Glossy or Not?

[cas8100]

I'm approaching the last step of my Catalina 22 paint restoration project and was hoping for some opinions on whether or not to flatten the deck paint.

The freeboard is painted with Interlux Perfection (medditerranean white). I'm also painting the deck with Perfection (smooth surfaces with med. white and grey on the nonskid). The nonskid is a molded diamond shape and I did dull that down quite a bit with the Interlux flattening agent. Now the question is: Should I flatten the smooth surfaces as well or leave them glossy to match the hull? I'd sure appreciate an opinions.

Thanks,

CS

[saildork]

CS, I sail a C22 and find that shiny on the smooth surfaces is not a problem from an eye-strain point of view. If I were to repaint the smooth sections of the deck, I would go with shiny. There's so little smooth gelcoat on deck that it wouldn't produce too much glare, in my opinion.

That said, I don't think it would detract from the appearance of the deck at all by making the smooth parts more of a satin finish. My boat is an '83 model and even when I wax and buff the smooth surfaces, the best I get is satin. I wouldn't go completely flat but anything north of that will probably look pretty good.

Look at other boats. The new ones are pretty shiny everywhere but the non-skid. I guess it just comes down to personal preference.

[cas8100]

Here's a pic of the hull and one of the deck before I primed everything... The deck will match the hull color with the exception of the non-skid


Thanks for your input!

CS

[saildork]

Looks great, CS! Post some more pics as you go to keep us updated. My nonskid had been needing repaint for a while, now. I've even got the paint and everything. Maybe you can guilt me into getting off my tail and just doing it.

Pat

[jbondy]

Looks great! I too would go with gloss. Flat paint tends to hold onto stains more.

[Barquito]

I did the same color scheme on my C22. I didn't flatten any paint. I did grind down the non-skid and add non-skid stuff to the the paint (cuts glare some). No glare problems.

[cas8100]

Thanks for the replies. Barquito - That's very nice looking. Can't wait to get my teak back on. Hopefully it'll look as nice as yours does. I really like the addition of the jib sheet cams. Those cleats tend to be a pain.

I sprayed the first coat of perfection last night. I forgot how runny that stuff gets compared to primekote. Looks like I've got a few runs to wet sand now.

Anyone else have experience with the spray application of perfection? Interlux recommends 25% reduction with their 2 part thinner (2316). When I do that it almost seems thinner than water. They also say 14 seconds in a zahn cup which I don't have... Any suggestions?

Thanks.

Carl