Costs to paint

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Gordon495

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2018
Messages
25
Location
Canada
Vessel Name
Doreen Alice
Vessel Make
Ocean alexander
Hello all, I have a 38 OA which I'm looking at having painted over this winter. We keep our boat off of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The existing paint on the boat was poorly done somewhere around 7 years ago and has been getting worse every year since( we've owned the boat for 5 years now ) in areas it's peeling and flaking off so there is real work involved getting the surface prepped and smooth again. I'm scheduled to have the hull and topsides painted over this upcoming winter. Our quote which I didn't think was all that bad is $45,000. That would involve hull and topsides prep and then spray paint. I would appreciate all input into whether this is a decent price or not and to hear any advice which you may have. Please keep in mind that price is in Canadian dollars as well. The shop who will perform the work plans on using automotive paint (Imron)with a sealer as they said it wears well and they've had good luck using it in the past on boats. I would also appreciate your input if you've encountered the same questions facing your own experiences, is automotive paint comparable to marine paint or not ? I would particularly be interested to hear from people who have done research into which paint for their yacht is best. I belong to the mindset that putting extra money into better longer lasting products in the beginning will be in the long run be beneficial and cost*effective, so please give me your thoughts. The research I've done online seems to be split in regards to this question so it's a little hard to really make a good decision. Thanks for taking the time to read this and I look forward to hearing from anyone.
Regards,

Gord
 
That is a little over $36,000US and that is a pretty good price. We are in the market for a full paint job too (thread pending). We had a job booked here in NC that was quoted at $40k (plus about $10k for unexpected issues we would probably find) for our 42’ Navigator. I have started to look in FL thinking that perhaps the competition may provide a better price, but so far the only quote we have been given in FLL was for over $80,000… so THAT’S no going to happen.

We are wanting Alexseal from the positive pitch from Andy on the Boatworks Today YouTube channel. It can be buffed and reapplied easily. Something that Interlux and the others cannot. It also will provide the flattest coat from just rolling. But a professional will spray… so we hope for even better results.
 
Thank you for your thoughts Tom, it's great just hearing from anyone going through this. I have read a little on Alexseal and seen some of the videos about it but I'm still wondering what the primary difference is between the two. I'll take a closer look at Alexseal for sure. And it's good to see the price quoted to us is within the lines. Thanks again
 
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I had my boat painted with Alexseal about 10 years ago, and it still looks good. Your price looks reasonable, but will they take off the bow rail, cleats, and other hardware before they prep and paint? To get the best job this has to be done, in my opinion. Suggest you also talk to Philbrooks in Sydney BC and Seaview in Bellingham, who painted my boat.

One other piece of advise that I got from a boatyard owner. Make sure the painting contract is for a fixed price and hold them to it. Otherwise you will see the final price tag inch upward. You will have to do your part by not making any change orders while the job is in-process, so make sure the contract is detailed and complete for the work you expect.
 
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We have teak cap rails with stainless stanchions and teak handrail. the price does include the removal of the handrails ect, anything that can be removed without great costs involved. Glad to hear you think the price is reasonable.
 
Ameron and Awlgrip are two of the most popular marine top coatings used in the Pacific Northwest. The price that you have been quoted seems very competitive, however I recommend taking a look at some of their previous work prior to signing on the dotted line.

Best of luck with your project!
 
Thanks for the input. I have looked at the past jobs and heard first hand from people acquainted with them and the responses have been really good. I was more interested in the overall price point and if it was expectable. Never heard of Ameron until now so I'll be looking at this. Regards
 
In 2015 my boat was painted as part of the refit. 6 years later it still looks great. Part has to do with quality paint and part has to do with waxing atleast every year with a quality wax with UV inhibitors and a reasonable amount of washing with non aggressive soap. Simply, if you don't take care of the paint, it won't last.

A quality paint job is 90% prep work and 10 quality painting. Your boat is peeling because of poor prep work. When getting estimates, I would want to know how many coats to the process. My boat was painted with Awlgrip and done in the correct manner requires 3 different paints in the process. The final process required painting each section atleast twice to achieve color uniformity. I'm not telling you to use Awlgrip or how many coates it takes to paint a boat. What I'm saying is that you should want to know if they're following the manufacturer's recommendations or doing what works for them.

If it were me (and it was), I would want to thoroughly examine the boat after the prep work and before painting. I would rather spend additional money to resolve deficiencies than be stuck after it's done. Remember, 90% is prep work. Get that satisfactory before the last 10%.

