TOPIC: rustoleum boat paint

jetboat,i think its worth a try,they have been around a long time,they should know what they are doing by now,(i hope,lol)john

There are a lot of people on another forum (Iboats) that use rust-o-leum, Both the marine and the 'normal' stuff, to paint boats. Some of the paint jobs look outstanding!

There are always the normal arguments- If you're going to bother doing it, do it right kind of thing- But who decides what is 'right'? I've seen paint jobs on there that looked as good as a pro job, but were done in a garage for $50.... It's all about the time spent prepping and the attention to detail.

Frank tried Rustoleum on the Power Cat and it was the pits. Brightsides people, Brightsides.

Frank tried Rustoleum on the Power Cat and it was the pits.

experience required with all "Finish" paint work

I've seen paint jobs on there that looked as good as a pro job, but were done in a garage for $50.... It's all about the time spent prepping and the attention to detail.

yes, I agree & Ive been using it for years, my hydros are my last 2 Rustoleum/garage jobs

Well amen to that!

As stated, it's all in the prep. I painted my boat with the Rustoleum marine paint and it came out great. That was 3 years ago. Here's what I learned. Wet sand your boat and fix all the blemishes with Marinetex. Sand it until it feels real smooth. Clean it with Acetone. If possible, make sure your temp is at least 70 degrees before applying paint/primer. Roll tip 2 coats of Rustoleum marine primer. Again, wet sand until smooth. Clean with Acetone. Mix your paint with 30% mineral spirits. This thins it, which makes it lay down smooth. I applied the paint with a fine 4" roller and I "knock down" the paint with a 4", quality paint brush. I did 4 coats and it came out fantastic. I was so happy with this painting process, I painted my Toyota Van with the same technique. This process has saved me hundreds of dollars in painting costs. Another benefit is if you get a ding/scratch it's an easy fix.

Nice looking Dorsett Rambler1 and I see you are also in B'ham.

There are a number of YouTube videos showing Rustoleum paint jobs with impressive results. I used it in the interior of the McChesney and was pleased with how well it leveled out.I may try it on the hull.

Melanie

crosbyboat wrote:

Frank tried Rustoleum on the Power Cat and it was the pits. Brightsides people, Brightsides.

Petit Easypoxy people Petit Easypoxy...

crosbyboat wrote:

Frank tried Rustoleum on the Power Cat and it was the pits. Brightsides people, Brightsides.

It was only "the pits" because I didn't sand between coats. I didn't know you were supposed to. What WAS the pits was then changing paint systems. I've had problems ever since. Brightsides is incompatible with, like, EVERYTHING!

Good luck.

Frank

LOL.....my experience is EasyPoxy....EasyRuns.....and long time to dry. I suppose this is why we have Ford, Chevy, Olds, Chrysler, Cadillac....oh yeah...Honda, Nissan, Subaru... We like what we like and it's all good. I think we all agree, prep is everything.

Personally, I've never been a fan of Brightsides or EasyPoxy- I have worked with both in the past. Keep in mind, though, it's been 6-7 years, so they might have changed the formula. Back when I was working for west marine, we used to sell a lot of both, and I got all the same complaints about it.

My biggest problem with it was that even when fully cured, it's on the soft side.

When I did my Glasspar, I used Supermarine Revolution on my Glasspar- www.supermarinepaint.com/topside-revolution-SM-1000.asp

Kind of took a leap of faith in trying it, but REALLY liked it. It is one of the few single-parts that the manufacturer will recommend for use below the water line. You can see most of it here-

www.agott.com/glasspar/rest7.html

The interior of the hull is Rustolem...

It went on well, I sprayed it, but my equipment is pretty bad, so next time I think I'll brush... I wet sanded and buffed it, and it turned out GREAT. The finish looks like gelcoat- A deep, almost dimensional shine... Hard to describe, but it looks nice. It's hard enough to cut & buff, but soft enough to flex.

Ok my 2 cents on Rusoleum.

I have been reviving/restoring boats for years now and I have lost count...maybe 30-40 in the last 5 yrs(I call it my kids hockey fund...I find dead boats in the spring and restore and sell to help pay the huge fees for ice hockey for my two boys which is due in Sept.) Sad to say I have actually had the pleasure to actually use very few of them.

I have both used expensive 2 part epoxy paint and off the shelf Rustoleum from the box store at 1/4th the price. After all this practice and having seen some of my boats after time, I can honestly tell you that with the proper preparation and application, there is not much difference in result initially nor over time.

