From Doug Hylan — Thoughts on Paint & What Was Used on the Boat in the Video

[Steve Stone]

From ARRIBA’s designer, Doug Hylan:

“The paint regimen that I use is rather complicated and boring.  Also, I find that most people who come to me for paint recommendations seldom take them, as I often don’t use off-the-shelf paints and they really want to pick their own colors.  That said, here are my general tenets:

I use single part alkyd based paints only.  I mix these together, without regard to brand, to get the color and finish I want.     I believe that most boats look better with low gloss paints.  This is a problem, because most paint manufacturers spend their sleepless nights trying to find more gloss!  These same manufactures have discontinued most of the stock colors that I like.  To complicate further, our painters here at the shop are of a persnickety bent — they don’t like to mix colors, prefer certain paints, and secretly love the kind of gloss that I find alarming.

As a result, I have spent a lot of time (really a lot) experimenting with suppliers that: 1) offer good colors, but whose paint is despised by my crew, 2) make lovely paint, but don’t offer anything in the finish or colors that I want, 3) make lovely paint with a nice low gloss finish and will custom mix colors, but can’t mix the same color twice, 4) make paint in the colors and finish I like, but this paint “doesn’t last”, meaning that it tends to flatten markedly over a couple seasons.

So, I am always on the lookout for paints that have the colors and finish that I like.  Because most paint manufactures change their offerings (and even the formulas for existing products) from time to time, the search is ongoing, the list changes, and multiple sources are involved.

Here is the paint scheme for OONAGH, the boat that is the subject of the OCH video series:

Topsides — Our house white, which is four parts of Interlux Flat White, one part Pettit Off White.
Sheer strakes — Kirby custom mix, named Grayling Gray, semi-gloss
Interior — Epifanes custom mix called Tender Interior Cream, mixed with their satin base.”

Doug Hylan

[Richard Honan]

Doug, I agree with you about gloss vs semi-gloss and satin gloss. From years of running a small sign company, a product that we used quite frequently was flattening paste. It was manufactured or sold under the brand names Chromatic or Ronan Flattening paste. Easier mixes into any oil or alkaloid or even the newer urethane paints. Anther suggestion is the use of Penetrol, a paint conditioner. Adding 15% – 20% by volume of paint will allow any oil base paint to go on smoother, allows brush strokes and orange peel roller texture to disappear. It gives you more time to work with the paint with out affecting the drying time.

[Author]

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