Repainting Cowls

[jobrantley]

Hi.

Has anybody here ever repainted your cowl vents. I have some vetus cowls that are looking pretty weathered and are in need of repainting.

I am thinking of sanding down, painting with a primer and then painting with white paint. Does this sound right?? What type of paint and primer have you used or should I be looking for??

thanks for your help,

Jon

[hellosailor]

John, if they are plastic vents you need a paint with a plasticizer (i.e. a "vinyl paint") which can be bought in spray cans. Otherwise...it is like any other paint job, prep is most of the work, then finish with a good marine grade paint like a one-part urethane.

[jobrantley]

Thanks for the reply Hellosailor.

They are plastic vents. I was skeptical that it was going to be that simple of a project, I was sure I was missing something

thanks,
Jon

[hellosailor]

Jon, the plastic really is no problem. I forget the brand name, but most of the boating suppliers sell the "vinyl paint" in white, in spray cans, so you can repaint vinyl parts and covers on the boat. The cowls are the rubbery/soft plastic, probably a vinyl of some kind, I'm guessing? They are exactly what the paint is made for, they'll clean up nicely, and it isn't terribly expensive.

Vinyl paints are common for cars--they add a plasticizer to regular paint in order to paint plastic bumpers and such on it. And Duplicolor sells it in all sorts of colors, off the shelf, for interior repairs. I'd expect the marine grade to resist UV better, it is designed for outdoor use.

[jobrantley]

Thank you Hellosailor

Jon

[Faster]

Jon
Before you paint, go to a dollar store and by some "Totally Awesome Tile Cleaner" (not kidding!) to clean these things up. You need to thoroughly clean them anyway, before painting, and you just may find they come out looking pretty good.

The label on the stuff mostly says "Tile Cleaner" the totally awesome part is in smaller print. Try it!

[FrankLanger]

And if the tile cleaner doesn't work, try some 120 grit sandpaper, followed by regular boat wax--it cleaned my badly stained ones with about 20 min of work each.
Frank.

[Sabreman]

Nicro fico sold an aerosol paint that I used on my old vents. After about 3 years they will eventually craze and will have to be refinished. After 2 refinishings, I replaced them. Basically, I got an extra 6 years out of them. They won't look perfect but pretty good. Not sure if Nicro Fico still sells the paint.

When we purchased Victoria, we treated ourselves to 6 new SS vents. They were one of the few items that the Admiral actually said that she really wanted....blew me away.....

[jobrantley]

Thanks guys for your replys.

These are definately going to have to be repainted, they are cracking all over the place. I went out to the store and picked up some sand paper and some spray paint made for plastics.......so hopefully I can clean these up and make them look nice again. If I get another 3-4 years out of them I'll be happy.........and then it will be time to the to the Admiral about SS.

thanks guys,
Jon

[Sailormon6]

My plastic vents are painted, and the paint is cracking, but the vents are still in good shape. Does anyone know if you can use paint stripper to remove the old paint without melting them?