With any glass boat paint job the first and foremost important part is preparation. But this is about paint. I am a firm believer(and have researched) that over time, Rustoleum with continue to harden more and more for months and equal that of epoxy paints with hardener.

The key to getting it to look as good is both prep as mentioned(it has to be both smooth and sanded appropriately to be able to have enough roughness to allow the paint to grip and hold) and of course the application. I have sprayed cars and a couple of boats but without the equipment myself, I have figured out that a very comparable covering can be obtained without it by the tip/roll method. But only if you do the following:

1) Tools: On fiberlass you will need to use a good 6" closed foam roller. Work along about two or three feet square at a time. Then to tip you cant skimp here and get a good flat badger-hair or other quality brush to drag along removing bubbles and aiding in the laying down of the paint.

2)Paint prep. You need to thin the paint so that it not too thin that it runs on the verticle surface nor not too thick that it will show the brush marks. What I do is to use an old pain of glass. I mix a portion of the paint into a bucket and add thinner. I test it by painting it with the brush on a spare piece of glass on the verticle until I get it to just about start to run down the glass. That will be perfect on your fiberglass because it has been sanded and have more grip.

I learned this from something online and if you look it up will find a much better explanation I am sure.

The moral of the story...If your funds are not an issue go for the expensive paints but otherwise my vote is for Rustoleum(especially now that that I find that box store can even mix/match colors you want.)

Here is a little Whaler I did with Rustoleum(Boat inside and out and trailer). Merc 300 was done with Dupli Color Wimbledon White(old ford Mustang color said to be closest to the white mercs)
The boat when I found it was sitting behind a double-wide in a park being used as a utility trailer and was a bucket utility trailer, and the Merc 300 was in a barn for years and years and shortly after this picture I hauled it up to Canada for a vacation with my brothers family and blew the the head but replaced the head and sold the package unfortunately for the afformentioned hockey fund.

I for one have used it with great results. My first boat was a 12 foot aluminum Century riveted boat of early 60's vintage. After tightening the rivets by hand a few hours and came to see I only 67,894 of them left to do, I flipped it over and painted it with old cheap rustoleum. I looked great if you didn't notice the 4, 671 small dents in the boat. It never leaked again. You know you can get in trouble here for thinking out of the box, I don't speak up much anymore.

i had 3 coats of petit easypoxy applied then baked in an oven so to say. i can tell you its hard and shines like the day it was done. when not in the water it is always covered, and seldom left in the water overnight. ron

If I had known what I was doing, the Rustoleum would have been much better, as you can wet sand it and get a gloss after brushing. Brightsides, not so. As soon as you sand Brightsides, no more shine. Of course, it's always easy to be a Monday morning quarterback, but if I had it to do over again...

Frank

I've been using Rustoleum on boats for a while. Just recently I have discovered that that Valspar makes an Acrylic Enamal Hardener that works great in Rustoleum. My formula is 1/2 cup Acetone, 1/4 cup Hardener 1 Quart Rustoleum. I shoot it with a HVLP gun with a 2.0 mm tip. It goes on like a dream, dries in 4 hours and shines like the sun. Two coats and you're good to go. TIP: Want colors you can mix your own using Artist Acrylic Oil Paint. Any color in the Rainbow. Takes a little practice to get the tint you want but you can do it.

Thanks for the tip Flamingo. I assume that that mix ratio will also work if you are using the roll/tip method(for those of us without a sprayer? Can you pick up the Valspar hardner at any of the box stores?

I asked the goofballs at Home Depot about tinting the "new to them" Rustoleum marine paint but they said they could not. I had just about settled on one of the 3 available colors they have stocked...Sand Beige which looks like it would be a decent match also for the 58 Johnson "baby javelin" as well. Thing is that the Rusoleum recommends priming with their Marine Primer... which of course Home Disappointment didn't have.

So it goes////


Thanks,
Tim

Tractor Supply Stores Carry the Valspar Hardener. They sell Valspar paint and they use it for painting Tractors.

www.tractorsupply.com/agriculture-farming-ranching/tractor-tune-up-repair/tractor-paint-safety-emblems-decals/tractor-paint/valspar-enamel-hardner-8-fl-oz--3449669

Just came in from putting the second coat of primer on... I went ahead and used the rustoleum primer and will use the rustoleum paint for the topcoat.

