Are one part polyurethane topside paints gas resistant

[sbklf]

I talked to Pettit about their Easypoxy and Interlux about their Brightside one part polyurethanes and did not get reassuring feed back. Does anyone know first hand how this stuff holds up to gas and oil spills?

[alan white]

I can only say that I painted my bilge (engine compartment) years ago, and before I sold the boat, the paint held up fine. It wasn't a high end poly either, but polyurethane-reinforced house deck paint (oil based).
I assume you avoid any spills anyway. Gasoline, left standing for long enough, might damage those paints, but I doubt any minor spill quickly cleaned up would have any more effect than mineral spirits.
Gas and oil are not aggressive solvents. I would never spend to paint an engine compartment with two-part because it just sits there in the dark not being trod upon, and minor scratches don't matter much anyway. It will scrub well too, since it's pretty hard.
A spritz bottle of soapy water can be at the ready for fill-up in case a spill occurs around a deck fill or other fill cap.

Alan

[the1much]

i've used the pettit alot,,has always been good,i used to do the decks of alot of lobster boats,,the stuff on them decks make gas and oil look clean,hah, and it holds up to alot more then i would have thought,,but like alan said,,,no matter what kind of paint it is,,gas or oil left standing will eventually eat through.

[charmc]

Interlux claims that Brightside has excellent chemical resistance. They won't make specific claims; probably because paint's effectiveness is as much a product of application as chemistry, and consumer applied paint will vary in quality of the job depending on who prepped the surface and applied the paint. It should do the job if you prep and apply it well.

Alan has a good point. The key is to clean up any spills quickly and well, and the paint should last for years.

[alan white]

a word on Petit 9and possibly Imterlux as well. These companies have very good single part poly products, but at $25-35 a quart, the paint is ridiculously overpriced. Still, I use it, but often I mix my own paints using Petit "Old Salem" rather than "Easypoxy". I firmly believe through experience that while Old Salem (at maybe 30% less than Easypoxy) only comes in a few colors, it is actually exactly the same paint. I've been told as much more than once by the vendor. What appears to be going on is clever marketing. The lack of color choice in a paint line that still costs $80 per gallon if bought by the quart is evidence of this. Even the $25 a gallon house paint from Home Depot is available in hundreds of colors. This is why I mix my own paints. A small amount of a dark Easypoxy mixed with white Old Salem costs marginally more than Old Salem alone. Old Salem semi-gloss and a bit of dark brown Easypoxy makes a nice semi gloss tan for the deck. A good palette of colors can be made using boot stripe paints sold by the pint.
My suggestion is to buy Old Salem or a similar "work boat" paint by the gallon and then tint it with smaller quantities of the right dark color or colors.
I would never, for example, buy a gallon of Easypoxy light blue.


Alan

[sbklf]

I appreciate the input. I ordered Easypoxy form Wholesale Marine today. Their price was the cheapest of all I researched. Found them on Ebay. One more question. Wholesale Marine does not carry the flattening additive but a local marine store here has Interlux flatner for their one part poly, can I use it with the Pettit?

[alan white]

Probably. You have to buy it or someone here has done the same to find out.
Even if you only read the label, you will get the jist of what its primary component is, and then if you call any store selling Petit flattener and ask, they should tell you what's in the Petit equivilant.

Alan