difference between marine paint and exterior housepaint

Need to do a little work on the boat and there are a few smallish timber areas that need painting at water level.Question is marine paint is around $60 a liter and house paint is around $35 a liter is there a quality difference between the 2 to justify the price difference or shroud I just buy the marine paint for piece of mind . It not the $$$ I'm worried about its the fact the marine paint shop is 1 1/2 hours round trip and the house paint is 30 minutes

gaston said:

Need to do a little work on the boat and there are a few smallish timber areas that need painting at water level.Question is marine paint is around $60 a liter and house paint is around $35 a liter is there a quality difference between the 2 to justify the price difference or shroud I just buy the marine paint for piece of mind . It not the $$$ I'm worried about its the fact the marine paint shop is 1 1/2 hours round trip and the house paint is 30 minutes

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I honestly have no idea what the differences in paints might be. When facing a similar question, I always try to estimate the cost of re-doing the work if I make the wrong choice. That 1 1/2 hour drive might not seem so long given the alternative...
Good luck!
Bruce

Assuming we are talking single pack,I remember someone, maybe simi60 (hope I`m not doing him an injustice), saying the difference was having/not having a pic of a boat on the can. The yellow letters on my nameboards are oil based high gloss house paint,but they are under Cetol TGL gloss, so hard to say. My guess, if it is a reputable oil based house paint it`s probably ok, but it`s your boat.

Guess a fair amount of the difference is the quality of both products. Sounds to me like you have little information to make a proper comparison. If the house paint fails after a week due to the high moisture environment, do you plan to complain about it?

Ted

Lowes carries a marine grade Rustoleum.

In quarts and about $15 per quart which is about 1/2 of Interlude Brightside.

Not sure I would use it for large, flat areas, but for striping or objets it seems fine. I don't have long term experience with it, but other have posted it seems to work just as well.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Rust-Oleum...ne-Paint-Actual-Net-Contents-32-fl-oz/3200853

I repainted the hull of my boat about 8 years ago with Rustoleum topside paint, and it's held up well. It is available as Primer, semigloss, as well as the gloss shown above. Depending on your application, I'd advise using the semi-gloss as it is less likely to show imperfections in the surface.

Personally I like the Pettit marine paint line. You can order it online.

The difference resides in the amount of solids per volume unit. You can get a fair job with house paint if you increase the number of coats, therefore the cost is raised comparing with marine paint.
Now, if you buy good quality epoxy paint, you can never go wrong regardless the application. Poliurethane produts also serve both applications. I use a lot of white epoxy for swming pools inside my boats.
Be aware of enamel because it is hard to maintain 5 coats of it together for long time.

Any paint can with a boat as logo will authomaticaly become more expensive.

Ennoy

The main difference at least in the states is that most house paints even exterior are latex based whereas marine paints are oil based. I too like the Rust-oleum oil base paints.

+1 to the Rust-oleum topside paint; it is good performance for the price, easier to apply than single polyurethanes in my experience. But I still use the Pettit single part polyurethane on the deck house and places exposed to the direct sun a lot.

It is tougher and a bit harder due to cross-linking reaction in the paint, costs 50% more than the rust brand, but also yields somewhat more coverage/quart.

Order on line, have it dropped at your marina office for pickup.

Is this just cosmetic? As in the glassed in wood beams and attachments to hull? You want to make them all the same color and brighten up the ER? Then any good quality house paint will do. But it won't have any water resistance or protection. High gloss will allow it to be wiped off. Satin or low lustre or flat will allow fumes, dust and grease to stick and you won't get that off.

In new builds white or off white gelcoat is used. But they have that laying around in excess.

In painting, it's generally not a good idea to skimp on the quality of the paint. Most of the effort is in the preparation of the surface and application of the paint. It's poor economy to try to save a few dollars with inferior paint or paint not suited for the conditions.


Short answer: Buy marine paint.

For general single part non epoxy comparisons, the ingredients on the back of the can will reveal most differences if any. The same information should be easy enough to find online too.

Non yellowing white oil based enamel has been a marine specialty for a century or more. A long time ago and before gel coats were common I worked at a yard on Long Island as a wood boat painter. The yard owners were quite adamant about whites and avoidance of certain brands that yellowed more quickly.

Amazing how some builders' white gel coats yellow more than others'. Seems marine vs non marine paint may be the same.

Personally I'm a big fan of the Interlux line. That said there is a big difference between the two.
1). The current VOC laws affect paint manufacturers differently based on the volume they produce. This allows mallet volume manufactures to use different solvents.
2). The Interlux paints I use have thinners which evaporate and dry quicker than house enamel
3). The amount and grind of the pigments are greater and finer respectively

The result is that I find the Interlux goes on thinner, shows less brush strokes and although thinner covers equally well. This permits me to put on multiple coats, sanding between and have less build up. Yes the cost is double or triple, but if a yacht finish is what your after.....
I've yet to use Fine Finishes of Europe and would like to hear of any side by side comparisons

Mallet volume manufacture??? Really? I tried to spell smaller! Smaller volume manufactures. Also apparently specialty paints have different rules. IE, automotive paints, and cabinet finishes. These all get around the VOC and the labels specify "for professional use only"

All the talk of better paint is nice....for both looks and longevity some paints proably are better.

Yet there are places where the paint is not in a showroom, but places like a deck where all the pretty and toughness are only as useful as how the deck gets treated.

Some deck paint on liveaboards might only last a season or two before needing a touchup. So a paint that is reasonable and easy to get and apply might be a good choice for some.

If a non marine paint is up to the task and gets reported here and used by others that are entirely satisfied...then I feel the forum has accomplished one of its major reasons to exist.

Likely the most important breakthrough in marine paints came from the airline industry over 40 years ago. Two part poly urethane by DuPont - Imron. No more yellowing, long life and lasts for a very long time.

sunchaser said:

Likely the most important breakthrough in marine paints came from the airline industry over 40 years ago. Two part poly urethane by DuPont - Imron. No more yellowing, long life and lasts for a very long time.

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It was 1972 and I had a Star that needed an exterior repaint. The Star fleet was agog over the new paint job one of our number had scored in an aircraft hangar at YVR, where a new aircraft paint was being tried out, both on aircraft and on his Star.
As the saying goes, the rest is history.

I've been usin' water based latex exterior pain on my sundeck trawler diamond deck panels for 16 years. Cheaper than dirt, and when touched up the California sun blends it right in. Had five gallons left over from paintin' the house and hated to see it go to waste.

I coat some places on Willy w water based house paint. Most of the time when this dosn't work so well is on surfaces that get dirty and need to be frequently cleaned. On a deck .. never. On the inside of a cockpit under the coaming? Sure.

Another element of boat paint is flexibitlty. Non marine paint is frequently easy to touch up. I use water based house paint on my Douglass Fir platform for antennas .. radar, VHF and GPS. Very exposed to the weather like paint on a house that is commonly expected to last for 10 years. Mine's gone 5 and looks great.

So I think the most important thing is where you're going to use it on the boat.

We had a 20's 43' dragger growing up, iron bent over nails, by the 70's she was held together with spit and bubblegum, But Sears Oil based trim paint made her shine by the early June launching. It certainly was perfect for her, by the mid 80's good ole latex house paint worked just as well.
The original question was what is the difference between house paint and marine paint.
Technically, it has been answered. The final acceptable finish and longevity, well that's totally up to the user. I've owned the 20's dragger, the 50's Chris Craft Cruisers x2, and my current Mainship. Depending on the vessel, the type of construction, and the finish desired, it's all up to the user!!!
Cheers