Need advice on painting my wooden kayak

[dkwon]

Hey guys, if you didn't know already, I'm in the process of building my 12' wooden kayak. I just finished fiberglassing and putting a couple coats of epoxy over it. Everything is sanded (decently smooth.. but not really..) and ready to paint. Not sure what kind of paint I should be using. The kayak will be in both salt and fresh water.

What kind of paint do you guys think I should use? Do I need a clear coat?

Thanks for your advice!

There are photos of the progress posted throughout this thread:
http://www.snaggedline.com/showthrea...he-experienced

[dkwon]

does the epoxy 'need' to be painted? if not, i'd at least do the testing w/no paint.

if i was trying to cover over my sins - i'd probly hit it cheap with a can of rustoleum enamel. the secret to a good paint job is surface prep - 'profile' for mechanical hold and clean and dust free. the secret to being a professional painter is to skip as much surface prep as you can,..


a step up from there in cost, would be 'above-the-waterline' boat enamel from west marine. kayak use is very nearly like above-the-waterline since it's only wet for short periods and dries out between use. compare to the waterline 'boot stripe' on most sailboats for example.

next step up from that would be a marine-grade paint actually intended for use below the waterline. these paints are capable to be submerged in saltwater continuously. i believe some of them are actually superior to gel coat.

the chesapeake light craft still have the builder's tips page for wood kayaks and has tips for finishing (paint etc) - http://www.clcboats.com/shop/kayak-kits/

Hmm, doesn't 'need' to be painted. Everything is coated in at least 1 layer of epoxy. Was going to test out the kayak before painting, just trying to get an idea of what I should be looking for.

Trying to not spend a lot of money on paint. That said, I checked out the top side boat enamel from west marine and a quart is $50, which is do-able. Going to pick up a can of white rustoleum for detailing.

If anyone else has advice on painting boats, feel free to chip in. Thanks

[DOGFISH]

When you primer the kayak it will highlight the imperfections. At that point you can do some finish sanding, to get things just right. The primer will also fill any small imperfections. Brightside paint, which is a topside polyurethane, will work just fine. Howerver, Perfection, which is a two part polyurethane, will set up much harder and be more durable. Both are made by Interlux. After all that work building the kayak, why short cut the final step?

[seapinto]

Something to consider for cost savings and durability for the bottom if you have enough epoxy left over is to do an epoxy and graphite powder mixture. I used it on my touring kayak because the varnish was way too soft for repeated landings on rocky shores and I was starting to wear through to the glass, and I didn’t feel like recoating every couple seasons. By not sanding the final coat it gives you a really nice gloss black finish. I did a total of 3 coats up to the water line using different ratios to give varying protection with each layer. The theory is that when you scrape on something the graphite acts as a lubricant so the object doesn’t score into the surface as much and you tend to just slide over/off the object, and by varying the ratios it gives you different levels of protect should you penetrate past the first. I got a quart and used about half of it for all 3 coats. It’s been 2 seasons of pretty heavy use and I have to say I wish I would’ve done this from the start. There are now plenty of scratches on it which show up dull like pencil markings but nothing has gotten through to the glass like it did when varnished. Only drawback is where the scrapes are sometimes you get a little graphite on your hands when loading and unloading but very minor.

[M_Duong60]

Looks like it is really coming together nicely where are you going to hit up first once the yak is done? Also what does it weigh?