Sorry, have only used marine grade stuff.   It is pricey but when it comes to the finish and after all the time and expense already put in and that point, I would not be willing to put something on it that wouldn't work well or wouldn't show off all the effort put into it.

 I haven't tried it but here is some info you may find useful. The author knows what he's talking about, good guy.

link

Here's a fine example of a workboat finish. You gonna go up to them and tell them that their boat's ugly? :-)

If you do a good job with the surface prep, a workboat finish will look fine. Consider that the inside of most homes are painted to a workboat finish quality or less and people live in them, not just take them out for weekend spins. Again, the more time you spend on surface prep (fairing, priming, sanding, etc.), the better the result.

As far as the relative expense, one thing to keep in mind is that the painted areas of a boat are pretty small compared to a house (what most of us are used to painting), so you won't need that much of whatever paint you end up using. I could have completed my 12-ft sailing dinghy (painted inside and out) with only a quart except that I wanted 2 different colors.

Finally, the difference between the yacht showroom finish and the workboat finish is really apparent when both boats are new, clean, sitting on dry land and in controlled lighting.  From 20 feet away on the water (especially salt water), in broad daylight after they've been used enough to accumulate some scratches and dings, almost no one will notice the difference. And after a few scratches and dings, the yacht finish will look shabby and in need of repair, while the workboat finish will look in character.

So either will work. It's up to you, whether you want to be a painter or a sailor. Have fun,

Laszlo

Laslo, I used Benjamin Moore Industrial Enamel (essex green) on the outside my NE Dory.  At $40/ gallon, it looks great and has held up to last summer's rowing and racing.  I didn't fuss too much over the sanding, so if you bend over to get too close, two things will happen. One, I will kick you in the butt for trying to see your teeth in the reflection, and two, you will see slight imperfections in the surface.  Stand back ten feet and admire the beauty of an old workboat reborn.  Everyone I run into at the launch ramp drools. 

Jim

sorry about the misspelling of your name

Jim