I am also interested in hearing from anyone who has experience with painting directly onto the boat before laying the fiberglass.  My concern is the heat which is producted during the epoxy caoting and how that might affect painted graphics.

I have painted designs with acrylic paint and have run into no problems.

This is what I came up with.  The lower half of the kayak from the seam down will be graphite, so the deep sanding spots won't be seen.  I used acrylic testors model paint. 

I paint on the epoxy after sanding and then varnish over it.

dave 

Dave,

That was the kind of advice I was looking for two weeks ago before I painted.  I guess we will see how it comes out.  I glassed the hull today, and it looked like it was adhering well.

I've worked with wood burning and have tested with water based stain and water colors.  While you don't get the 'vividness' of acrylic, you get a coloring that doesn't occlude the wood and the epoxy can absorb though.

Mike,

That is an elegant little duck. Keep us posted on how it holds up.

Laszlo