an upcoming project…

Back during the aftermath of Hurricane Maria with nothing better to do, I painted “So It Goes” while at anchor in the mangroves. The paint I chose was Rust-Oleum aluminum paint. My thinking at the time was that it was something Phil Bolger mused would make a good boat paint, it was dirt cheap ($13 a quart), and it might look good. Plus, I was really, really bored…

The resulting paint job was surprisingly easy to do. It used less than two quarts for three coats, and it looked pretty good. My initial plan was to cover the aluminum paint with a clear coat but I couldn’t get my hands on anything suitable down here in paradise. Overall, the paint job lasted for about five years before places of contact (like the stern quarter where we boarded the dinghy) started to deteriorate. That said, four years from a one-part paint that only cost $15 a can is pretty damn impressive.

Oh yeah, lots of people thought that “So It Goes” was an aluminum boat which in itself was kinda cool. One other advantage of the paint was that it lowered the interior temperature by about five degrees.

So, now I have a new old boat that could use a bit of cosmetic TLC and, while I’m tempted to go the aluminum paint route, the urge to do something different or do a dazzle-ish combination does appeal. While looking for affordable paint, I came across this Rust-oleam product which seems to have a lot of fans…

Yeah, tractor paint!

While it’s not available down here, stateside Home Depots have it and it’s a lot cheaper than the aluminum paint. A two-quart case will set me back all of $31.77 which is cheaper than a quart of aluminum paint in St Croix. Another attraction is that the paint has a lot of colors to choose from and, while my dazzle ideas tend to be gray and black, some color choice would be no bad ting.

All told, whatever I choose, the entire cost of a repaint would be somewhere south of $200 with a bit of sweat equity in the mix. Considering I just heard a guy bitching about an AwlGrip quote for $16K, I’m thinking tractor paint might be just the thing….

I’ll admit that International Harvester Red sorta/kinda grows on you.


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2 thoughts on “an upcoming project…”

  1. I have been using white Rust-oleum on the deck of my aluminum boat and I am very satisfied with the result. It is easy to use and holds up well. It was previously painted with Interlux. The only problem I am having is finding an easy to use primer for any bare aluminum spots since my previous primer choices that worked well seem to have been outlawed. I haven’t been brave enough to use it on my topsides but next time they need painted I will probably use Rust-oleum there too.

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