Painting Starboard

I had to rebuild two small hatches under the foredeck of my trawler. I decided to make new ones from starboard. After installing them my wife did not like the fact that the color did not match the white color of the bulkhead. I told her you can't paint starboard. She reminded me that I had painted the non skid areas with H&C Concrete Stain. I had several scraps left over so I said I would test the paint for adherence. Surprise, the paint dried completely with 1 hour. Took 180 grit sandpaper and could remove paint, tried several chemicals, Acetone, Thinner and the finished remained in tack.

I painted the new hatches to match the non skid areas. H&C comes in two forms, water based or Xylene based, I always use the Xylene product and it comes in 8 basic colors. I used Bombay (Beige / Tan) but Lowe's can "tint" to match almost any requirement.

The aft cabin doors on our trawler were replaced with starboard. We' ve been touching up other spots on the boat with Brightside paint. Wonder if it would stick to starboard?

This is the first time i have ever heard of any paint or stain sticking to starboard, including any of the popular topside paints.
To the OP: Are you sure this is king starboard or is it a similar material? How long has it been on there now and exposed to the elements?

Anyway,thanks for being the guinea pig, because if this works out for you, I have three vertical hatches up on my flying bridge that I converted, quite happily to king starboard but they are a "good", but not a perfect match to their surroundings. Maybe I'll experiment by staining the inside of one, though that won't tell me how it stands up to the elements.

Nothing will stick for very long.

The stuff is perpetually oily.

Paint the boat to match the starboard.

SD

I asked Nigel, my painter/gel-coat guy. He said to sand the Starboard with 220 grit then use an epoxy primer such as Omni MP170. Then lightly wet sand the primer with 320 grit and paint. He cautioned about sanding through the primer.

I just pained the hatches last weekend, they have not yet been installed. Yes the material is King Starboard. Over the years we have experimented with other types of polys, enamels, oil based and epoxy types. none worked or passed the drying, sanding tests. Not planning to install for at least another week, in the mean time I will set them on the dingy and let them "age".

Nothing will stick to Starboard very well... or very long...

I accidentally painted some King Starboard with "Signature Finish" topside paint.... and I have to tell you...its been almost a year and I can't scrape it off easily. I also painted some aluminum trim...without any special prepping....and again, its almost a year and no signs of degradation.....

Any updates on painting starboard? I may need to slightly raise a new head 1 cm or so using it, prefer it matches the new white dunny. "Starboard" here comes from re-purposing a cutting/bread board.

Bruce
Search for 'King Starboard'. I know there are suppliers in Melbourne, but chances are you will locate one in Sydney as well. Cutting boards are crap - but maybe that's fine for your application

Insequent said:

Cutting boards are crap - but maybe that's fine for your application

Click to expand...

LOL
What better purpose then?

Cutting boards may be some other plastic formulation than Starboard. I have successfully re-purposed cutting boards for sliders under heavy doors. Seem to last as well as true UHMW plastic at a small price. I wouldn't expect paint to adhere well, though I have never tried any.

If you can find good quality cutting boards it's a cheap solution but all the Chinese crap is porous and leaves a crappy edge when cut. I have not had particularly good luck and I have used some for my door sliders too.

boatoutfitters.com has Starboard in many colors and will cut to spec. I've had excellent service from them. Not overly expensive either..

Dunno if they ship overseas though..

BruceK said:

Any updates on painting starboard? I may need to slightly raise a new head 1 cm or so using it, prefer it matches the new white dunny. "Starboard" here comes from re-purposing a cutting/bread board.

Click to expand...

You can not paint Starboard.

Why not use PVC board, which you can paint.

Painting starboard is like painting grease. Just that the starboard has a higher viscosity.

Ski in NC said:

Painting starboard is like painting grease. Just that the starboard has a higher viscosity.

Click to expand...

That`s how it looks to me, in a word,"oily". But thought I`d check. A piece of timber cut to size should work as well,with no paint issues.

We got hold of some white, problem solved. Even so,updating the discussion was good. Thanks.

You can paint anything. The question is, will the paint stick to it and how well and how long.


I suspect the manufacturer's website would have information on painting it. If not, you could call or email them.


A better plan would be to use the color you want in the first place or use a material that can be painted reliably.