So many white colors

[seacolt]

I am having my entire boat painted. I have decided to go all white to give her a fresh look. My first though was to go with snow white which is the brightest awlgrip white. I am wondering if glare might be an issue and should I tone it down a bit. Any experience in this are would be appreciated.

 

[Starman]

Snow white is awesome, but you will go "snow blind". The other problem with the snow white is that water spots will show very easy.

I would suggest mattahorn white. It is a shade darker but still a very good white, will not show the water spots from rain or wash jobs and is a bit easier on the eyes.

I use the snow white to paint some furniture in my house. Inside on furniture and the firplace is great.

 

[Lucky Dog]

I used 2/3 Cream and 1/3 Snow White (Awlgrip). It's very close to Hatteras off-white, doesn't glare much and I think very pleasing. Some will say you should never mix colors but I've always had a problem with authority.

 

[yachtsmanbill]

Snow white is awesome, but you will go "snow blind". The other problem with the snow white is that water spots will show very easy.

I would suggest Matterhorn white. It is a shade darker but still a very good white, will not show the water spots from rain or wash jobs and is a bit easier on the eyes.

I use the snow white to paint some furniture in my house. Inside on furniture and the firplace is great.

I hafta agree with you Paul, about being snow blinded. After 10 hours at the wheel on a sunny day its migraine city ! The 58 is like that too. Even my NOLA mech referred to it as a lot of acreage after a big snow!!
As a kid on my gramps 60' trawler I feel in love with the tan colored decks and roof tops. I did my Roamer with interthane plus - BEIGE. Its beautiful. If you noticed, most military aircraft has the nose cowling (term?) painted flat black to reduce pilot fatigue. Drove a semi truck as a kid and it was white Centauri. I was on suicide watch at the end of the day. Glare can ruin yer day!
I think the color scheme on HT will be a blue or green hull, (too bad for the purists!) white house, and the beige decks. There is something about the crisp contrast on AWLGRIP colors.
Inside, snow white is great ! Did a shower stall in the head and its better than FG or tile by a mile. Engine room stuff too. Really reflects the light rays.
This is the front deck on the Roamer with custom bulwark by me--no damn mohagony toe rails to varnish. YIPEE!!!
Keep up the good work and seasons greetings to all !! ws

 

[Starman]

Boss Lady will have the white topside with a light grey non-skid and a dark blue hull with a red boot stripe and a white stripe under the toe rail.

Weather permitting, the topside and window installation will be completed in about 2 weeks

 

[REBrueckner]

I was aboard a 58 Hatt in Sag Harbor (NY) a few years ago...the in guy had spent about a quarter million dollars in upgrades...including exterior paint. He used a cream color, darker than any "white", and it was beautiful and unique.

On the other hand, the new brilliant whites have their appeal as well. As noted by others if you do a lot of annual hours, glare would be a concern. But for occasional use, whio cares??

 

[Angela]

Seacolt, I'm glad you brought this up. I have often thought about this, and I'd be interested to see some photos of how the boats look with a different color on the decks. My boat is traditional Hatteras [off] white. I can't open my eyes, at any time while on the foredeck without sunglasses and even with sunglasses, my eyes water badly from the brightness during the middle of the day. Because of that, I don't spend as much time out there as I'd like because it's uncomfortable. At the same time, I hate decks that are burning hot on the feet from where the darker colors absorb the heat of the sun. I once had a runabout with light grey carpet, and a pontoon with light beige carpet. I had to continuously keep the deck watered down on both of those on a hot sunny day just to be able to walk on it barefoot. So, I'm concerned about a grey or beige paint producing the same result. Have any of you painted your decks with something other than a white for this reason? If so, can you tell us whether they are hot on the feet on a summer day?

Painting a boat this size is a huge undertaking and one of the most expensive projects I will probably undertake with her. I don't want to screw it up.

 

[jim rosenthal]

Awlgrip Oyster White is what I asked for...it looks like the newer version of Hatteras Off-White and is a standard color, so if it has to be matched, it is easier. I used Flag Blue for the bridge stripe, which isn't holding up too well, and Claret for the boot stripe, which honestly is too dark, but it's holding up well, so I am going to leave it as is. It is too much trouble to change it.

I don't know of any way to keep decks from getting hot in the sun, especially in the tropical latitudes many of us frequent. However, nonskid decks reflect less glare. Darker decks get even hotter, it seems to me. Even teak decks get pretty hot when they sit in the sun on hot days.

I used Oyster White on the decks, with their nonskid mixed in, and a flattening agent as well. I don't see a lot of glare off them. However (and this may be the key) I have noticed as I get older that I need sunglasses all the time when outdoors or I get headaches. Now I understand why I see all those old folks with opaque black glasses over their reading glasses- I'm going to be one of them in a few years .

If you look at old illustrations, the first Hatteras colors were actually kind of an eggshell or cream color- very much off-white. They brightened it up in the late eighties and early nineties. Now they use much cooler whites, which I am not sure is an improvement.

I like the look of dark-blue or black hulls a lot- very salty. But they do show dirt easily, and print-through, and it is a LOT hotter inside the boat. Make sure your AC works well if you have a dark-blue or black hull.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

I think that most bright whites look like gel coat. I don't know why it seems to be the fad of the day to go with bright white. I think a Hatteras should be Hatteras Off White. But, I'm just a traditionalist and I like to see them as original as possible. So, other than the glare issue, it is really a matter of personal taste.

