Dulux Paints

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RichardB
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Dulux Paints

Post by RichardB »

Happy New Year one and all!

A topic that has been touched on in the past ...............Dulux Paint. Has anyone one actually used it with any success on boats? Is it pretty tough gear? I have used a weathersafe system in the past but the supplier now charges £35 for a 2.5 litre tin and I think that the yacht paint cost is a rip off!!!!!!

Comments greatly appreciated.

Many thanks


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neil
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Re: Dulux Paints

Post by neil »

I know of a Flying15 with its hull painted in Dulux. When afloat the paint bubbles up (very small bubbles). Take the boat out of the water and the bubbles disappear.
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Re: Dulux Paints

Post by Rupert »

I've had mixed sucess with house paint. The really crappy homebase type ones tend to be, well, rather crappy, but the International front door type ones seem to be pretty much the same as the boat paint, but somewhat cheaper. Wickes Exterior Gloss, (the own brand equivelent) was the worst paint I've ever come across, and was impossible to use with a roller. Vile. So, my end view on it all has been...cheap boat, cheap paint, expensive boat, expensive paint. And I only ever buy cheap boats...
But when doing work for other people, I used the proper stuff, as I'd hate to have to do it all again...
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Ed
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Re: Dulux Paints

Post by Ed »

Personally, I have had no problem at all with using the best quality exterior gloss paints and that includes Dulux, but have never tried lower quality/cost paints. Personally I think that paint technology has moved on so far in the last 20 years that many good tradesmen paints are now as good as their marine equivalent.

I have never chosen Dulux over any International or Blakes paint due to cost but rather due to the wider range of available colours.

Having now used the best Dulux paint for at least 4 boats that come to mind, I would have no hesitation in doing so again.

This includes my Tideway, which is not only painted in Dulux....but also sits outside, in the water on a mud birth from March to November.

A few other thoughts for what they are worth....

I have been told that their is a 'Professional' range of Dulux gloss paint that is even better....it may be...I have found the normal range to be just fine.

If you buy the best quality Dulux, there is little or any difference in cost between that and International or Blakes paint bought from a reasonably priced shop.

If (like me) you are interested in the choice of colours rather than cost-savings, you may want to try ( I will shortly) the Jotun paint range. This is available on Ebay at ridiculously cheap prices and is available in a very large of mixed colours. Jotun are good marine paints.

I don't think you can consider the top-coat in isolation. You really have to also consider the undercoat used as well. Whereas I am happy to use a Dulux topcoat......I have yet to trust a Dulux primer or undercoat. These do not seem to have the same qualities at all. Dulux undercoats have nowhere near the same feeling of strength and durability. I use Int or Blakes undercoat and then Dulux Topcoats.

I have also had the bubbles that Neil mentions occasionally.....but no more with Dulux that with marine paints. This normally happens with painted plastic boats and I have always presumed it was caused by the porosity of the paint and the lack of adhesion between paint and substrate, allowing water to get through the paint.....and then evaporating out without ever breaking the surface of the paint.

hope this helps

cheers

eib
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RichardB
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Re: Dulux Paints

Post by RichardB »

All, many thanks for your very helpful replies.

I have a 2.5l tin of Dulux non drip gloss, would that be classified as professional paint? I will be using the paint to paint the iside of my Merlin 908 not hull as this is varnised. I have already mist coated the inside with a 2 pack paint as I had a 1L tin previously from Serene Paints so the idea was to use Dulux over the 2 pack, keeps the maintenance down. As for the hull and decks these will be varnished.

Again, thanks in advance for all your expert advise.

