of polishing compound! :<)

 

Rick Newman

Permalink Reply by Lawrence E. Long on June 16, 2011 at 4:44am
Woodie Hindman is probably sitting upright in his grave.
Permalink Reply by Mike Collier on June 16, 2011 at 5:46am

Your right - Woodie Hindman is probably sitting up in his grave so he can get a better look - lol

 

Permalink Reply by Mike Collier on June 16, 2011 at 5:41am

Wait - that is inside AND outside finish.........and includes the buffing compound, pads, sand paper etc. but does not include the 2 spray guns I bought which total 250 bucks + tax.

 

Actualy in the begining it was 250 bucks a quart for the paint alone, but I found out that the clear coat I was using also has a paint line and I could use the clear coat hardner with the Paint AND Primer.

I got 1 gal. ready to spray (Base coat pre reduced), Primer, and reducer for clean up, for around 300.00 bucks, as opposed to 800-1000.00 for the Dupont I was origonaly going to use.

 

Now some of you may laugh at that but, after I considered what the Bristol Finish and Varnish was going to cost, with the dam shipping charges tacked on, I wasn't far off just using the Automotive products - AND - I can get this stuff right off the shelf and don't have to wait a week to get it or go through the hassle of screwed up orders not showing up when thery are supposed to.   

Now that I think about it, that price actualy would include the 2 spray guns I bought and total cost is more close to around 600.00 bucks and not 800.00.

This tuff is so tuff its amazing  I took the boat out for the first time and beached it to eat some lunch and let my Dad row for a while, and when he pulled the boat up on the beach he pulled it right into a stand of willows - I WAS PISSED - however, when I got home I took a clean cloth and wipped it down and got out my buffer (DA w/buffing pad attachment) and buffed the scratched area, and in about 5 minutes all the scratches were gone and you couldn't even tell the boat had been used at all.

I did the same thing with the Dry Box lids he stepped on THE FIRST TIME HE GOT OUT OF THE BOAT - again, I was PISSED - but a light sanding and little buffing and all the scratches are gone.

 

Rick, as for the Polishing Compound, I only used 3/4 of a bottle of Heavy cut cleaner and 1 Bottle of swirl remover (actualy still have a little of both of them left in the bottles) - this is the McGuires stuff and they were 12 bucks a bottle and the polishing pads were about the same.

 

Okay ya'all, now laugh it up if you want to, but I'll put my paint job up against your ANYTIME and we'll see who's finish last longer over time and who's continues to look near new and easiest to maintain.

 

OH, I forgot to tell you..........I still have 1/3 of the gallon of paint left which will rpovide for touch ups for nearly the life of the boat.

 

Mike 

Permalink Reply by mitchell on June 16, 2011 at 6:44am

and on the other end, I varnish my boat with McKloskey's spar varnish at 47.00 bucks a gallon. A gallon will do the inside and out more than once. That method seems to have worked, the boat was built in 68

 

I guess Mike and I are on complety different ends of the rainbow when it comes to sealing up our boats. Bet we catch the same fish in the long run.

Mike, i'm not sure about the bet and how you'd pay me because buy the time yours is as old as mine (never) I'll be long gone.

Permalink Reply by Rick Newman on June 16, 2011 at 9:27am

I was just poking you! Knew I would get a response. As I have said before, the really cool part of our activities is we can be individuals in the way we finish our boats; colors, type of finish, oil on the inside, varnish, polyurethane, oil-based porch paint etc.

So Jared, as you can see there are a variety of ways that you can finish your boat. I am using a combination of varnish on plywood and seats; water-based polyurethane @ $92 a gallon for the interior and exterior sides over epoxy, oil-based porch paint over epoxy on the interior of the floor, Penofin marine oil finish on frames and gunnels, Restore, a two-part concrete/deck finish on my floor boards. I want to see how each works when in the same use and wear conditions. If you do a search on this site for paint, varnish, boat soup, Kirby paints, Bristol finish, you can gather a large bundle of opinions. Each of the finishes has advantages and disadvantages. As you have seen they each come with advocates and detractors, since it is your boat you need to pick which side of the fence/paint brush/roller/spray gun you want for your boat.

