refinish fiberglass canoe- what paint?

 

From what I understand, gel coat isn't easy to work with, and even more difficult is applying gel coat over epoxy repairs. Instead, it was recommended to me to use Interlux Perfection paints on top of the epoxy putty repairs, specifically Interlux Perfection.

 

I see this paint is not designed for long periods of sitting in water, which I guess would be ok for a canoe? I'll have the canoe in water 20-30 days a year, primarily in the summer months (however, some of the streams I float are spring fed and the water temp can temporarily get below 60 degrees). I expect to have the canoe in rivers about 10 of those days a year, and it will strike a rock occasionally.

 

What does interlux suggest for refinishing my canoe? Thanks!

 

Jeff

Ultimately there are a few ways which you could go. You mentioned that the canoe will be in the water 20 to 30 days a year, does this mean that the canoe will be in the water continuoulsy for 20 to 30 days or would this be 20 to 30 separate day trips? The reason I ask would be that  Perfection is the hardest and most durable topside finish which you could apply to your canoe and still have a great looking finish. However the maximum immersion time of Perfection would be 24 hours at any given point. So if you were to do 20 to 30 individual day trips then Perfection would be your golden ticket, although if the canoe were to stay in the water for more then 24 hours, then I would recommend not using Perfection and going with a product such as VC Performance Epoxy instead. VC Performance Epoxy is a biocide free, copper free non antifouling bottom paint which is the hardest bottom paint we have. This product would be ideal for the bottom as it would be the best wearing, however it does not have any UV filter's therefore it could chalk out and possibly yellow a bit if it were to be used on the topsides of the canoe. Both products can be used in waters below 60 degrees.

 

All in all, if the canoe were to spend no more then 24 hours in the water at any given point then I would recommend Perfection for the entire surface. If the canoe were to spend more then 24 hours at times, then I would recommend VC Performance Epoxy for the bottom and Perfection for above the waterline. This system will be a bit more work, but would be the hardest system available. I have provided links for both Perfection and VC Performance Epoxy for your reference:

Perfection - http://www.yachtpaint.com/MPYACMDatasheets/Epoxy_Primekote+eng-usa+A4+Y+20100521.pdf

VC Performance Epoxy - http://www.yachtpaint.com/MPYACMDatasheets/VC_Performance_Epoxy+eng-usa+A4+Y+20100608.pdf

 

Hope this helps!