Dumb question about paint. What kind?

[44minimum]

I'm nearly finished with my first ever boat build. It's a little 8 foot plywood job. I did not use marine plywood so I am coating the entire thing With Thompson's Water Seal and probably three layers of paint. What kind of paint would be appropriate? I don't think there are any Marine stores around here

[gonzo]

If you coat it with Thompson's water seal, no paint will adhere. It has wax and silicone. If you haven't yet coated it, any exterior alkyd enamel will do.

[44minimum]

uhoh. We have already coated the outside of the boat with water seal but not the inside. Now I wish we had done it the other way around. Now all I have is more questions.

1 there are lots of screw heads on the outside of the boat. I think we used gorilla glue in all of the holes but it's possible we missed a few and I was counting on some paint to seal up holes or cracks that we missed. I don't suppose water seal would do that?

Two. Any options besides doing a lot of sanding and then painting?

If anyone has any other ideas I would be overjoyed to hear them.

[masalai]

Have lots of fun on the water but keep it dry and under ventilated cover when not being used... remove the screws, if not make sure NO water gets on them... give the boat away, (advising of faults and have that documented on the receipt on the basis of 'as is where is'), after you have learnt what to do next time...

[gonzo]

Thompson's water sealer is like water and made to penetrate deep into the wood. You may try to coat it, but it will probably end up flaking off.

[lumberjack_jeff]

With an 8' dinghy made out of exterior fir ply coated with thompsons, I'd use latex porch and floor paint.

Easier and cheaper than polyurethanes or enamels, and I doubt that either of those would adhere any better.

Wait until spring if you can to give the thompsons some time to soak in/wash off/dissipate.

Have fun with it, wring as much education out of it as you can and build another in a couple of years with marine ply, epoxy, polyurethane paint and no exposed screws.

http://forum.woodenboat.com/archive/...hp/t-3737.html

[Petros]

Just use it as is, store it out of the weather, and have a good time with it. Not enough water will seep in through the screws to matter, just bring some sponges. You will want to build a bigger/better one anyway after you get to use it some.

It might be possible to use detergent, paint thinner and scotch-brite pads on it to get as much off, and just coat it with latex paint. I am not aware of any paint that is compatible with Thomsons, but you might try an oil based paint. Ask at a good paint store what they would suggest for painting over Thomsons. All paint is a preservative, some last longer than others, but on an inexpensive boat like you have no reason to spend a lot of money on paint.

Good luck.

[gonzo]

Don't worry too much about. Enjoy your boat!

[PAR]

No paint will stick to Thompson's. This product has no business on a boat, but it's too late for that now. You can get some color with a stain, but it will not protect anything.

If you want to paint it, you can strip the Thompson's off with chemicals and heat, then sand the surface, basically starting over in regard to the sealing and finishing.

Just use the boat and in a few years, when the Thompson's wears off a bit, you can sand it back and consider using more appropriate coatings.

[44minimum]

Thanks for the input. On the thompsons website it says to wait 30 days and then you can use an oil based paint. I emailed them and their response was to wait seven days then use an oil based paint. I think I will just wait awhile, paint it and hope for the best. If it flakes off, no big deal. It has been a learning experience

[gonzo]

That's the spirit!