 

Hope that this helps you out. Keep asking questions and by all means take some time to read the previous posts and such on the site, there are many years of experience shared there.  My page has lots of pictures from the last three McKenzie River Wooden Boat Festivals and you can look over how others have finished their boats.

 

Happy boat building and finishing to you!

 

Rick Newman

Permalink Reply by Mike Collier on June 16, 2011 at 6:21pm

Yea I figured I could get a rise out of a few myself..........lol

 

Seriously though, these discussions about finish are always good.

It just goes to show that there are a 1000 ways to finish a boat and no wrong way to do it.

It's based on personal preference and your own unique style - it also say's a little about your personality as well, which is in every build I have ever looked at.

Each boat has the charachter of its builder, built right in to the boat from the very beggining.

 

I had come full circle on this dilema myself, starting at the very begining I was thinking of how I was going to finish it, because the charachter of the build needed to be reflected in the construction along the way. Honestly, I had planned on using Varnish and a high gloss bristol finish, but when I started to educate myself, with the help of a long time friend who runs a automotive paint shop, I began to realizes that I have be single minded about the whole thing and began investigating new approaches. Then I discovered that my friend at the automotive paint shop, and ALSO my friend at the cabinet shop, both told me they had been spraying clearcoat on wood for years and was even able to see some of those after 5-8 years after spraying. Although they were indoor wood crafts, such as cabinets, the shine and luster was simply beautiful.

As I said before, there simply is NO WAY to do it wrong - everyone has a budget and I certainly over extended mine on this project, but I also learned ALOT about what is cost effective and what isn't. Again, it all depends on just what you want to acheive in the end.

I was after a show finish from the begining and so I did my darnedst to acheive throughout the entire build, just so I could see what I was capable of on my very first build, and ya know what ? I am darned pleased with what I acheived and perhaps I show it off too much, or over step the craftsmanship, but none-the-less I am rpoud to have produces such a nice looking boat, as is everyone who builds their own.

There is just not enough that can be said about the pride one feels in rowing his own boat, built by his/her own hands..........

 

well, enough said........

  Jared, just don't short change yourself when wanting to take things a step further, overcome the doubts (if there are any) and proceed as if you can accomplish whatever you want. No matter how you finish your boat, it will be the best looking boat on the water, because you built it yourself.

 

Enjoy and good building

 

Mike  

Permalink Reply by Mike Baker on June 16, 2011 at 2:44pm

Some of the local guys here in C.O. use automotive clear coat on there strip built canoes and kayaks. There comment is that it is tuff as nails (one came off a roof at 65 mph with one scratch) but if you do need to repair it it is next to impossible for the do it yourselfer to repair.

Mike

Permalink Reply by Lawrence E. Long on June 16, 2011 at 3:10pm

Well I managed to kick the hornets nest again. Whatever rows your boat go for it.  Mike -did Dad cut you out of the will?

We all enjoy other viewpoints- thats why life is so interesting.  No more comments from this SA for a while- off to Cape Cod for stripers.

Cheers

Permalink Reply by Kelly Neu on June 18, 2011 at 9:13am

Mike, you're not the only one to lay down some serious dough for the finish.  I used automotive paint myself as does the commercial whitewater dory company that I work for.  Like you said its bomb proof and has longevity on its side.  Its very pretty stuff and makes the clients go "ooh ah!"  Though for my next boat I'm going for the cheapest boat soup I can buy... as I am now broke.  Ha.

 

Jared, One of our boats has the transom unpainted and its our prettiest boat by far.  We just varnished it for that high gloss look.  The hull is auto paint.  The inside/deck is polyurethane with extra hardner.

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