The first coat of paint I did the roll and tip method and hated it. It was 72f and 50% humidity (absolutly pefect out) and the paint tacked almost instantly, didnt lay down like its supposed to. I let that dry for a couple days and then this morning sanded it down with some 180 grit. I grabbed my HF HVLP gun and threw some tarps up in the garage and shot it. I went with about a 15% mineral spirit mix and it went on really nice. I'm planning to let it sit for 24hrs before I start laying down paint.

I'll post some pics up in my restore thread... I really should have done some more prep work but, this free boat was taking too many hrs and too much money in sand paper. I decided I would rather have a 20' paint job (looks great from 20') and use the boat, than a perfect looking boat that I never use.

Did you use the Hardener?

Here's my hull with hardener added.

I didnt use any in the primer, will in the topcoats.

Oh, my mistake. OK. Yeah I use 1 1/2 cups of acetone per quart of paint when I shoot Rustoleum. My first post said 1/2 cup, that was a typo. It flashes faster and helps keep the paint from developing runs.

Excellent thread here guys. I'm learning alot. Thanks

Bob

sprayed the paint for the stripes today... used the same 15% mineral spirit mix (which works out to about 1 cup per quart). A few hours later and it looks nice. Hope to spray the red on Tuesday, Ill post a pic when done.

On the topic of primers, I have used a 2 part epoxy primer made for swimming pools (they are fiberglass as well) called Gunzite. At $69/gallon, you get a great value. It is very thick and I have to thin it to even brush it. It really is high build, and can fill in hairline cracks easily. Here's where to buy it:
www.doheny.com/poolsupplies/Gunzite-Primer.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=gunzite_primer&gclid=CO_E44uQoKkCFUiA5QodUxAlvg

The site for technical information on the product is here:

www.kelleytech.com/olympic/olympic-which-coating.asp

Painted my Tee Nee trailer with Rustolium "Sunburst Yellow " came out real nice and a perfect shine. Melanie (Oceans 2 ) can chime in with the specific's she did a great job of spraying the paint. I had the trailer sandblasted and I brush painted a coat of the rustoliun white metal primer on all the parts and pieces. Then sanded everything and sprayed the paint . Did not use a hardener but thinned with Mineral spirits. Trailer almost looks like it was dipped in paint -real thick and a great shine. I really like the fact they have Rattle cans available in the same color for the small pieces and touch up. I'm very happy and especially for $11.00 a quart. Nice job Melanie and Thanks for all the help ! I will post the pictures of the shine on the fenders next time I'm at the shop, these pictures are when it was still wet and is not completely laid down yet.

Rustoleum Now mixs paint at Menards maybe others .If you can find a Good person there they will take it where you want it ..Heres a Couple Rustoeum jobs ..Yes Sprayed on .Ive found xytol (( Xelene )) With Valspar Hardner works best .Mineral Spirits is the worst Tends to dull it for me and is slow .Acetone works ok but can be nasty and aggresive and react with your primer or under coat .Heres my 87 Ford Dually ..





4 years later still looks nice but could use a Buff and wax but Im meen to my work trucks ..

1962 Carlson Challenger Painted in 1996 with Rustoeum Blended the color myself .Wet sanded once and 2 buff jobs since then .This pic is from 2010



On the side is a Grapfic . Its NOT the paint coming off Again in 2010 .



And dont tell no one I did this Ok ?? L.O.L..My 1979 Camaro . Painted 2004 Pics in 2011 .I use to do this for a living . If the Guys found out I painted my Camaro with Rustoeum Ild never here the end of it ..







So ya I think its ok ..Does it hold up ..?? Well 15 years on the Challenger and 7 and counting on the Camaro Not so bad for a $50 paint job .The best most Glossy paint I ever used ..?? No .. I dont think there is a Difference between thier marine and Regular ..Just a name ..And the BIGGEST THING TO REMEMBER ..YOU SPARYING PAINT WITH HARDNER AND NOT A GOOD QUALITY 3M RESPERATOR ON USED THE RIGHT WAY ...EQUALS YOU DEAD OR WISHING YOU WERE ..ANY HARDNER ..DEAD ..Includes Rolling or Brushing ..Read up on Isocrynates ..PLEASE ...Dont want my people messed up ..

One night I watched a bunch of YouTube vids on guys roller painting the cars and trucks for under $50.00 with Rustoleum in there driveways and garages. I was amazed how well they turned out.

