Best paint for boot top stripe

I am going to redo the boot top stripe on my Californian this Spring. I did this on one of my last boats and was not really happy with the boot top paint that I had used. I found that it covered poorly requiring many coats and it tended to want to sag. So I am looking for a paint with nice leveling characteristics and covers fairly well. I would like to hear what worked well as well as what worked poorly. Cost of the paint is not an issue as little paint is needed and I am open to single and two part products. Color is Flag Blue or similar.

Mine didn't turn out when repainted as well as the original, I thought about whether some of the new vinyl applications might work better than paint... I will be watching this thread

My bootstripe needed raising. I bought a can of Interlux Brightside, in Flag Blue and painted both the boot stripe, in its new location, and a stripe around the top of the flybridge. Over the years I have recoated both, when I could still use the leftover paint. I would buy that brand again.

I like Quantum. It is a 2 part polyurethane. If you are just doing a boot top stripe, they sell an aerosol can of it for $60.00. It isn’t cheap but it should last and unlike a lot of 2 part paints it is repairable. The aerosol can saves a lot of prep and mixing. There is a puncture button on the bottom of the can and after you push it, you just shake it and then let it sit for about 15 minutes to react. It is good for about 8 hours or so that way you can spray a second coat or even a third coat. It would probably take 2 or 3 cans depending on the size of the stripe. If you do use it make sure that you use fine line tape or it may bleed under the tape. Ask me how I know not to use other tape...

We used Brightside as well. It's been 5 - 6 years with no touch up.

I used the tape from West Marine a couple years ago and it's held up fine. The original was tape and 15 years old.

I’m starting to think of redoing my bootstripe also. The colors on my boat are gray and black. I have already found tape for the stripe on the sides of the cabin, about 4 “ wide and I would like to change to blue. The stripe on the cabin is painted gray with a thin black tape on top. If I change the stripe on the cabin, I have to do the bootstripe as well. I will also replace the Mainship logo because the top half is on the stripe. The bootstripe also has a thin black vinyl stripe on the top edge, so why not do the whole bootstripe in vinyl?

+1 on the bright side

Petit easypoxy is very good quality paint.

Hard racing bottom paint is fine as it can be scrubbed , with little damage.

Awlgrip is the only thing I’ll use on the boats exterior surfaces.
It is really tough stuff!

An LP would be the most durable. Awlgrip or any of them. I'd go with Interlux Perfection since it's cheaper. Even a quart kit will give you a lot of extra paint so just use it as the primer also.

Sean9c, do the LP paints lay out nicely when rolled/tipped? I was looking at the Interlux perfection as a possibility.

Boot stripe is so narrow just brush it, it'll look great.

Duvie said:

Sean9c, do the LP paints lay out nicely when rolled/tipped? I was looking at the Interlux perfection as a possibility.

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senangsekali said:

Petit easypoxy is very good quality paint.

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That's what we use for the boot top. Roll and tip.