A common term in boating is how close does your boat look good. Is it a 100' paint job, 50', 20', 10', or 5'. A great deal of this is the prep work. You want to have a clear understanding with the company you contract to paint your boat, how close it will look good. This is why I want to examine the boat before the paint goes on. The two of you may have different ideas of how fair (devoid of scratches, gouges and waves) the surfaces will be.

Labor rate per hour can also give you an idea of expectation. I not saying a low labor rate denotes poor quality. Mine was quite low as the area had a low cost of living. If you have 2 estimates for the same price and one labor rate is half of the other, the higher labor rate may not be planning on spending as many hours in prep work.

This is too expensive not to be absolutely clear on what your getting.

Ted
 
Very good advice, especially checking the boat before paint. I'm aware that the reason my paint is peeling is because of poor prep but this was before I bought it. I do however want this paint job to last and it's great to hear the advice from people like yourself. And I totally agree that the prep work is almost everything. I thought in the past about awlgrip but I also heard that matching it up if damaged can be trouble. I charter our boat out so I will receive some scratches ect so going with a paint like that might be wrong for me, still debating that one. Thanks for the reply
 
If you are going to ne chartering the boat I would want a paint that can be repaired, like Alexseal, not like Awlgrip and maybe Imron. I don’t know if Imron is repairable or not since I don’t know much about it although it is supposed to be an excellent paint. But is it easily repaired?

We painted our last boat. We did all the prep work and paid a professional painter to come in and spray it. It has been about 4 years now but as I remember the painter cost about $900 for labor and I think we had around $3500 in materials. It came out great. However I had to do a lot more prep work than I thought I would have to.
 
I would tackle the job myself and do it like yourself by doing the prep work and then hiring a painter to spray, but our weather up here just makes it to hard to do unless your covered and actually have the time to tackle it, I lack both. Another good point to mark down though about Imron being repairable ? Great question, thanks
 
That boat we stored in unheated inside storage and it was ok for me to sand and do glass work. So I worked on the hull all winter, the PO was a charter member of the Coalition of the Docking Impaired and had hit the boat all over, so there was a lot of prep work to be done. In the spring we left our boat in the barn until all the rest of the boats had been launched and then we sprayed it. I probably did well over 100 repairs on the hull. Then endless fairing and sanding but in the end the paint job was beautiful. And the cost was very reasonable.
 
The first paint job on a gelcoat finished boat involves putting filler over the entire surface to fill micro defects, the second paint job needs less prep, theoretically 2nd paint job costs less. But in your case something went wrong with adhesion, so extra prep is required.
I watched my previous boat being part spray painted, the masking work is very time consuming. Could be less if the choice is something other than spray, like roll/tip, etc.
The cost of work vastly exceeds cost of paint, so using the longest lasting paint makes a lot of sense.
 
$36k USD for a 38 footer in US or Canada is a very good price - might be too good to be true. Did you get the quote from an actual in-person quote, or from email/pictures? Not unheard of for an email quote to double when the yard actually sees the boat. This isn't nefarious, just hard to quote without crawling around the boat.

Make sure you understand what will be removed and what will be painted around. Ports? Deck fills? Windlass? Dinghy mounts? Cleats? Bimini/hard top brackets?. Make sure it includes whatever paint-spray enclosure and scaffolding the yard uses. Make sure it includes non-skid areas (often quoted separately- pattern or sanded paint?). For your caprail, will they dig out the caulking, then replace after painting? Do you have any holes you want to fill, such as old instruments?

Not sure where OP lives but might want to consider encapsulating the caprails with 2-3 coats of fiberglass, then faring and painting for a very low maintenance and modern solution.

There is a lot of work that goes into a quality paint job. You need to know what level of outcome you want before you can determine whether you're getting a deal.

I went with Alexseal. Seems to be the hot product right now. Easily repaired.

There are a LOT of hours in a quality paint job. Make sure you understand what you are gettjng.....and what you are not. A better question than "is $45k CAN a good deal?" might be "yard estimated xxx hours to prep a 38 foot boat for painting. Does that seem right?"

Good luck

Peter
 
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The owner has been to the boat and seen it so hopefully he's close on his quote. The boat will be completed indoors as well. Thanks for your input Peter
 
As an aside, when the yard re-installed my cleats, I guess they found it difficult to re-install the backing plates, so just went with washers. We definitely had a conversation about that. Point being, you really, really need to be very specific and keep an eye on the job.

