Paint on rudder and centerboard

L

Lafayette Mike

Active Member
I am fixing up my wife's Laser II. The daggerboard and rudder are some sort of composite wood construction. They were pretty beat up, but I had some airline mechanic students fix it (carbon fiber and fiberglass!). They did a great job. My question is paint. It looks like both had been painted (white) a long time ago. My wife wants to repaint them. Any suggestions as to the type of paint? I will prime them all, but do you think a standard Krylon type spray paint works, or will the water screw it up? I've never painted anything that will be in the water a lot. I don't care if the paint slowly wears away, but I'd rather it not bubble up or strip off the first time we sail it. I also hate to spend a bunch of money on some sort of expensive paint as I'm only painting about 5 square feet of boat parts.

Thanks
 
I've used regular low-cost hardware store spray paint on my wooden daggerboard with good results. Make sure the underlying wood is very dry and sound (not rotted). Remove rotted wood and fill with epoxy filler. Prime it underneath. As always with spray paint, paint on warm dry days. Many light coats are better than fewer+heavier. Let it dry and harden for several days before you use it.
 
Krylon spray is fine. Water won't be an issue. Adhesion is the most important property, next is durability/hardness on the daggerboard, as it will scuff somewhat from raising/lowering in the trunk, not much you can do about it (unless you line the top and bottoms of the trunk with a soft material)
 
Another option that will fix it permanently would be to use some of the epoxy resin that was used to repair the blades. Mix white Evercoat resin pigment into the resin. It will be white, super hard, and sandable in the future.

The professional method would be to use a 2 part epoxy primer. No topcoat. After a week the primer is rock hard. That is how Laser blades are made.

I have never found typical spray paint to be durable. They make some single part epoxy ones that are okay, but still not up to the task.
 
I repaired some pretty beat up blades and painted them with two pack International Perfection. Fantastic result with very little wet sanding needed to achieve a great finish. Also, it's much tougher than epoxy or gelcoat, so the finish wears well. I agree, the can spray stuff is a temporary solution and doesn't wear well as its too soft.
 
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