Interesting problem from my perspective, as our lake weeds are white!I'm making a vertical rudder for my Sunfish. It's made out of mahogany. I don't plan to varnish it because I don't want it the dark, varnished wood color. I want to paint it white so I can easily see if I have weed on it. So, what kind of primer and paint combination do you guys recommend? Obviously, I want to completely seal it so it doesn't soak up water. Thanks, - Andy
And what LAVW said as well. Rustoleum sells a Marine Primer and Spar varnish as well, thin the first varnish coat with mineral spirits, then add a second coat. It will help fill the grain. My current favorite is Jamsetown Distributors TotalBoat Marine Spar Varnish, flows well and is reasonably priced. You can thin it first coat or they sell a Wood Sealer as well, which is what I am using on our Penobscot 14 build for the seats. Then paint over that with WetEdge. All the JD products can be ordered online or over the phone. Jamestown Distributors
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All that said, if you like West System, use that and then pretty much any epoxy paint goes over the top of that. This is Rustoleum Marine Oyster White over West System.
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....or any top line alkyd enamel house paint (oil based) works great as well, use 3-4 coats. I like Valspar Ultra, found at Lowes. Lots of color choices there as well, Swiss Coffee Satin is what went on Barbashela over cypress,
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Oh, did I mention Interlux Brightside Fire Red and Pettit EZPoxy Semi Gloss White over Pettit Z-Spar on Merci's rudder?
Her hull is EZPoxy Ocean Blue over EZ Prime and EZFair.
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Builder's decision time, it will probably come down to what is available locally factored against price and time to acquire.
Cheers
Kent
With the new rudder I'm making, I've decided to go the above suggested route. That is, cover the entire bare mahogany with West Systems epoxy resin then cover that with Rustoleum paint.All that said, if you like West System, use that and then pretty much any epoxy paint goes over the top of that. This is Rustoleum Marine Oyster White over West System.
Not sure why you are mixing the White with the Primer. Usually the only thing you
would need to mix the Primer with is a reducer, maybe. The Primer being white in color does
not bleed through the Top Coat. You should be using one coat of primer and two or three
coats of Oyster White.