OK Rick, forget my last mail, I see the trailer pics, Turned out great, makes me rethink about the Imron. I wonder if I can squirt Rustoleum over the Imron? I could buy 5 qts of rust for the price of 1 qt of Imron.
Anyone ever tried laquer thinner as a medium vs spirits or xylene?
Cal

I'm not the paint expert but the way it was explained to me is - The slower it kicks the more time it has for the gloss to come to the surface and the paint to lay out flat. Seemed to work good with the mineral spirits. I was lucky to have an inside (Fairly) bug free environment.

Picked up a qt of Rustoleum at Menards and read the instructions...ya I know... says to put on one thin coat, let dry for a day and do the second coat and let that dry etc otherwise it dosen't dry sufficient to get the hard surface. If I use mineral spirits for a medium that will slow the drying like Rick said and should not eat the Imron base. I can also use the Imron activator as a thinner and really get a hard glossy surface. Either way it will be one rock solid hull. Time to do some "sperimenton" on some scrap.

63 Sabre wrote:

Picked up a qt of Rustoleum at Menards and read the instructions...ya I know... says to put on one thin coat, let dry for a day and do the second coat and let that dry etc otherwise it dosen't dry sufficient to get the hard surface. If I use mineral spirits for a medium that will slow the drying like Rick said and should not eat the Imron base. I can also use the Imron activator as a thinner and really get a hard glossy surface. Either way it will be one rock solid hull. Time to do some "sperimenton" on some scrap.

Rustoleum needs to dry sufficiently before you put on another coat, otherwise, like you said, it takes FOREVER to fully dry(weeks, months, sometimes seems like never if you went to heavy!).

I've never used it on decks or hulls, but I use it quite a bit on floors, seat bases, etc. I have found that thinning the glossy stuff 50/50 with acetone significantly speeds dry time and produces a much more durable end product. I've tried mineral spirits and paint thinner but still prefer the acetone because it dries quicker and works just as well. With that much acetone, it turns out to be a matte, maybe borderline semi-gloss finish(which is perfect for interiors IMO). I normally use a small, foam roller and in warm weather, let it dry about 8-12 hours between coats. To get good coverage, it usually takes at least 4-5 coats with it thinned that much but like I said before, it is considerably more durable than just slapping the stuff on thick and fully dries much faster. It is totally self leveling with it that thin.

You can use this method on the top deck and color sand\buff as needed to bring back the gloss.

If you're going to be spraying it, I'd look for that Valspar hardener and thin it only enough to make it sprayable. That will give you the hard, glossy surface that you're after and will dry quick between coats. I'd lightly sand between coats. Maybe spray in the morning, sand in the evening and one more coat before you call it a day... repeat as necessary.

As too the original question, YES, Rusto BOAT paint is fine. I painted one of my boats bottom with bottom coat, ablative, and just as good, or better, as any other I have every used.

bobo wrote:

..And the BIGGEST THING TO REMEMBER ..YOU SPARYING PAINT WITH HARDNER AND NOT A GOOD QUALITY 3M RESPERATOR ON USED THE RIGHT WAY ...EQUALS YOU DEAD OR WISHING YOU WERE ..ANY HARDNER ..DEAD ..Includes Rolling or Brushing ..Read up on Isocrynates ..PLEASE ...Dont want my people messed up ..

This statement is well worth remembering. I also painted cars and such. Enough of it, that I wore the Tyvek suit and head gear to protect me from the effects of Isocyanates. Bad stuff over time, but may effect some the first time they use it. Read this if you want more info.

www.osha.gov/SLTC/isocyanates/index.html

Well this was a good thread.
And the general opinion is right.
Hardeners & Prep.

Enamels are great but I have completely moved to polyurethanes in my shop. But there again, "Opinion"

Here's a 12 dollar Rustoleum roll and tip job i did last year on a canoe thinned with acetone .

the canoe was bent in half from rain ( before )








first coat of rustoleum



wet sanding from 800 grit to 1500 grit to compound an buff and wax

Are you who are using the Rustoleum using only the "Topside" for the whole boat?

Is this what they call there "Apple Red" color. I plan to paint my trailer with Rustolium Apple Red

I don't use the Topside at all. I only use the Basic Rustoleum Professional Oil Based Enamel AND I use the Acrylic Enamel Hardener.

That sure is a nice red color. I might have to change my thoughts about blue.