Painting cockpit area

Has anyone done this? What type of paint did you use? Was is successful? Do you have any hints or tips?

Doug


6 replies:

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RE: Painting cockpit area

Any good marine paint will work (Interlux, System 3, etc.). The only thing that makes it different from painting the outside of the boat is access. You might have to put the brush/roller on a stick to reach everywhere.

Good luck,

Laszlo

 

RE: Painting cockpit area

   what kind of boat are you working on?

RE: Painting cockpit area

Brightside or any above the waterline marine paint should do fine.  You might want to add some non-skid to the paint, which can be anything from walnut shells to silica sand or specific non-skid paints.

RE: Painting cockpit area

   Going to be working on a hybrid Wood Duck 12.....thought about painting thd cockpit area.....would not filling the weave in this area help make it non-slip?

RE: Painting cockpit area

   Not fully filling the weave will leave a very rough texture to rub against. Also, if there is any fiberglass threa not covered it could be possible that thread could break and be implanted uner one's skin. I would full over the weave and then look at one of the many products to add non-skid patches. One could even add a very fine sand to the paint.

RE: Painting cockpit area

it's a kayak....you don't need non-skid or to paint in the cockpit area.  you will be sitting. 

the only reason to paint the cockpit would be cosmetic.  otherwise, a coat of varnish on any part of the cockpit that is potentially exposed to sun-light is all you need.

fwiw, it's fairly common not to completely fill the weave on the inside of a cockpit.  don't confuse not filling the weave with not wetting out the cloth.  not filling the weave means simply that you don't apply so much epoxy or do the sanding work to make the cloth texture disappear.  not wetting out the cloth means the cloth is partially dry and not fully impregnated with epoxy....and that's bad for a lot of reasons.   with respect to george's concern above, simply have never experienced fully wet out cloth being fragile or dangerous in any way.  nobody's going to get hurt by not fully filling the weave.

that said, when not filling the weave, you should still have at least two coats of epoxy to ensure it is properly sealed.  your second coat is just thin and you don't sand it.

last, i would point out that its much easier to assess the condition and any issues on a kayak with a clear finish like varnish.  for example, any water intrusion will be rapidly apparent.  it also does not get scratched or dirty the way a painted finish can become.

anyway, that's my 2 cents.

h

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