Protective Paint(s) for Inflatable Boats (RIBs, etc)

[brian eiland]

I've been away from the industry for some time now. Just recently I have good friend who purchased a used RIB, that appears to have some sort of painted coating applied to portions of the inflatable tubes.

What sort of coatings have been developed over the past 10 years for 'preserving' these inflatables, particularly in tropic sun conditions??

 

[brian eiland]

So no one has attempted to paint their inflatable ??

 

[BlueBell]

Hypalon is the preferred inflatable material.
It should not be painted, nor does it need to be.

 

[valvebounce]

I have a hypalon inflatable,and although I went over it with dish liquid soap,I couldn't find any leaks,and the boat was taking a day or two to go down.
I found out that hypalon eventually goes porus,and eventually leaks air through the material.
I cured it by letting the air out,and adding a 3-1 mix of waterproof PVA liquid,re inflating the boat,then turning the boat over and over a few times.
Blowing the boat back up to full pressure,and leaving it overnight.The PVA works like the emergency tyre repair can,and fills up the porosity.
It worked great.

 

[brian eiland]

I heard a positive report about painting an inflatable boat with Flexseal,...I think they are talking about the flexible rubber coating by those Gorilla glue guys.
has anyone tried this?

 

[BGW]

Practical Sailor did a test of a variety of inflatable paints. I'm sure you can find it online.

As for hypalon becoming porous after a number of years? I've owned several Avon inflatables 30-40 years old. I don't think its that hypalon breaks down and becomes porous, but that modern hypalon inflatables are not made of the same quality or weight of fabric and they just wear through from scrapes, sand abrasion and repeated folding.

 

[brian eiland]

In this case i am not concerned with repeated folding,...it is on a very nice AB hard bottom inflatable owned by a friend of mine.

 

[BGW]

The first paragraph was for you Brian. The rest was in answer to ValveBounce.

 

[brian eiland]

I found this report from Practical Sailor,..
A Peek at Inflatable-dinghy Paint Test Panels After One Year - Practical Sailor https://www.practical-sailor.com/boat-maintenance/paints/a-peek-at-inflatable-dinghy-paint-test-panels-after-one-year/

 

[brian eiland]

I found this Practical Sailor report,..
A Peek at Inflatable-dinghy Paint Test Panels After One Year - Practical Sailor https://www.practical-sailor.com/boat-maintenance/paints/a-peek-at-inflatable-dinghy-paint-test-panels-after-one-year/

 

[portacruise]

Saw this on another forum, but have never used it myself,

Inflatable Boat & Product Sealer https://www.allboatproducts.com/inflatable-boat-product-sealer.html

 

[gonzo]

Decades ago there was a black paint for the rubber inflatables. It helped seal the random leaks that eventually appear.