Good luck - please post pictures and updates along the way. Paining topsides is on the list of many owners, though price keeps it at bay.

Peter
 
Gordon495 said:
Hello all, I have a 38 OA which I'm looking at having painted over this winter. We keep our boat off of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The existing paint on the boat was poorly done somewhere around 7 years ago and has been getting worse every year since( we've owned the boat for 5 years now ) in areas it's peeling and flaking off so there is real work involved getting the surface prepped and smooth again. I'm scheduled to have the hull and topsides painted over this upcoming winter. Our quote which I didn't think was all that bad is $45,000. That would involve hull and topsides prep and then spray paint. I would appreciate all input into whether this is a decent price or not and to hear any advice which you may have. Please keep in mind that price is in Canadian dollars as well. The shop who will perform the work plans on using automotive paint (Imron)with a sealer as they said it wears well and they've had good luck using it in the past on boats. I would also appreciate your input if you've encountered the same questions facing your own experiences, is automotive paint comparable to marine paint or not ? I would particularly be interested to hear from people who have done research into which paint for their yacht is best. I belong to the mindset that putting extra money into better longer lasting products in the beginning will be in the long run be beneficial and cost*effective, so please give me your thoughts. The research I've done online seems to be split in regards to this question so it's a little hard to really make a good decision. Thanks for taking the time to read this and I look forward to hearing from anyone.
Regards,

Gord
Click to expand...


I had the hull repainted on a boat I recently purchased. I went with AwlCraft an AwlGrip product. This material is supposed to be easy to touch up as per my research. As a retired auto body and painter, I can't stress enough the importance of the prep. I got a quote from the painter based on a description and several pictures. The hull also had several areas that were damaged from hitting the dock. No cracks, just surface damage. I only had the hull painted with a boot stripe. He also painted the swim platform. Overall the job looks great, even from 5 feet. Smooth and dust free. My boat is in Florida and the painter did build a spray enclosure. As soon as the painter was done I had the bottom painted by the yard operator. The painter that did the hull did not do the bottom painting and vice versa.

The hull only was $15k for a 36 foot boat. This price was in line with 3 other quotes I got and none included haul, block and launch. Only the painting. Keep in mind how long the company will have the boat out of the water. In Florida the daily rate increases on short term yards after 2 weeks. And a paint shed is extra.
As far as what paint to use, several have mentioned Imron. I've used this and as long as the painter has experience using it it can look great and is easy to touch up. Imron can also be color sanded and buffed if you get dirt in the paint. I went with AwlCraft because that's what most boat painters used in Florida.
 
Thanks very much for the input. This shop I'm going with has been around since 2014 and they tackle whatever they can from cars to boats and everything in between. I feel the moment is right to trust them to do a great job on my boat, so fingers crossed, things hopefully go smooth and I end up with a beautiful boat at the end. The quote is for about 18,000 into the hull and the rest into topside work. My hull is in very good condition now with minimal that needs to be done for repair work, a few scratches and imperfections. On the topsides it was the southern facing side that is giving me grief with the paint, the other side is relatively ok compared with the other. What do you think is the main difference between Imron and Awlcraft ? This shop is very familiar using Imron but I want to be sure it's the right paint to use. Knowing that you've sprayed Imron helps me greatly so if you can please let me know what you feel is the difference between the two and although I know you didn't spray the Awlcraft do you feel it would have been the same to work with ? Thanks again to everyone responding here, I'm taking it all in :)
 
If you are painting a light color or white, I would say either Imron or Awlcraft is good. Imron was designed for industrial applications like over the road trucks, airplanes and boats. I used it on trucks but did paint a few cars with it. Its easy to use and buffs well if needed.

If the shop has experience with Imron but not Awlcraft , go with Imron as you don't want to be the one picking the material then there is an issue and the shop blames it on the material.
If you use a dark color on the hull, ask the painter about applying 2 coats of clear over the color. This makes touch-ups much easier. Both Imron and Awlcraft are acrylic urethane products and use an activator to force the drying and curing process. Be sure to ask for a small amount of un-activated paint for touch-ups later. You can use just about any manufacturers activator for touch-ups.
Get a new quart can at a paint store or Home Depot to put it in. I forgot to ask and now need to repair a small scratch.
I did look at several boats both completed and in-process. The painter was easy to talk to and answered all of my questions. Be sure to tell the company that quality is your number one issue. You'd rather pay a little more to fix things that come up rather than try and stick to the quote.
I felt I got a good job for the price. Feel free to ask me any other questions as they come up.
 
