[Delta-T]

I thought some DIY's out there might not be familiar with this great product. I have used it for cabinet work in the past and was aware of the uses for that, but I was not aware of the many other uses. It looks ideal for many freshen up projects on the boat and over fiberglass and plastic. I am looking to make my own composting head this year. I will post pictures of this endeavor. I have been researching methods and materials to use. I will be using Melamine to cover the inside of the head cabinet for sanitary reasons and Formica for the exterior.

What is Melamine Paint and why is it so difficult to use

 

[jsaronson]

Formica is just a brand name for melamine. Its all plastic over paper.

 

[MarkSF]

Seems to be a urethane-reinforced enamel. However, unless the area is subject to high wear, I would have thought that an ordinary enamel would be fine.

I rather like Bilgekote for the inside of cabinets, although I'm not so enamoured with the selection of 2 colours.

 

[SloopJonB]

You don't need any sort of special paint for the inside of boats, not even the head. Plain old Kitchen & Bath acrylic latex is all you need. I prefer semi-gloss because it hides surface flaws better.

 

[Delta-T]

You don't need any sort of special paint for the inside of boats, not even the head. Plain old Kitchen & Bath acrylic latex is all you need. I prefer semi-gloss because it hides surface flaws better.

I like the idea that it will stick to plastic and other Melamine surfaces.

 

[Morild]

You don't need any sort of special paint for the inside of boats, not even the head. Plain old Kitchen & Bath acrylic latex is all you need. I prefer semi-gloss because it hides surface flaws better.

Oh no please don't use that!
PO of my previous boat had the same thougt when he painted the forepeak.
It was flaking and looked like...
I removed it (that was not a pleasant job) and painted with yacht emanel.. job done.. but please don't say that any normal plain kitchen paint is the right choice for a boat.

 

[SloopJonB]

That was just bad prep, which is pretty common in awkward areas like forepeaks. I painted the entire interior of my Quarter Tonner with it and it was still nearly perfect 9 years later - the broker commented on how clean it was.

If a paint can withstand the steamy environs of the typical bathroom it can easily withstand the dampness of a boat interior.

The fact that it's going on a plastic surface means nothing - prep is prep.

 

[miatapaul]

I have had good luck painting over laminate after using Zinsser primer. I have used Bin, Killz and 123. That stuff is awesome, sticks to almost anything. Looks like it is not covering but the top coat covers really well.

 

[Sanduskysailor]

There a lot things to consider here. I worked for a coatings manufacturer in the past and I can tell you that surface preparation is key. Clean all surfaces well and then wipe down with acetone. Next use a bonding primer to seal the surface. Despite the hype there are no paint/primers that work well. A real bonding primer has a high adhesive resin content and is not high build. Those qualities make it bad as a paint. Look around and google bonding primers. The absolute best is XIM400 made by Rustoleum. Hard to find but available on Amazon. Any high quality latex paint for the top coat or a bath paint if you have a humid environment. Anything less than that and you will be sanding old paint off in a couple of years and doing it again.

Do it right and do it once. Bonding primers strongly adhere to surfaces like mealmine/formica. They also chemically bind with the topcoat making a very difficult to scratch coating. Your plastic car bumper uses a special primer to keep the paint from scratching easily or flaking off.

 

[aloof]

Oh yeah, paint the interior with acrylic latex. And don't trouble yourself with varnish, simply slob on some acrylic instant shine crap. Then a few years later simply throw the boat away. You have ruined it. Seen it done. Looks nice for a while. The joke is on whomever has to paint it again.

 

[SloopJonB]

The voice of experience?

"Seen it done"

I've been working on boats for more than 40 years and I've never had to throw one away yet.