Paint | SouthernPaddler.com

Paint

PeteStaehling

Well-Known Member
Aug 23, 2020
146
2
72
Tallahassee Florida
Okay more dumb questions...

Obviously lots of choices are possible and the best one is based on a lot of factors. Boats I have built have had different requirements and a few different finishes. I am thinking about what I might do on my pirogue.

My first though was a natural wood finish with a good marine varnish (epifanes?), but the boat is likely to live outside. I did a sea kayak in epifanes and it held up well in Maryland, but I doubt it would do as well in the Florida sun where I live now. Also it occurred to me that fishing, birdwatching, and hunting would be uses that might not suit that finish well.

I also considered a beautiful yacht like finish, but again considered that the pirogue would likely be used for stuff where a dull finish or even camo would make more sense.

In the past I have either spent on really nice varnish or gone cheap by buying house paint that was mixed wrong, returned, or not picked up for some other reason. I have been able to buy high end house paint for next to nothing. They typically will mix a color to my order, but it won't be an exact color on their chart (since it was already a color) so I can't go buy more that will match exactly. I think I have paid as little as $1 a gallon and had it hold up well for years of use as a tender and on the dinghy rack at the marina for a lot of years.

I know that the paint is probably designed to be put on bare wood rather than glassed wood. That said the boats I used latex on were not sheathed in glass, but they did have taped seams and the paint on the seams held up fine.

I have never tried to do camo with this latex paint. I typically rolled it or brushed it, but people do spray houses so I am guessing it could be sprayed on using camo stencils. Does anyone have experience with that? I do have the tools to spray paint.

Are there reasons why latex paint is a bad idea?

The camo kits seem to use Rust Oleum rattle cans. Does Rust Oleum hold up long term in the sun and to wear and tear? What kind of paint would you use to paint the whole boat with if spraying the camo patterns with Rust Oleum.
 

oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
10,479
123
Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
I experimented on one boat with epoxy that I mixed a green pigment in. It turned out pretty good and I had a dark Green boat. Have to be careful to mix the same amount of epoxy and the pigment the same each time.
As far as painting a boat camo color , did that about 60 years ago. It was a 12 foot aluminum car topper and I used a can of camo ( Duck Boat ) paint from Herter's World Wide Outfitters..... Today they are a part of Bass Pro.
One of the best camo jobs I have seen was done with a drab olive green back ground. Then a palmetto frond was used to block the **** spray so a silhouette of the palmetto frond was distinguishable on the sides of the boat. Could use cattails or any other vegetation.
**** There were several earth tones sprayed to create a depth of field.
 

PeteStaehling

Well-Known Member
Aug 23, 2020
146
2
72
Tallahassee Florida
I experimented on one boat with epoxy that I mixed a green pigment in. It turned out pretty good and I had a dark Green boat. Have to be careful to mix the same amount of epoxy and the pigment the same each time.
As far as painting a boat camo color , did that about 60 years ago. It was a 12 foot aluminum car topper and I used a can of camo ( Duck Boat ) paint from Herter's World Wide Outfitters..... Today they are a part of Bass Pro.
One of the best camo jobs I have seen was done with a drab olive green back ground. Then a palmetto frond was used to block the **** spray so a silhouette of the palmetto frond was distinguishable on the sides of the boat. Could use cattails or any other vegetation.
**** There were several earth tones sprayed to create a depth of field.
Bass Pro has a store a couple miles from my house and they list:
  • Hunter's Specialties® H.S. Camo® Permanent Camo Paint adds a non-reflecting, weather-resistant finish to duck blinds, boats, outboard motors, and treestands. 32 oz. quart can for $24.99 in olive drab or marsh grass
  • Parker Coatings Duck-Boat Paint makes it easy to disguise your boat or blind for maximum concealment. Dull-finish marine paint minimizes glare and is perfect for duck-hunting boats, blinds, hunting shacks or boat docks. 1-qt. can for $19.99 in 4 colors and a primer
  • Parker Coatings' Single Camouflage Spray Paint delivers a durable and lasting finish. Use it on skiffs, canoes, boats or any other kind of surface in need of a flat camouflage finish. This paint dries quickly and is exceptionally resistant to water, weather, scratches and abrasion. 12-oz. spray can for $7.99 in eight colors
It doesn't look like any of it is in stock at the local store, but it can probably be ordered to the store to avoid shipping costs. The price doesn't look bad for the base coat and then maybe a few rattle cans at $7.99 each if I decide to go full camo.

Anyone have first hand experience with either of these two products on plywood and epoxy? They look like they might be a good way for me to go.
 

oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
10,479
123
Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
All I can tell you is on that 12 foot car topper aluminum , it got some rougn treatment. In and out of the back of a El Cameno , up small streams , threw brush and draged over land. Got a lot of fish and ducks with it. Dad was still using it when I went in the service and got back , the paint was still on there , worn but still there.
Even the little Evinrude (3 HP ) Ducktwin was still on it and running.
 

PeteStaehling

Well-Known Member
Aug 23, 2020
146
2
72
Tallahassee Florida
Thanks.
It looks like both of the duck boat paints that Bass Pro sells got mostly good reviews. I am leaning that direction and may go with the cheaper of the two, but color selection might be a factor.
 

beekeeper

Well-Known Member
Mar 4, 2009
1,917
59
Another camo. option:
 

jdupre'

Well-Known Member
Sep 9, 2007
2,327
40
South Louisiana
YEARS ago, I worked at an Ace hardware and went to their "Paint College". Learned that most any paint is about 5 times more weather resistant than most any varnish. Latex paint is more effective than oil based paint on objects that move, that is, expand and contract.......houses, boats, etc. The latex expands a bit and doesn't tend to crack and let the elements in. The important thing is to clean the surface well and maybe scuff it up a bit. The old saying around the store was " It's better to put a $5.00 paint on a $50.00 surface than a $50.00 paint on a $5.00 surface."
 
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PeteStaehling

Well-Known Member
Aug 23, 2020
146
2
72
Tallahassee Florida
I was tempted to go with latex house paint, but finally decided on Hunters Specialties Paint in olive drab. I got a quart can for $18.49 with free shipping and should have it by the 24th. I figure it should be enough to paint the boat and a paddle or two. I figure that I might paint a single and a double blade paddle or at least the blades.
 

PeteStaehling

Well-Known Member
Aug 23, 2020
146
2
72
Tallahassee Florida
I think it will be okay. I am just going with olive drab at this point not full camo. I may go full camo later though and if I do I will set a waypoint on my gps so I can find it :)
 

BEARS BUDDY

Well-Known Member
Aug 27, 2003
1,492
6
76
BAY CITY MI
"Also, whenever you catch a fish, paint a dot on the floor of the boat so you can find that good fishing spot when you go out again. That is, if you use the same boat." Been doing that for years, Jack.