 

[Maynard Rupp]

Look at Awlgri[p "blue tone white". We used that on the corporate jets that I flew. This color looks like pure white, you see no blue, but it seems to reduce the glare. In the can it looks blue, but not at all when applied. We use "pearl gray" for the anti-skid areas on our sailboat. That color looks great and seems not to torture the eyes. I have always said if I paint Unity, our 36C, I will use those colors on the deck and above. I would love to paint the hull sides with a color called "ice blue". This is just a beautiful almost white blue. Good luck with you challange. There are alot of almost whites eh?

 

[Trojan]

Hay Jim! Watch that remark about us old guys and our sun glasses. I might resemble that remark. My boat was painted the Hatteras off white about 5 years ago and like Angela said, it's bright. Even in the Michigan/Ohio sun. Just washing the boat in the afternoon gives you a headache even with regular sun glasses on. (JIM) I had clear plastic for the spray shield on the fly bridge and the glare off the deck was real bad. Last year I replaced the clear with a real dark plastic. What a difference. I can ware regular sun glasses now Jim . I don't think there is much we can do. Its either the glare or the heat. I don't think I would give up my white boat. I do have a water mister that I mount on the rail and spray the top of the salon. It really helps the AC cool. The gunnel's get wet, but we don't ware shoes most of the time anyway. Just kidding Jim.


BILL

 

[MikeP]

I know it may seem boring but I'd recommend staying away from any dark color. I have a friend who just bought a 53 in Stamford that is truly gorgeous (at a give-away price) HOWEVER, when the boat was Awlgripped a few years ago, the previous owner had the upper portion of the boat painted in a dark blue. That portion of the paint is cracked and generally looks pretty poor from closer than 20-30 ft. The affect of the sun on the dark paint/fiberglass is pretty severe. A quick check with your hand on the white/blue portion of the pain in the midday sun will quickly explain the problem. You can't leave your hand on the blue part. The expansion/contraction of the fiberglass vs the dark paint virtually ensures cracking and other delamination problems.

Dark paint, attractive though it may be, is best left to folks who have the money to pay for frequent re-painting.

IMHO Good old Hatteras off-white is a pretty good choice...

 

[yachtsmanbill]

Hey TrojanBill--check your PMs--gotta pick yer brain!! ws

 

[J's Dream]

For those interested, according to Jennifer Carmen, the current color being used on the new Hatt's is Awlgrip's Cloud White. It has a violet coloring agent, as opposed to Matterhorn which has a black coloring agent...The Cloud White doesn't look as grey.

 

[ThirdHatt]

This is what I have been debating as well. I believe the Matterhorn is a bit too gray, because of the touch of black. I'd like to find a white with a touch of brown maybe so it would be just a bit off-white towards the cream-colored Hatteras Off White but not so creamy, still almost a pure white. Anyone know which Awlgrip color that would be??

 

[seacolt]

Ok, I have it narrowed down to three awlgrip colors. Matterhorn white, Insignia white and cloud white. I am going to look at few boats this week. I want to make sure I make the right decision.

 

[J's Dream]

Go to a marine store that offers Awlgrip, and check out their color sample sheet. It is really difficult to tell the difference between Matterhorn, Cloud, and Fleet whites. The new Hatts are Cloud white...I have painted matterhorn before, and find it to always look a little dirty. I just purchased a paint matched to Awlgrip's Cloud white, made by Fabula Signature Paint in Pt. Salerno, FL. For a roll and tip job, this is the best paint I have ever seen or used.

Byron, it may be worth your time to call Tom Fabula, owner of Signature Paint, and ask him which Awlgrip paint color has brown in it. He matches any Awlgrip color, and can tell you which one you are looking for...but be prepared, he's a talker!

Jason

 

[Chapeaux!]

This is what I have been debating as well. I believe the Matterhorn is a bit too gray, because of the touch of black. I'd like to find a white with a touch of brown maybe so it would be just a bit off-white towards the cream-colored Hatteras Off White but not so creamy, still almost a pure white. Anyone know which Awlgrip color that would be??

We had Chapeaux! repainted early this year partially as a result of a lightning strike (which only pushed our refit schdeule up by about 18 mos). We decided on Awlgrip "FLEET WHITE". which seemed from the color charts to be a little whiter than matterhorn, but not as white as the newer colors....my wife tells me that what you described in your post as the color you want to achieve is exactly her interpretation of "FLEET WHITE".. Used a black over metallic gold for the accents. This color is not so white that it accentuates the somewhat more gnarly fairing that came out of the Hat factory during those years. It seems to me that the newer layup techniques allow manufacturers to use brighter and glossier whites that accenuate the smallest fairing flaws. Attached photo shows Chapeaux! taken from a fairly unflattering angle showing the color and how the Awlgrip covered.

Good luck with your refinish project. We had a good contractor and arrived at a fairly clear understanding of what was expected from both sides, so we came out quite satisfied with the job we got. These are big, complex projects and require a lot of oversight. As I'm sure you know, prep is everything! We watched our painter shoot and re-fair the pilothouse from stbd pilot house door all the way fwd and around to the port side pilothouse door three times, because of small flaws in the prep and applicaton. The boat was painted inside a building, in the water. During one of the pilothouse paint sessions, fog closed in right after paint and the dew that formed "killed' the gloss... prompted one of the repaints.

 

[J's Dream]

Chapeaux,

From that photo, she looks better than new! The Fleet White is a great color, and on your boat seems to fit in perfectly! I spent a lot of time brainstorming and looking at boats painted fleet white, matterhorn, cloud, everything. Its hard to beat these colors on our boats...especially with such great prep work!

 

[ohiohatteras]

Put on the sunglasses and go SNOW WHITE! Just like a black car.....It's high maint, but it looks awesome when it's clean!