Do I want to paint my deck?

[mpdan]

Getting ready to paint with Awlcraft, Alexseal, or Awlgrip. Does anyone recommend painting or not painting the deck? I know the dark colors get hot. Thanks for your comments.

[TQA]

Why do you feel you need to paint your deck? Remember once you paint it you will have to repaint every few years.

[sailingfool]

Painting a deck and getting a good result is much more difficult than painting topsides. Be sure you understand how to do the job proper, if you don't have experience with the paint in question you might want to do your topside just for practice.

[seagypsytexas]

if it is fiberglass, then no, because the fiberglass has been molded with anti-slip texture in it. if you paint over this you will no longer have the anti-slip feature.

[LookingForCruiser]

Originally Posted by seagypsytexas

if it is fiberglass, then no, because the fiberglass has been molded with anti-slip texture in it. if you paint over this you will no longer have the anti-slip feature.

You can use Interdeck or another non-skid paint over the anti-slip portions of the deck.

I just painted my deck. I did this because the previous owner's paint job was starting to crack and peel around the hardware (he didn't remove hardware before painting, so moisture could get underneath), and because I did a bunch of fiberglass work around the windows and that needed to be painted.

To do the job properly, you need to remove all the deck hardware, and then paint. It's a chance to rebed all the hardware properly if you haven't done that recently, so that's a plus. It makes the job take a lot longer and requires multiple people though. If you don't remove all the hardware, so the paint edge is underneath sealant, moisture will get in there and wreck your paint job within 1-2 years.

If it hasn't been painted before, there's probably mold release wax still all over the deck, so you'll have to sand everything and then use some solvent to get rid of residual wax.

If it has been painted before, I think you just need to sand down the old paint job. At least I hope that's all, otherwise I'll be crying this spring, since that's what I did for prep...

You do the nonskid portions by painting the glossy first, having a healthy overlap onto the areas where the nonskid will go, giving it a week or so to cure, then taping over the glossy areas at the edge and painting the

You'll need to know how to roll'n'tip. I got good results, but not as good as a sprayer. My problem was tiny little bubbles. Might be dust in the air causing them, not sure. They aren't really noticeable, and will probably disappear as the boat gets used (same as the way they're all gone off my polyurethaned wood floors in my house after a few years).

My 30' catamaran took around 16 hours to remove all hardware, 16 hours to paint the 'glossy' areas, and 16 hours to paint the nonskid, and another 16 to put all the hardware back. So that's a huge time investment as you can see. This was with multiple people removing & putting hardware back, and only 2 coats of the glossy and 2 coats of the nonskid. I would have preferred 3 coats of each but I ran out of time, I was losing my boat shed after Labor Day. I'll be doing some more painting in the spring, just minor bits & pieces though where the paint seems bit thinner than I'd like.

That's another expense, you'll want the boat somewhere inside to do this work. Otherwise you'll get whatever the wind blows at you, stuck on your boat.

That's the long answer to painting your deck. The short answer is "no", don't do it, if your deck isn't already painted. It's a pile of work and will need to be redone in 5 years or so.

I used Interlux Brightsides and Interdeck. No need to prime which is nice. I didn't use a 2-part because I don't feel like dealing with fumes, and the 1-parts are more "repairable". Just sand down and feather new paint over the damaged area.

It looks really nice now overall, much better than it was before. Biggest problem I have now is that all the old crusty hardware looks terrible when reattached to the shiny new paint job... so I've bought new cleats and I'm talking to a re-chroming company to clean up some of the winches, locker hinges & stanchion bases.

[seagypsytexas]

If was mine , i would strip everything and paint it with a new gelcoat.

[seagypsytexas]

A solid wood teak deck is the best. I love wooden yachts!

[Ulladh]

Two part paints will last longer, single part urethanes will look shabby after a couple of summers.

I would suggest first cleaning and try a gelcoat restoration product. If the deck finish is still not acceptable then prep before single or two part paint is key. Follow manufacturers directions use recomended primer and pay close attention to temperature range for application.

[sailingfool]

Originally Posted by seagypsytexas

If was mine , i would strip everything and paint it with a new gelcoat.

Seems like a unlikely idea..have you ever gelcoated anything. Just not done nowadays.

[floatsome]

Here's my experience, if it is of any help.

The deck on the old boat we bought couple of years ago was structurally sound but cosmetically problematic, and needed a bit of repair here and there, so I decided to paint. Having had other boats, I was reconciled to a repaint cycle. I went with one-part Brightside and Interdeck for cost and ease of application. Would have gone with a two-part if I had the skills and money, or lived in a year-round boating season location. We boat in a winter haulout region, not in the water more than half the year. Boat covered in winter.

Had the luxury of several months in a heated indoor shop. Removed all the hardware. Washed carefully. Set up good lighting. Sanded the gelcoat carefully; even took down the diamond roughdeck. Vacuumed thoroughly. Prepped as patiently and carefully as I could; prep really is 90% of the job. Primed according to Interlux instructions. First painted the white areas (Brightside with 50% flattener), extending an inch into the old roughdeck area. Then used pinstrip thin blue detailing tape to mask out the old roughdeck area and painted with grey Interdeck. Used roll-and-tip and ended up with a very smooth finish on the white, and even on the Interdeck. Multiple coats with correct between-coat window times. Let it all dry indoors for 3 months while I reinstalled deck hardware and other refit work.

After first summer I only had to touch up a couple of high-traffic areas, very small spots. After second summer the boat looks fine and I won't have to repaint or touch up. No need to wax. Cleans up very easily with ordinary water and a brush, or Green Marine for the black streaks. Resists spills -- knocked over a can of varnish and simply wiped it all up with no residue left.

So far, I'm a happy camper. Still getting compliments on the look of the boat.

Topsides are original gelcoat in amazingly good condition, so no need to paint there. I would probably go with two-part were I to paint the topsides. I had done a smaller sailboat topsides with Brightside, and although it looked OK for that little boat, I would want the better quality shine of a two-part for this bigger boat.