Ok trying to finish a kayak restoration. I used Interlux Toplac on the bottom and Total Boat Wet Edge on the deck because at the time Toplac didn’t have a light green color. So personal opinion is Wet Edge is not for me. Much longer between coats, flows out like crap, and left me with a near matte finish. I tried mohair roller and foam roller. Mohair to leave a bit more paint to flow but then it had tendency to run. Either way gloss was horrible.
Toplac with a foam roller and thin coat flows right out and doesn’t run. It’s fast to coat a hull 10-15 minutes 16 hr recoat time at 60*F . Wet Edge is like three days if I remember correctly at same temperature.
Maybe I’m wrong but Interlux now has the SEAFOAM green color. So I’ll start the deck again hopefully two coats because the colors are fairly close.
Toplac becomes tack free in 60-90 minutes meaning if you’re working outside you have a shorter time for stuff to land on it.
Interested if anyone has similar or different experiences.
I have painted boats with everything from 2 part epoxy, marine enamel to latex house paint. I have used grey primer in rattle cans for the interior. All of them work pretty well. I have never repaired gelcoat. I like to just sand em and paint em. The fancy paints are not worth the investment in my opinion. Rustoleum marine enamel is about the fanciest paint I still use. Finding specific colors might be a good reason to use fancier paint. A canoe or kayak is not that big. The ease of using paint is not that big of deal. Finding the right weather conditions can be a challenge though. Some people make a big deal out of paint and agonize over it. Just find some decent paint, do your prep work and have at it.
Depends on how long you want it to last and quality of the finish. Two part epoxy is the best but people had problems mixing it so Interlux dropped it. They say this is as durable but I don’t think so. If it’s 75% I’ll be happy.
When I go on a week long trip I want to take pride in my boats and equipment. I used haul canoes on a trailer. They looked a lot better with fresh paint. The type of paint is not that important. People want to make a big deal out of it.
Bottom had some good impacts in cockpit and was soft so it’s easy to repair and paint it with a roller. No special equipment and fairly fast. Bottom 10 minutes a coat and deck 15-20 minutes. 3-4 coats is good. Originally red then someone painted it blue. I think I paid 250 for it.
It’s not perfect but it’s decent I bought it a few years back so I wanted it done before winter.
