Painting trim

[DawnS]

Has anyone painted their trim rather than leaving it bright?  We are at the point of planning to paint our CS 20.3.  We’re not interested in staining and varnishing trim, but would like the trim to look different.  I know if we paint the trim a brown it won’t really look like wood up close.  Has anyone tried this?

Dawn

[Andy B]

i'm not sure if this article will come through, it might be behind a paywall, but this author does that and his boats look great.

 

https://smallcraftadvisor.substack.com/p/paint-and-varnish?utm_source=publication-search

[Hirilonde]

2 and 3 color combinations can look great.  Or maybe white with 2 accent colors.  I would not use brown. As a purist I would use varnish or just not have a wood look.  My Spindrift is white with seafoam green interior, dark green boot top and grey sole and bottom.  I did varnish the seats and boom, but they never stay outside even when I kept it at the dinghy dock.

 

[Steve W]

Controversial,  but I used Cetol on the mahogany trim and hatch boards on Skeena. Held up well from launch in 2019. I never recoated. Should have. Had to sand a bit this past year, but was easy. Looks great. Not as good as Varnish, but not as fussy. 

 

The teak rub rails that were Cetol coated, however, got beat up pretty good. I thought I'd be nice to my friends boats, but I'm adding stainless like Carlita and becoming an Anvil. Ha! 

[Jonathan M. Cohn]

I really like the UHMW rub rail on my boat. It is pretty frictionless. You can see it in this video at the 6 minute mark. You might see what Alan is planning on putting on his boat. Maybe also check with Paul on what he used. If they disagree, perhaps we can all learn something about family dynamics, if not rub rail plusses and minuses.

 

 

[Oyster]

Posted just now · Hidden

Don't listen to Alan, in particular. There is nothing wrong with contrasting painted color trim.  Anyone that gives you grief about painting your trim, get a lawyer to do a contract that they will maintain the varnish as a "ten" as long as you own the boat. Painting has been a standard practice long ago before everyone went all "gotta have two part paints, solar panels, fiberglass over wood,  and outboard motors to get away from the dock " sailboats.    If you do not want hardwood varnish finish work, then just use teak and let it grey out. Studies have found that you will get decades of trouble free use from this practice.  [spoken in the spirit or razzing and approval, no emojis allowed for my post]

[Don Silsbe]

Here are a couple of examples of mark3’s with no britework taken at past B&B messabouts.