I was in Lowe's today and spotted some paint called "Severe Weather" by Valspar. On the can it says it's an exterior latex acrylic formula and sounds like it could be viable candidate for our boats. Does anyone know anything about this paint? I should be painting my hull by next weekend. From what I've been reading from Barry and others I'll start with a couple of coats of primer and then on with the paint. Is there a preference in primers by anyone? Barry had mentioned one by Ace Hardware and I believe he also recommended Kilz.
Hi Tom,
Funny you should mention the Valspar, "Severe Weather" paint. An acquaintence of mine has just finished repainting a lapstrait dingy with it. He built the dingy about 20 years ago and used a highly rated marine paint on it at some considerable expense and effort. He found that it needed repainting after only 3 years of hanging mostly off the back of his ketch on several long cruises. So he stripped it all off per the recomendations of a major boatyard here in the North Puget Sound area. Then he re-primed with their special epoxy primer and the same marine paint again with assurances that it should be good for at least 10 years if it didn't get damaged or dinged up. It didn't last any longer than the first time.
He is a pretty darned good painter of boats in his own right and figured he could do just as well as any other "expert" at using these products if he just used the mfg. recommended application recomendations.
So he did it again only this time he had the boatyards "expert" paint crew do the job for him at nearly three times the cost and only a month longer than it took him. Beautiful results, I must admit. I saw it and it loooked fantastic. Almost as good as he had done himself cuz, he is really picky.
Result is that it lasted almost 5 years this time. So I guess he got what he paid for in a way.
Now then, he has done this a number of times in this dingy's life and it still looks great but it needed repainting and he was giving it to his son to use. He built a new one for himself and I went to see it. Incredible workmanship, but it should be, he knows what he is doing and takes the time to do it right. But he used vinylester resin and glass this time, Kilz !! Primer, and Valspar "Severe Weather" paint. He fully expects to have to repaint it in about 3-5 years of "at sea" exposure with extended cruising. But at a fraction of the cost and effort. The Valspar people tell him that he can expect it to last a lot longer than that with normal cleaning and care.
It looks every bit as nice as any of the paint jobs with the "Boat" paint on his new dingy. The old one he used Ace Hardware Alkyd Esterior House Primer since it had been repainted so many times before. It looks like it is brand new with the Valspar "Severe Weather" paint on it. Both of them have a semi gloss finish on them with clear Rrustoleum oil based exteriorVarathane on the rails, seats and some trim. They look fantastic.
Is it going to last as well as the "Professional Boat Paint and Professional Application"? Time will tell, but he as critical as they come and he feels it is a far better trade off for self applied builders.
He has a number of other dingy's and small sail boats out there that have had exterior latex house paint on them for years and years. They have been easy to maintain, easy to make touch-up[ repairs to and they have rolled on, tipped out paint applications. He has used Ace Alkyd house primer for years as well as Kilz II primer since it came out. Speaks highly of it and its ease of applicaton, especially over epoxy and resins, its ability to hold tight and apply almost any finish over them and have it bond well and last.
The advantage to the Kilz II Primer in his mind and mine, as well as a lot of other people that do this for a living, is that you not only get a nice high build with it, it dries quickly allowing yo to get multiple coats on early in the day, sand it out, and apply several more to sit overnight before doing a final wet sanding prior to a high quality finish.
I'm also quite happy with the new Polyurethane porch and deck paints. Such as Behr and Glidden, these are really tough, and seem to hold up pretty darned well to normal abuse and wear and tear. A step or two above the better "house " paints. . They can also be custom tinted to any color combination your heart desires. Easy to roll, brush or spray on. They leave a really nice finish at about any level you are willing to go to the effort to achieve. And they are not expensive.
Just remember though that if it is a quality finish you are setting out to achieve, it is all in the prep work that gets you to a good base before you apply any finish paint.
I painted my weekender with Lowes Severe Weather exterior latex (made by Valstar) in 2001 - 5 years later it looks as good as it did when I put it on. The only repainting has been where I have knocked/rubbed it off due to encounters with docks, rocks and other objects.
Lowes also carries a one part urethene oil porch and deck paint from Valspar. I have used that on several boats including my Vacationer. I have been happy with the results. As a professional remodeler I am still a little leary of using latex paint on a boat hull but others seem to be having luck with it.
Jim
I am using severe weather by valspar. It has lasted the season well and comes in a nice variety of colors but not in a gloss
. I originally was going to use a Sherwin williams paint that was 50% more expensive, but when the salesman asked what I was doing with it, he refused to sell it to me because he said no paint will stick to epoxy and that it would fall off the boat. The only thin bad that happened so far was during a hot day when I took the cover off the paint was soft on the deck. It was okay once it cooled. All in all, I think it is a good paint choice, it sells well so it is usually fresh, and here, it was less than $15 per gallon
Quote: ....but when the salesman asked what I was doing with it, he refused to sell it to me because he said no paint will stick to epoxy and that it would fall off the boat.
If nothing sticks to Teflon, then how do they get Teflon to stick to the pan?
Sometimes, you have to consider the source...
I work in a high volume, custom cabinet shop. At the moment, we are using Sherwin Williams product, against my better judgement, but mostly for pigmentation issues. We had been using Valspar for years, exclusively on interior product, and had no issues with their quality. I would highly recommend anything Valspar makes. The RULE is to select a product that is meant for the application you are intending. UV and weather are obviously the enemies against exterior paint, and nothing has been made yet that resists them fully. But I see no problems with Valspar's Severe Weather paint. Just know that it will have to come off, and be replaced every couple of years, and act pleasantly surprised that it lasted longer than one season everytime you have to strip it off.
Sounds like Valspar is a contender. I'll either go with that or Behr. I believe the price on the Severe Weather was $13.49/gal. That sounds very reasonable. The primer is a bit more, but not too bad. Perhaps what that salesman Brit was talking about was thinking of that paint going directly on top of epoxy; with no primer.
More than likely that particular salesperson was not aware that most epoxies have a blush to them that will prevent paint from adhering to it. The blush must be removed first. Simple enough, a Scotchbrite pad and some soapy water and then rinse. All gone! 8)
Then the epoxy must be oughed up a bit first. Genaerally that is a quick sanding with 60-80 grit to leave a "tooth" to the epoxy rather than the extremely smooth surface.
If you have gone thru the "fill the weave" and "fairing" process, then the surface is probably ready for primer.
Some paints however are not compatable with epoxies and will not stick. So it is always a good practice to go thru the stages and then use a good primer first that is compatable.
Yeah, she's as fair as she's going to get. This most certainly is no piano. She's looking pretty good considering she's been upside down for two winters. I've had to do a lot of extra work because of that. That cannot and will not happen this year! I have a little bit more sanding to do this weekend with 80 grit and I'll start in with the primer. I take it that two coats is the minimum? Sand with120 grit between coats? Is that the same for the paint too?