One last thing. In a previous post you mentioned peeling paint. Be sure your painter is removing ALL of that paint and not just sanding it back. As mentioned, pay a little more to get a better job.
 
Allcraft and Alexseal are similar and have a reputation for being easily repaired and touched up if needed. Something about the sheen and pigment being consistent through the paint layer.

From my limited and basic understanding, Allgrip forms a very hard and shiny surface layer as it cures. It is very durable and low maintenance but if damaged, is more difficult to repair without detection. That said, I've seen people post experience with successful repairs.

I'm my experience, docking can sometimes be a contact sport. Heck, walking around decks, opening hatches and dragging stuff out, etc is much more prone to dings and scrapes than a car surface. For me, was important to have a repairable surface so went with Alexseal. Allcraft would have been okay too. Many happy owners of boats with any of the products. Tough choice.

Peter
 
Do you think there is any advantage of going with 2 coats of clear on a white hull ??
 
Awlcraft/Awlgrip/Alexseal/Imron.

Awlcraft - Acrylic based, supposed to be easily repairable which means it can be feathered, blended, buffed and polished without ill-effect. Intended as a single stage paint (no clear coat). Softer surface than polyurethane products.

Awlgrip - A polyurethane based two part product. Per the manufacturer, this paint is not 'repairable', you are intended to repaint an entire section to fix damage. The paint is not able to be feathered, buffed and polished without altering the layering of it's parts. If buffed/polished it removes an outer 'clear' layer and exposes the pigment layer resulting in a finish that fades more quickly than it would otherwise. Manufacturer recommends against waxing. This does not mean that no one repairs it, it just means the manufacturer says not to. You will find people that say they can and do so without ill effect, and others that say it's a disaster. Depends on if you want to follow the manufacturer's advice or dock talk. Can be applied by spray or roll & tip.

Alexseal - Polyurethane based two part product. Also a single stage (no clear coat is intended). The manufacturer claims their formulation distributes pigment throughout the applied surface and can be buffed/polished/blended with no ill effect for repair work. Manufacturer recommends waxing. Can be applied by spray or roll (with or without tipping using their rolling additive)

Imron Marine 2K - Polyurethane based two part product. A single stage (no clear coat intended). Manufacturer claims repairability and has documented methods in their instructions. Can be buffed/polished/blended. No apparent manufacturer instructions for rolling, appears to be intende for spray application only.

Now I did a DIY paint job on my 42' double cabin. I used Alexseal products and applied via rolling with no tipping. I am very happy with the results, it does not look DIY, but it is not a completely professional result, if I had paid $30,000+ for the result I have I would not have been happy, but I didn't so I am very happy with my result.

If you ever intend to do any DIY repair, I'd recommend a paint that gives you a good chance at accomplishing that and I think Alexseal is about the best in that area.

However, if the shop knows Imron, it's in your best interest to let them use the product they know. Each product has it's own properties and the application is different for each requiring practice to achieve a good result. Imron seems to be the least supportive of DIY of the various paints discussed so you just need to be aware of that.

It's critical that the shop removes ALL of the old paint down to a compatible layer and then preps per the coating system's instructions. Getting good adhesion requires the proper surface abrasion level, chemical compatibility, working within the recoat window of the products used given the environmental conditions, properly cleaned surfaces, and usage of the correct primer.

I would not clear coat a boat or use a paint that requires a clear coat, it's an invitation for peeling and fading and makes repairs much harder to perform. Clear paint is the least UV stable as a matter of it's composition, pigment helps significantly with UV stability.
 
I had a 42 OA and had it painted in Florida about 15 years ago and paid $60,000 US. good job though.
 
I used Interlux Perfection (snow white) on the decks a few years ago. Very pleased. It's a two part urethane.
 
Gordon495 said:
I thought in the past about awlgrip but I also heard that matching it up if damaged can be trouble.
Click to expand...

My boat is painted with Awlgrip. The paint is quite old although I don't know exactly how old but at least 10-12 years. Last winter my marina neighbor hit my bow gunwhales. He agreed to pay for the repair which involved a haulout since the boat could not be painted over water in our area. Long story short. We had the paint color chart from the initial painting in the boat files and the local yard (Nordlund) were able to come up with a perfect Awlgrip match to the existing paint. It is impossible to see the repainted area under any light or angle.

Good luck to the OP with your project.

