I've just been offered a pro. car spray job for the hull of 3330 (to be done by a car dealership).Are there any pros or cons to having this done or is it purely cosmetic.

Regards

the price
and them using too much paint -  a very easy way to add weight - and get a good finish.  

it should look good though

Whilst we are on paint, where can I get pink from, as I need to paint some bits of up 'Who's a Pretty Boy'.

Red & White plus a touch of patience!
Or one of your every day high street paint mixers/suppliers.

Not sure how well car paint primer would bond to wood, so this could lead to problems later.  Also, spraying is really difficult to do properly - you can see often see a slight orange peel effect on resprayed bits of cars, which is a sign the job has been rushed (too many thick coats).  Not too much of a problem on your motor, but probably not the finish you want on the bottom of your boat...

Best bet is to talk to a boat builder who specialises in racing dinghy finishes.  Tim Coombe down here in Devon does a superb job at a reasonable price - check out the finish on 3626 Business as Usual or 3511 Heaven Sent.

Barry, is every day Dulux or whatever OK for painting hulls, is it just a marketting thing from International/Blakes etc for one pot?

My understanding is that everyday paints such as Dulux etc... do not have the pigments/UV stabilisers that are found in marine paints. You will find that by using cheap paints the properties will break down very quickly, in the short term costing you dearly!

Give SERENE PAINTS (Horace & Williams) a call in Burgess Hill Nr Haywards Heath. Not only do they supply a variety of single and 2 pack paints in all RAL colours they will also give very sound technical advice on application etc... The two pack light grey WEATHERSAFE 65 from Serene is what Laurie Smart uses for painting the insides of his boats, and is extremely tough and durable. You only have to have a look at his boat 3556 to see!

Good luck.

Alan,

There was a discussion on the CVRDA forum a while ago. The general concensus was that best quality professional house paints were almost as good as marine paint but use a marine undercoat or add vivid colours to white marime paint.

Use the search facility on the forum at www.cvrda.org and look up dulux paint.

Steve

Now I've got my boat back it's absolutely obvious to me that the only way I will ever get a good finish on a hull is to get the professionals to do it.  Tim Coombe used 2-pack varnish and paint and has produced a stunning finish.  2-pack paint is more durable than the single pack, Dulux may be as good as one-pack paint

Andrew 3511

For the best paint and viscosity Woolworths or Dulux .Its the only paint I use . Marine paint if you want to use it ,use Italian .If you want to get a stunning finish with varnish mix a dab of meths into the varnish. 
Doo

As to spraying ,you need to spray with an airless spray gun. It should come up like glass.
Doo

I'd have to say I havent ever used Household paint on a boat, living in Cowes the local paint shop is heavily marine biased, The chemical make is I believe different with an emphasis on anti UV & anti abrasive qualities .
I have had excellent results in the past with 'Toplac' & Italian 'Venellzi' (crap spelling) single pot polys, without resorting to two pot finishes finishes 
 The supplier Laurie uses for his internals must be worth a call though, I made up a mixture using Internationals Baltic blue a dash of black & 25% 'Matting' agent to produce a dark blue grey finish The only problem is if you ever need to touch it up!     Yes I know keep a spare tin premixed in the shed

Have fun Barry.