Yacht "A" gets a bad paint job...

It must first be said that the paper this story comes from ísn't of the highest standing and the details of the case arent actually given.

When the yacht was built in Kiel, if my memory serves me correctly, the paint contractor Pinmar was removed halfway through the finishing work. This was at the time said to be due to the poor standard of work. They were replaced by another spanish company Rolling Stock who were said to have carried out the work satisfactorily.

It is not clear from the story if this case relates back to then and ensuing delays or to a scratch and gloss carried out afterwards (I havent heard anything about it otherwise).

It is true that paints and epoxies applied in recent years have shown problems. A good example is bubbles expanding and opening up in epoxy when it is exposed to it's first summer in extreme heat. Sags and such problems sound more like application and curing problems than something that happened over time though.

A major problem in my experience is inexperienced filler applicators. You can have the best sprayer in the world (they are normally professional) but if they put their work on top of rubbish, you will get problems.

A look through most of the top yards in Europe will reveal inexperienced workers throwing filler at boats with little idea of proper surface preparation or application thicknesses. Why build up layers slowly when you can put guide formers in place and pull two inch thick depths of filler in a day?

Building yards only have themselves to blame. They sign off contracts to large contractors on the basis of assurances for warranty reworks. This does away with the need to do things properly for contractors. Several well know projects of recent years have left the yard on the understanding that the work would be fixed in the winter...

Painting is very challenging at the best and then the bigger the boat and the more conditions imposed the more difficult it becomes. I think of painting other than boats. Cars are pretty well done generally as they are small enough to fit in a booth, easy to tape, simple paints. Now do something unique like a metal flake and then you'll see some failures. Also we don't paint the bottoms of cars, the part that comes in contact and close to the ground.

Now think of a house. I had two houses painted last winter and there isn't a room that you couldn't find some imperfection in. There were several that had to be touched up. This is indoors, climate protected, small rooms, simple materials. I cannot imagine the difficulty in painting a boat like A. Still anyone accepting the job needs to be clear on the risks and which ones they're taking versus which ones the owner agrees to accept.

Question for people concerned with "the ethics" of proper paint application
: I have heard of a 90m Newbuild was brought up to primer within 2.5-3 months by a well know sub in Newbuild , 3-4 years ago in a Northern European Shipyard.

Having this labeled a "Success " by the parties involved in the project , the point is do we really care about paint process?

Im in agreement with Martin saying there are many groups who dont know what is the point of fairing.But also we should think about shipbuilding practices( 4 cmm average of filler on a 60m hull should not be that ok)

Rgds,

Absolutely no argument with the problem with the new recipes, its a fact. There have been a lot of worried paint managers in recent years. That is where we stand and there is no changing it, we just have to learn to work with it, it will come.

I cant remember the system that was used on A. Seem to remember at that time Awl Grip and Awl Grip Standard E was used on similar projects in that area (TKMS). I remember seeing Standard E (used as finishing filler) at the time which had been sanded with 40 grit sandpaper as it had been incorrectly applied and cured rock hard over large areas. No other sandpaper would touch it. These are the sort of problems which unaddressed lead to 'lack of reflection' in paint.

Large scale mixing has been taken over by Bonsink machines which promote productivity massively but take away any thinking towards the quality of the applied product. I also wouldnt like to guess at how many sprays have been ruined by the last pot being quickly thrown together after midnight and a 16 hour shift.

There is no quick answer and I wouldnt like to base any supposition on an article from the Daily Mail. So many things can go wrong at any stage of the chemical processes of yacht-finishing. Standards are normally set down in contracts and by the sounds of the article, the application company has managed to pass the blame to the paint-producer.

Surprising it wasnt just settled out of court though, bad press for Akzo.

It may be the right time to finally paint that submarine in yellow. The owner wants attention? Go for it, a yellow submarine would make it into each and every newspaper in the world.

They can't paint it god**** white properly. Surely adding a toner won't help.

I tend to disagree with the simple paints part. Mose people don't know/care how to use them right. If you watch the hot rod and chopper shows on tv, you probably think paint is simple and easy, but the majority of their paint jobs are trash. Mose modern paint need environment control during curing. A paint that chip foose used on his show requires 5 days in a heated and humidity controlled paint booth. Different settings for different stages of curing. They only let it set overnight. So the first time the car sits in the sun, you can watch the paint fade and soften. In automotive restoration, a decent single color paint job is often done cheaply, but almost never done right. I worked at a major collision repair shop when I was 16, I quit because they wanted me to do crap work. Not enough cure time, wrong primer and sealer for the paint, wrong hardener. A whole list of "oh this is cheaper and the same thing..." made great looking paint jobs bubble, peel and fade in months. I can only imagine trying to paint a boat. Climate control, debris and wind would be a nightmare to overcome. I have always wondered about powdercoating a steel or aluminum hull. With modern ir heaters, it could be done on an unfaired boat. Don't know about heavily faired boats though.

When we launched a new 65m yacht in Hamburg, we took it down to the Med for the season. As soon as the harsh sunlight hit the paint it started to turn into a dull powdery finish.

We got the paint company, Sterling, to come down and figure out what the problem was. According to them, the wrong filler was used and had a reaction with the undercoat. Yes, the whole boat was stripped back and re-done. It must have cost them a fortune.

We never got the paint correctly finished in the 5 years I was aboard. What a PITA for a few tubs of the wrong filler.

Obviously they cant pull A into a climate controlled, down draft booth to paint so how do they paint something that big ? Mask off small sections and create a miniature "booth" or cover ? It seems like an impossible task to create a perfect finish. Gives me a gut ache just thinking about.

I know. I can't imagine trying to paint something that big. Even if they had a paintbooth big enough, the amount of airflow to keep humidity and temp even would cause problems by itself. Marine paints have to deal with a harsh environment, and limited control during application. It seems like it would almost take magic to end up with a perfect paint job. Those who do good work have my respect.

After crossing the S. Pacific (she was in Tahiti a month ago), A is currently docked in Auckland, NZ, at the Silo Park near Pier 21, on Jellicoe Street.
Must be care of Titan Engineering which has quite a (good) reputation.
This is where many superyachts come for refits/refresh when in NZ.

All the repaint jobs I have seen for ships like these were either in dry dock (like in La Ciotat in SE France) or under scafolding and tents.
Anyone in the area cares to take a look and maybe a couple of pics?
Cheers