Prepping the cabin of my SC22 for painting? and paint Q?

[Perithead]

Well, I have given the cabin one pretty decent cleaning with some Simple Green. I think this is a pretty good degreaser and it is non toxic so I dont have to wrry about fumes in the small cabin. I was told that just clean the cabin pretty good with degreaser then put on a primer coat then the actual paint.

1. Is the product Simple Green good enough for the application or should I go with something like Greased Lightning?

2. Now I know that it takes special paint for the hull and topsides of a sailboat. I am wondering if I need to use the same paints for the inside of the cabin? I will be painting over the woven fiberglass and some wood. I wonder if Lowes would have the paints I need since I do not live in a coastal town?

[mangomadness]

If you wipe everything you are going to paint with a clean white rag soaked with denatured alcohol right before you prime and again before you paint, any paint will stick. I used home depot flat white actually, (aspen snow white) latex and it holds well. I would recommend an outdoor enamel, and white. see my blog for pics. hyperlink

Mango Madness J30 #185 rebuild: July 2008

[mangomadness]

That is assuming you have already de-greased the area.

[Perithead]

Thanks mango for the reply.

Yes, I have already degreased the area well.

I thought about using latex paint last night but doesnt latex scratch and peel easily? How about with your project, any easy scratching or peeling?

[Faster]

We've had good luck in those types of areas with (locally Home Hardware brand) single part polyurethanes - often called "plastic paint". Good coverage and lasts quite well unless there's heavy traffic and I'd expect better overall results than with a latex paint.

I'd avoid the more volatile/expensive two-part paints unless you're properly equipped to apply it "indoors".

[T34C]

You are going to need a "plastic type" paint. the problem with Lowes house type paints is the coeffecient of thermal expantion of the paint will be very different from the fiberglass. That's a fancy way of saying the paint will begin to "pop-off" the fiberglass as it heats and cools and you will have to re-do it in the near future.

[mangomadness]

I thought I had bought an oil based enamel, but it turned out to be latex. It doesn't scratch easily. It doesn't due the latex peel either. It is also on top of Awlgrip 545 epoxy primer that I had left over. I'll just have to wait and see if the heat plays a role in the life of the paint over time.

[Perithead]

Thanks everyone, I will look for some "plastic paints" then.

[floatsome]

Seems me Don Casey had recommended any good alkyd enamel? After degreasing, buff with sandpaper so paint sticks. I've been told that non-epoxy paint won't stick well to fibreglass that moves, but solid is more likely to be OK. I tried melamine paint this time around. This particular brand has some polyurethane to make it flow better. Resists mildew too. Went on nicely with a small foam roller. Only been on a week. Apparently it is slow to dry, but ends up hard.

[FishFinder]

I did this recently, I used Valspar Exterior 100% Acrylic Latex (@ lowes). My prep was scrubbing hard with a brush and simple green, and wiping with acetone beore painting. The simple green was strong enough to remove a fair amount of the old paint! I also sanded some areas w/80 grit paper in a random-orbital sander (created a lot of fiberglass dust!) and where I sanded I primed. I used at least 2 coats of the latex in some cases 4. I'm happy with the results, looks good and no problems so far.

My understanding is that acrylic latex paint:

1) Breathes
2) Shrinks and expands well
3) Is very durable
4) Has much less harmful odor and VOC's than oil-based paints (its water-based)

Latex has improved quite a bit apparently from earlier days and it is overtaking oil-based paints in the construction industry. I've even heard of people painting hulls with latex ... dunno if I'd do that!