Re: SH17 Colour

Posted by David Warren on Apr 29, 2006

Hi Bob - I used single-part polyeurethane. There's a lot written on the different types, much of it confusing to my idiot-brain. Bottom line for me was that the two-packs were more complex and the hardness was not such that the finish became rock-scratchproof (no matter what you've read, NO paint is...), so why bother... Others will have different and very worthy opinions too.

I used Interlux "Brightsides" Off-White for the hull, and Interlux "Goldspar" gloss for the brightwork/varnished wood. Both are single-pack polys. For me, the Brightsides was easy to get a "spraygun smooth" finish with a brush/roller combo, but the Goldspar was more difficult to use. Next time, I'd probably use Interlux's "Schooner" or some other tung-oil traditional type varnish. That said, the Goldspar's final finish is very good.

Both finishes become very hard and easy to maintain. While you can launch after a day or two, expect it to take several weeks to achieve optimum toughness.

Many people use cheap paints and have great results. Interlux is not cheap, about $30USD/quart. I am absolutely happy to have used it, but the reality is, for a boat which lives in a dry garage and goes in the water for hours at most every weekend, any reputable gloss made for exterior/house woodwork from a hardware store would be fine. CLC has a good tutorial for paint tips here:

http://www.clcboats.com/shoptips/shoptips_poly.php

http://www.clcboats.com/finish_hardware.php

Hope this helps! Final tip: Don't let all the sanding and prepping get you down. I spent six hours on the lake today in near-freezing mountain rain - on the water at 5am... My grin is frozen in place! .

In Response to: Re: SH17 Colour by Bob G. on Apr 28, 2006

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