# Boat paint vs auto paint



## BlueBanana34 (Mar 23, 2012)

I'm sure this topic has been posted here before but what are the pros and cons of using auto paint vs boat paint for an older boat that's only worth about $10K?


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## Hudsonian (Apr 3, 2008)

I've seen Earl Scheib paint jobs work on dry sailed boats - including one painted candy apple green. A guy I knew had a truck painter shoot his boat with Imron. I doubt that it was a cheap job but it very very durable.


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## RichH (Jul 10, 2000)

Automotive paint will 'lift' in a marine environment .... like at near the waterline which constantly 'dips' or is 'washed' by the water/waves. An upside will be when you're tired of the automotive paint, just wet it and then throw a plastic tarp over it for several weeks ... to help it 'lift' off the surface. 

Hell, most marine topside paints will 'lift' under the same conditions but to a slightly lesser degree.


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## Skipper Dan (Mar 31, 2017)

I did auto body painting for 14 years. Auto paint is harder not flexible. Thin paint where boat paint is thicker and not so hard (Brittle). Look up "Stewart Systems" This is an aircraft paint that I know will last underwater. very flexible water based. I used to paint tube and fabric aircraft with it. They did a test with it and had it immersed in water for over two years.


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## gonecrusin (Aug 23, 2016)

Why fool around with a non marine paint? All the time and money is in the prep, apply the best paint available for the job. Get a good two part paint made for the marine environment. Personally I like Awlcraft 2000 for deck and topsides and Awlgrip for the rig. Awlcraft 2000 can be repaired, buffed, sanded, polished, spotted in, repainted... which is a good thing if you are like me and tend to bump into things.


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## Morild (Mar 31, 2013)

My boat-neighbours boat was painted with auto-paint more than 20 years ago.
Often it is in the water during winter.
It still looks fantastic and I saw this spring, that it is much easier for them to vax and polish and bring back that ultra-shine.
For me with 30 year old gelcoat it is a different story :-/


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

I too would stick with marine paint. Penny wise, but pound foolish to save these few bucks overall. 

That said, I wonder what they painted fiberglass Corvettes with.


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## Skipper Jer (Aug 26, 2008)

The difference in price can't be that great. I just paid around $136 for a quart of Chromacast K with reducer to paint a portion of a car. Add in another $60 or so for clear coat and you are around $200 a quart. Marine paint? As others have said the cost is in the prep. However I have taken the boom to the auto paint store for a pint of touch up paint. They matched it perfectly.


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## mbetter (Jun 13, 2010)

Dupont Imron is auto paint that makes fantastic marine topsides paint.


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## miatapaul (Dec 15, 2006)

Imron will work, but I think it is going to be way more expensive than marine paint, if it is still available(not sure if it is as durable as it used to be with the newish epa rules). The new automotive paints are really expensive, and of course has to be sprayed on. For a $10,000 boat I would just get a marine paint that can be rolled and tipped on. Tenting a boat is going to be more hassle that it is worth, unless you have access to a booth for semi trucks.


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## Tanski (May 28, 2015)

I did mine with Brightside this spring, can't believe the compliments I've gotten on it.
To be honest the painting was the easy part, I really paid a lot of attention to the prep work - priming, sanding, filling..
Only problem now is it turned out so well I HAVE to do the decks!
For a "cheap" paint job I'm impressed. But 90% of a paint job IS in the prep work, that took me a couple of weeks, the actual painting was 3 half days.


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

A friend of mine bought a beautiful metallic green boat that had been professionally repainted by the owner's BMW dealership body shop. Except, that was automotive paint.

One weekend we were tied up with big white vinyl fenders out against the seawall, and in the morning? Ahuh, some of the auto paint had worn through, leaving white patches where the fenders had been.

Maybe the dealer's paint shop didn't know their job. But I've never heard of that happening overnight, with a proper marine hull paint.

If you wind up DIYing it including the deck, and decide to mask instead of removing everything? Look for 3M's *silver* masking tape, not just the blue stuff. The silver tape is damned expensive, but if you can only work on weekends, and get two of them rainy in a row, and the tape winds up being outdoors for a month? The silver stuff will peel off cleanly, instead of baking on. Worth every penny if you don't have to pick at hardened tape.


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## Cap-Couillon (Jan 2, 2013)

My cheap go-to paint is "Interthane 990" by International Paints... 2 part polyurethane, airless or roll and tip. $60 a gal kit vs $60 a qt for Interlux Perfection. Look for indistrial supply house that carries International coatings. Used primarily for bridges, watertowers, commercial vessel topsides. Harder than the hinges of hell and decent finish. Have used on 3 different vessels with no issues. Use std flattening paste to knock down sheen on decks and works well with most non skid additives.


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