Paint homebuilt dary with BIN?

Ok gang, I'm new here, but I have a question.

I'm about 2/3rds of the way through a 15' dory-pirogue-6 hour canoe. I've got a bet going on how cheaply this can be done, so I didn't buy plans. I did some sketching on the CAD at work and whipped her up. So far it's looking pretty good.

As a pauper or cheapskate or bettor, depending on how you look at it, I'm trying to build the little boat as cheaply as possible. I have less than $50 in materials so far, and I'm almost done. The boat has rabbeted rubrails, angled chines and a neatly angled skeg, all ripped from one 20' 2x6. ($12, $32 more for 2 sheets of ply, that's about it so far).

As I was wandering aimlessly about my horribly cluttered shop (my wife insists it's a garage - it's a sore subject and we don't like to talk about it)... Anyway, as I was wandering around the shop, I tripped over a nearly full can of BIN shellac left over from our last home improvement project.

BIN is a white pigmented shellac. It is utterly impervious to just about everything. I bought it a few years ago to paint over some water damage in some drywall, and it did a great job.

My question - has anyone ever painted a plywood boat with this stuff? Will it work? I'd sure love to hear from anyone who has tried this, or has experience with BIN, or shellac, or wives who insist on parking cars in the shop.

Thanks,

Casper

[PAR]

Shellac has no UV protection and will break down in the sun rather quickly. Run down to the local WalMart and pick up some porch/deck enamel and have at it. You'll need to prime the bare wood with something so use your head there as well.

If you short cut the primer/finish materials it will look bad pretty quick.

[JR-Shine]

Yep, Wal-Mart porch paint is what I used on my canoe. (Its covering the epoxy coat I put on everything). When I get a big scratch, I just slap some more paint on. Its around $7 a gallon.

[chandler]

Bin's primary use is to keep knots from bleeding on interior house trim. It's a great sealer on any end grain not exposed to sun or weather.

[pungolee]

I've been reading about some pretty top-flight builders(I won't mention any names)who are using top-grade exterior latex paint on their small craft.They don't advertise the fact though,but confidentially they swear by it.I've never had the nerve to try it,being a traditionalist oil-based paint kind of guy.But I will agree its hard to get a good oil-paint,all the hazardous stuff(good stuff)has been removed,except for high-end one-part and two part polyurethanes.I do think Interlux barrier coat is worth the money for a primer,even Wal- Mart paint will stick better.Take that shellac and sling it,that mess dont belong on a boat.I have purchased gallons of commercial grade paint from Hamilton Marine for under 30 dollars a gal,but you are limited on colors(white and grey).C'mon man,hock your wifes jewelry and get some real coatings!

[J Ralph]

Behr makes a fantastic primer(oil base)that they sell at home depot for about 20 bucks a gallon.It's called primer/sealer and is in a blue can.It sticks to almost anything unbelievabley well....especially for something from home depot!

[dansea]

I have built several small boats , DORIES for the most part are "working" type boats . I found I go to my local hardware store and find alittle known corner and find "mis-tints" by reading labels I usually can find ext. latex and even sometimes oil based paints for near nothing per gallon...they goofed mixing colors so they just need to get rid of it , after all you don't store your house inside do you? and you find some really interesting colors too.....Good luck--have fun / www.spirainternational.com

[harleyxxx]

I built an 18ft plywood skiff for crabbing in the chesapeake in 1988. I have used acrylic latex gloss and have had very good results.