Yacht paint application in China

Hi all, first post on boatdesign so hopefully i'll finally get some answers from the people in the know.

I'm finding it hard to establish who actually does the paint application on boats that are manufactured in China. Is it the OEM's, dedicated boatyards for professional application or is it as simple as the majority of boatowners do it themselves?

If anyone knows any names i could contact for such queries as what products they use etc.. that would be great Ta

 

New boats generally aren't painted, so can you refine your needs and/or questions a bit?

 

No probs, after the boats are bought by the customer they must at some point be painted in order to protect the boat from fouling, UV degradation and/or corrosion. I suppose it would depend on the customer whether they would actually want to do this and probably be determined by the size of the boat etc....

I'd like to hopefully establish what products the boatyards in China use to protect their boats but firstly, as i am a little inexperienced, i'd like to gain a bit of knowledge about who actually does the application in the Chinese market and get a few contact details so i could ask them a few questions. The internet resouce on this subject is a bit limited you see.

Thanks for the interest. Cheers

 

If a boat is kept on a mooring or berthed, then yes, it has bottom paint and this is the concern of the owner. Other then bottom paint, The other surfaces on a new production yacht will be gel coat, varnish or polyurethane or have a veneer of some sort, which could be fabric, vinyl, wood, PVC, etc.

Your best bet would be to take a few factory tours, see how they are built and then tour marinas to see what products they typically employ.

 

Good idea about the Marinas I should go there and look that up. However, isn't that assuming the market is geared towards a retail market where the owner paints his own boat. The bigger yachts must have some sort of professional spray applicators they take it to? Please bear in mind that I know roughly what goes on in the european and US markets but China is a new egg for me with very little information on the web. Ta

 

As PAR said, most fiberglass boats have a gelcoat finish. Anti-fouling paint is typically applied at delivery / commissioning as this type paint is often location specific and / or is an owner / captain driven decision.

Typically only the larger fiberglass boats are painted and those are typically made at the larger facilities. As I understand it the larget manufactiurers are very vertically integrated and most probably apply paint in house with their own staff.

Interlux / Awlgrip / AkzoNobel is the largest paint manufacturer and they have offices in China and I believe a plant too.

They have at least 4 offices in Shanghai:


International Paint of Shanghai Company Ltd
No.58,New Jinqiao Road
201206 Shanghai
China
T +86 21 6163 1550
E-mail Route


International Paint of Shanghai Ltd
Unit 1709, B tower Wanli Plaza, Wuchang district
430063 Wuhan
China
T +86 27 8661 6676

International Paint of Shanghai Ltd
Xin Jin Qiao Road 1515
201206 Pudong
China
T +86 21 3857 0450

International Paint of Shanghai Ltd
Rm 2120, Aboluo building, 132 Wuyi zhong Road
350003 Fuzhou
China

These might be dealers, but they are local for you and might help with your questions.

For metal boats for instance, Cheoy Lee on the Pearl River in Doumen is one of the largest and oldest builders in China. They are very vertically integrated and do everything possible with their own staff in house.


Steve

 

Thanks keysdisease and PAR, i think i have a few good starting points of contact. The boatbuilders themselves and the marinas. Great Cheers

 

It may be worthwhile to subscribe to Professional Boatbuilder magazine. They have written many stories about various manufacturers in China.

www.proboat.com

below is from just one issue, number 103.


103 112 The China Trade Walsh, Barbara A Walk-Through at Cheoy Lee: Part 7 A venerable Hong Kong boatbuilder recently moved to a spacious new yard--on the mainland.

103 122 The China Trade Walsh, Barbara False Start: Part 8 Boatbuilder Peter Van Lancker recounts a relatively early, failed American-Chinese joint venture in composite-yacht construction.

They have an excellent search and index feature and digital back issues online.

Steve