Richard
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Re: Dulux Paints

Post by STEVEB »

Hi,
I use mostly Blakes or International yacht paint myself but I buy at boat jumbles where you can get the stuff a lot cheaper, even the two pack epoxy can be picked up for a pound or two on a good day!. I have also used the International front door "yacht" paint, goes on a treat and dries fast, highly reccomended
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Re: Dulux Paints

Post by roger »

I have used quality gloss paints on thegeep in the past but found it wasnt as durable as the international paint so went back to that...however in these less affluent times I may well go back to front door paint.
I used crown exterior gloss on the floor of the Hornet last year and that has done pretty well considering the battering it gets from feet etc.
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Re: Dulux Paints

Post by neil »

OK, I'm convinced and once the workshop gets a new roof the Solo will get finished and now we have the full colour spectrum available the decks are now going to be PINK, so I've been told.
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Re: Dulux Paints

Post by jpa_wfsc »

Meg's Oppie (K87) was pink for a couple of years. VERY distinctive! I mad epink by mixing International White with International Red - so, dya think you could buy International toplac white and add any pigment you liked to it?

Toplac of course comes in many colors - and should be OK for a dinghy as we are not immersed in water all the time.

The opie is now in two-pack canary yellow. With blue bathroom paint trim. Very fetching. Both have lasted two years.

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Ed
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Re: Dulux Paints

Post by Ed »

I have tried using pigment in toplac white....but it didn't work out too well.

The problem is that you need really quite a lot of colour to tint a can of white paint.

When you get a tin of paint mixed by the paint suppliers, you will see that all the dark colours start with a dark base colour rather than white.

When I tried it, I wanted to paint half a merlin in Purple and half in Green....it ended up half lilac and half bile.

I did try and persuade a paint supplier to add their pigment to my can of toplac/blakes, but was never able to persuade anybody to do it. I am sure with a little more research this would be an idea following. They were full of gloom laden predictions about doing it.....by I think it could be worth trying.

But what the heck.....as I said before - you can get Jotun in about any colour you want....it is a proper marine paint and it is not expensive.

Why do anything else?

cheers

eib
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Re: Dulux Paints

Post by Nigel »

hi all,

jotun have a pretty comprehensive website that I have been checking out (jotun.co.uk) They even do some of their top coats in "clear" - that sounds a bit like a varnish to me & may be worth experimenting with.

Thanks Ed - a very good steer.

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Ed
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Re: Dulux Paints

Post by Ed »

The steer is not the paint....which incidentally is just great, but that you can get it so cheap on ebay.

It used to be sold in this country by the guy who used to build Merlins in boatshed at Tamesis (rupert would know name),

but is now available through:

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/merchant/shepherdmarine

They have a website too....but I will let you find that...

The Varnish is good too.

I especially like the Ravelak (sp?)

it is a really thick traditional varnish, a bit like a cross between Tonkinguck and epiwonderphanes.

Very nice, I used to use it quite a bit.

cheers

eib
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Re: Dulux Paints

Post by Rupert »

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Re: Dulux Paints

Post by RichardB2 »

ED,

Sorry to labour this one!!

You made a comment in an earlier thread ....


"Having now used the best Dulux paint for at least 4 boats that come to mind, I would have no hesitation in doing so again"


When you say best Dulux paint are you referring to their standard gloss paint or something a bit more special? For instance Dulux interior/exterior paint, liquid or non-drip, says on the tin that it can be used for just that purpose. Would you agree?

Thanks again

Richard
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Ed
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Re: Dulux Paints

Post by Ed »

Gosh....

well I am not totally sure of each range of Dulux paints.....but I think they do a range of interior paints....some non-drip paints...some one-coat paints and some cheaper paints etc etc

...and then they do a range of exterior full gloss paints - for exterior woodwork and the like. They are the range which allows you to use the custom colours. They are not non-drip...or one-coat....or cheap....just the standard gloss paint.

But I am pretty sure they are about the most expensive in the consumer range - If I remember I will go out to the workshop and have a look at end of day.

But I think I said....I have been told their is a 'trade' version which some say is even better....but again more expensive.

To the best of my knowledge, I havn't used the 'trade' paint, only the consumer one, but I am not sure. Point is, if I did, I didn't notice the difference. The last Dulux paint I bought was from B&Q or Focus.

But as I said before, you won't get much savings in cost. It is still pretty expensive and I am sure if you search around you would find Int/Blakes at similar costs for the single-pack oil-based paint.

Does that help?

eib
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