Island_Moose 0 Posted August 11, 2013 Share Posted August 11, 2013 Good day, My bilge needs a spruce up while I have the cabin sole removed for re-finishing. It currently has a grey enamel coating over the factory gel-coat and timber floor ribs. I would like to go with white, and use the same product to re-finish the interior of my cabinets etc. If I were back home in Canada I would run down to West Marine and buy a gallon of Pettit EZ Bilge or Interlux Bilgecoat...but I'm starting to get the feeling that nobody in NZ has ever re-painted their bilge (I know this isn't true). I have had people suggest various products that are used to coat bare fibreglass bilges during construction, but this is a re-paint. 2 part anything will lift the original coating. I am nervous about using a household enamel because you can never get a bilge perfectly prepared (clean yes, but sanded?...) and I can't have the stuff peel off and jam my pump . Altex has some sort of affiliation with Pettit, so I am pursuing this, but can anyone out there suggest a fool-proof bilge paint? Cheers John Tauranga Link to post Share on other sites
Kiteroa 8 Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 A blend of 75% Durapox white and 25% Durapox high gloss clear. Super hard and doesn't mark. Has been working really well for me. Link to post Share on other sites
Island_Moose 0 Posted August 13, 2013 Author Share Posted August 13, 2013 A blend of 75% Durapox white and 25% Durapox high gloss clear. Super hard and doesn't mark. Has been working really well for me. Isn't Durepox a 2-part paint? I'm worried that this will ruin the current coating, which I am reasonably-convinced is some sort of enamel over the factory gelcoat. I say this because it goes up onto the timber ribs that hold up the sole. I don't think they would have sprayed the timber with gelcoat, and 2-part epoxy paints wouldn't have been around in 1987. Link to post Share on other sites
Island_Moose 0 Posted August 13, 2013 Author Share Posted August 13, 2013 I am suddenly less-convinced about the gray bilge...I think it might be gelcoat...the ribs might just be painted, but I'm starting to think the bilge is gel-coat. This changes things. A blend of 75% Durapox white and 25% Durapox high gloss clear. Super hard and doesn't mark. Has been working really well for me. Isn't Durepox a 2-part paint? I'm worried that this will ruin the current coating, which I am reasonably-convinced is some sort of enamel over the factory gelcoat. I say this because it goes up onto the timber ribs that hold up the sole. I don't think they would have sprayed the timber with gelcoat, and 2-part epoxy paints wouldn't have been around in 1987. Link to post Share on other sites
Changed 10 Posted August 14, 2013 Share Posted August 14, 2013 Durapox is a good product to work with and reasonably priced. Flow-coat is also a good bilge product. If you rub the current finish with an acetone 'wet' cloth you will soon know whether it's two pot or no. Link to post Share on other sites
Island_Moose 0 Posted August 20, 2013 Author Share Posted August 20, 2013 I've settled on Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 Primer, followed by a basic marine enamel. The Zinsser primer's claim-to-fame is that it "sticks to all surfaces without sanding", including fibreglass, ceramics and even glass. You clean the surface with sugar soap or TSP, then one-coat of the primer and you're done. Follow up with a coat of enamel to give the gloss and further waterproofing. At $38/litre it was 1/2 the price of any marine primer, and was the only one I found that didn't need ANY sanding beforehand. Sanding the mat in the bilge was a non-starter. John Link to post Share on other sites
Island_Moose 0 Posted September 5, 2013 Author Share Posted September 5, 2013 Bilge painting going well, but it might be the worst job ever physically. I should have poured a gallon of paint in and gone out on a choppy day. http://www.kiwiboatowner.com/ Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 A great name for a Energy drink That's a well done blog you have there John. Link to post Share on other sites
Island_Moose 0 Posted September 6, 2013 Author Share Posted September 6, 2013 Thx, You might have seen the boat, she lived at the Bayswater Marina for several years. John Link to post Share on other sites
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