Flowcoat Vs paint

[SimonStDavids]

As part of my winter tidy up I have considered the idea of making the console the same colour as the deck of my searider although I don't have an orange fetish

I have bought loads of RAL2004 flowcoat to redo the deck after I have glassed it back in and was wondering whether I could give the console a quick rub and cover that too! Or should I buy spray paint and do it properly or even just leave it white...

[colcreate]

Originally Posted by SimonStDavids

As part of my winter tidy up I have considered the idea of making the console the same colour as the deck of my searider although I don't have an orange fetish

I have bought loads of RAL2004 flowcoat to redo the deck after I have glassed it back in and was wondering whether I could give the console a quick rub and cover that too! Or should I buy spray paint and do it properly or even just leave it white...

Personally I prefer Flowcoat, it's more durable than most paints but is harder to apply and takes a lot more work to get a perfect "out of the mould" appearance.

[two stroke mick]

how do you get a nice shiny flow coat finish?

[C-NUMB]

Originally Posted by two stroke mick

how do you get a nice shiny flow coat finish?

Good question. Somehow I always manage to have it drying to fast to get a good finish. Maybe mixing with styrene would help?

[A1an]

Originally Posted by two stroke mick

how do you get a nice shiny flow coat finish?

One way is to sand back with wet and dry working finer and finer until the surface is smooth like glass then machine polish back up to a deep lustre.

ALOT of work.

[nugent]

Gotta mop it no other way, various grades wet n dry then farecla or similar polishing paste
Paint is more the diy route,

[beamishken]

think I'd leave it white it will be very hard to get an allover even coat of gel over the entire console which you will need to block flat then when you rub too far you need to start again you will probably find nooks & crannies that you cant get in to rub out & wont get the pollishing mop into either you then have the problem of if you get a chip or scratch it will show through white

not a job to start unless you know whats involved & have lots of patience

[9D280]

I used International's "rescue orange" epoxy based paint when I built my instrument pod.

Spent forever sanding down the surface to get it nice & smooth - then found the hard way that once painted it showed up every little imperfection in the surface, even after 4 layers of sanding & re- epoxying the wood....

Thankfully,(As anyone who has seen it will testify) the state of the rest of the boat makes it look quite good!

You can probably tell I'd leave it white!

[SimonStDavids]

Well I decided to go for it!!!

My girlfriend is away for a week so I have been able to get loads of bits and pieces done

I have swapped the old speedo for a rev counter that I got help with on a previous thread, finally got round to buying a compass, fitted a new steering wheel and greased the hell out of the helm unit so it moves really smoothly now.

For the colour change, I back filled in all the old holes and then put a glass patch on the inside, then gave everything a rub down with wet and dry, acetone and then sprayed it with 3.5 cans of paint.

It looks so much better than before so I hope it stays on....

The only thing that is bugging me now is the throttle controls, they are also stiff! I have tried to dissemble it but can't figure out how to really take it apart?

[kerny]

Would look good with a nice windscreen to finish it off

[ncp]

I like the "I spray painted it in the living room" idea!

[SimonStDavids]

Originally Posted by ncp

I like the "I spray painted it in the living room" idea!

That would be more than my life's worth

I did the spraying outside but bought it in to sit next to the fire for an evening to dry properly, very cozy!

[tonymac]

I like the look of the compass. Which one is it? Where did you pick it up?

[Turbodiesel]

What did paint did you use to spray it?

[SimonStDavids]

The compass is a Ritchie F-50, it was a bit of a treat to myself as it was hard to find one that fitted in the space and I liked the look of. I am really pleased with how it fits in and it looks nice in the dark!

I got it from http://www.marinecompasses.co.uk

The paint is ambersil RAL2004

[9D280]

Originally Posted by SimonStDavids

The only thing that is bugging me now is the throttle controls, they are also stiff! I have tried to dissemble it but can't figure out how to really take it apart?

On my "trusty" phone here so pic not 100% but I guess you probably want to un-bolt it from the console if there isn't a way of getting the lid off.

I had an old 70s morse one that had no back. Well easy access once removed.