~A
 
Awlcraft and Imron are acrylic urethane, they are fairly easily repairable but also not as durable as a linear polyurethane like Awlgrip or Alexseal. Alexseal is newer technology than Awlgrip and is repairable. What use to give a pretty good result was Awlcraft on the hull since that is what usually gets beat up and you can repair it, and Awlgrip on the house for durability. Now the best bet is Alexseal on the whole boat. If you're choosing between Awlgrip and Alexseal pick Alexseal. If you're choosing between Awlcraft or Imron pick Awlcraft. Going with an acrylic urethane will save you a little money in materials.
A word of caution, OA's are notorious for having a ton of putty on them, under the gelcoat, from the factory that shrinks and cracks with age. If you've cracks in your current finish these should be addressed before you repaint. So maybe factor that in your budget.
 
sbman said:
Awlcraft/Awlgrip/Alexseal/Imron.

Awlcraft - Acrylic based, supposed to be easily repairable which means it can be feathered, blended, buffed and polished without ill-effect. Intended as a single stage paint (no clear coat). Softer surface than polyurethane products.

Awlgrip - A polyurethane based two part product. Per the manufacturer, this paint is not 'repairable', you are intended to repaint an entire section to fix damage. The paint is not able to be feathered, buffed and polished without altering the layering of it's parts. If buffed/polished it removes an outer 'clear' layer and exposes the pigment layer resulting in a finish that fades more quickly than it would otherwise. Manufacturer recommends against waxing. This does not mean that no one repairs it, it just means the manufacturer says not to. You will find people that say they can and do so without ill effect, and others that say it's a disaster. Depends on if you want to follow the manufacturer's advice or dock talk. Can be applied by spray or roll & tip.

Alexseal - Polyurethane based two part product. Also a single stage (no clear coat is intended). The manufacturer claims their formulation distributes pigment throughout the applied surface and can be buffed/polished/blended with no ill effect for repair work. Manufacturer recommends waxing. Can be applied by spray or roll (with or without tipping using their rolling additive)

Imron Marine 2K - Polyurethane based two part product. A single stage (no clear coat intended). Manufacturer claims repairability and has documented methods in their instructions. Can be buffed/polished/blended. No apparent manufacturer instructions for rolling, appears to be intende for spray application only.

Now I did a DIY paint job on my 42' double cabin. I used Alexseal products and applied via rolling with no tipping. I am very happy with the results, it does not look DIY, but it is not a completely professional result, if I had paid $30,000+ for the result I have I would not have been happy, but I didn't so I am very happy with my result.

If you ever intend to do any DIY repair, I'd recommend a paint that gives you a good chance at accomplishing that and I think Alexseal is about the best in that area.

However, if the shop knows Imron, it's in your best interest to let them use the product they know. Each product has it's own properties and the application is different for each requiring practice to achieve a good result. Imron seems to be the least supportive of DIY of the various paints discussed so you just need to be aware of that.

It's critical that the shop removes ALL of the old paint down to a compatible layer and then preps per the coating system's instructions. Getting good adhesion requires the proper surface abrasion level, chemical compatibility, working within the recoat window of the products used given the environmental conditions, properly cleaned surfaces, and usage of the correct primer.

I would not clear coat a boat or use a paint that requires a clear coat, it's an invitation for peeling and fading and makes repairs much harder to perform. Clear paint is the least UV stable as a matter of it's composition, pigment helps significantly with UV stability.
Click to expand...

That is a really great breakdown you've given me. The shop owner actually said they apply a sealer so I took that to mean a clear coat, but maybe he means different. I'll ask him again about the procedure. Thanks for taking the time to educate, I really appreciate it. I really would like to do the work myself but up here in BC the weather is to unpredictable and the summers are to short.
 
sean9c said:
Awlcraft and Imron are acrylic urethane, they are fairly easily repairable but also not as durable as a linear polyurethane like Awlgrip or Alexseal. Alexseal is newer technology than Awlgrip and is repairable. What use to give a pretty good result was Awlcraft on the hull since that is what usually gets beat up and you can repair it, and Awlgrip on the house for durability. Now the best bet is Alexseal on the whole boat. If you're choosing between Awlgrip and Alexseal pick Alexseal. If you're choosing between Awlcraft or Imron pick Awlcraft. Going with an acrylic urethane will save you a little money in materials.
A word of caution, OA's are notorious for having a ton of putty on them, under the gelcoat, from the factory that shrinks and cracks with age. If you've cracks in your current finish these should be addressed before you repaint. So maybe factor that in your budget.
Click to expand...

Good advice and I didn't know that about the OA's. Decisions decisions
 
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