Calling all loyal purists ....

[Morgan's Cloud]

Last month CUDA had a posting seeking advice on 'cosmeticallly altering' the appearance of his Minx. I don't know what he decided to do in the end (Cuda..?) but it was a very tough position to advise on as he has probably the only classic with a coloured bottom and white sides/deck.
It is hard when you have an aversion to certain colours huh ?

The other evening my good friend (and supplier of tools I don't have) Todd stopped by for a look. After both agreeing that I must be mad he casually asked what colour I was going to spray the St Tropez.
This was most likely prompted by the fact that with this level of re-build you could re-spray any colour you wanted !
I always loved the colour combinations that the classics were available with and would never deviate from a solid colour topside with white bottom.
The St T was originally blue when built and when I did the first 'reconditioning' 17 years ago I resprayed blue again.. actually Awlgrip 'Aristo Blue'. The gelcoat then was too far gone and resembled old denim .. even to the touch :eek!: This boat had a hard life before I got it.
I'm pretty certain that my choices will be limited to the Awlgrip chart as I will more than likely do that again.There are'nt that many brands of specialty paint to pick from here and Awlgrip performs exceedingly well in this nightmare of an environment we have.

Would it be sacrilegious to change the colour of this boat ?
Will it induce bad Donzi karma ? Would it be considered in poor taste ?

All feedback gratefully recieved.. no matter how profane or off the wall ;)

Steve

[Marlin275]

"The St T was originally blue when built and when I did the first 'reconditioning' 17 years ago I resprayed blue again.. actually Awlgrip 'Aristo Blue'."




too blue
true blue
you can't beat white bottoms!

[Fish boy]

Steve,
I doubt you will get a correct answer here since at the end of the day it will come down to the "opinions" of those who chime in. This brings me to the only point I have to make:

when all is said and done, it is your baby. You will look at, care for it, and enjoy it, so you should do what ever makes you happy. Will you get as much enjoyment out of the boat if you are not happy with it but think you are pleaseing everyone else with your color choice? DO you think all those people will all agree on one thing that is the best for your boat.

Unless you are doing it solely for resale, make it Steve's Donzi, not public opinion's Donzi.

Fish

[Cuda]

It's funny this post just came up. I just came back from the mech to check on the progress of getting the engine in. I was thinkigg about the color thing again on my way home. I had talked myself into keeping the blue, but I hate that blue bottom, it looks like bottom paint to me. I really would like to paint it like this one, which I believe is or was Woodsy's. I think it's beautiful. I have a certain affinity for yellow boats.

As Fishboy pointed out, it doesn't belong to anyone but you, so make yourself happy.

I'm still on the fence, but I did order a new blue Spargi wheel for it last week :wink:

[Islander]

Steve,
In my recollection of St. Tropez's (back when they weren't "classics"), I can remember seeing them in baby blue, royal blue, tangerine, red, white, and like my Dad's, yellow....and they were all beautiful. It seems the only way you can go wrong is if you paint it gucci green. :biggrin.:

[olredalert]

Steve,

-------Went thru your decision process during the resto of the El Pescador and just couldnt paint it orange. Wife OKed navy blue with ivory bottom and deck and it does look good. Ivory boot-stripe with 1/2 inch red stripe above it to pull the whole thing together.................Bill S

[Digger]

ditto what Fish said.

[MOP]

Bills boat is one of my favorites, here is a shot at last years gathering at the 1000 Islands!

phil

[olredalert]

-----Thanks for the plug Phil. Ill pay ya later!..............Bill S

[Fish boy]

Be careful Bill, you may end up paying the entire board since I don't think Phil is alone in his admiration for your boat.

Fish

[mattyboy]

the going rate is 5 bucks a plug
that's what Pearson gives for good word on his orange boat :tongue: hehe LOL

and it being so far from payday,


hey have you guys seen these 2 great examples of Donzi
just look under the registry under Oleredalert and Scott Pearson these boats are truely gorgeous, fantastic unbelieveable!!! WOW!!!!


Matty :)
sendcash only to:
Mattyboy
rr1 box 69
smalltown usa 69690

[harbormaster]

Paint it whatever color you want. The damage (if you can call it that)was done when you painted over the gelcoat.

If you wanted to stay "PURE" you would have redone the gelcoat with gelcoat.

Remember - If it becomes a hi dollar collectable you can always strip it and redo it original.

Make it what you want...

[Morgan's Cloud]

Ahh , you guys are being TOO kind.. I was really almost expecting some real :lightning :cussball: :kaioken: responses :biggrin.:

I must admit some of those colours that Islander spoke of are very tempting.. would love to see a tangerine example.. still am limited by the selection on the chart .. probably the only drawback of useing Awlgrip.

I researched re-gelcoating 17 years ago and the cost was absolutely prohibitive , besides after a year or two it would be back to the old buffing/polishing/waxing routine that makes boat ownership sooo fun. After 17 years with the exception of the transom,the topsides still looked 'wet'. Gelcoat certainly can't do that even though I understand the attractiveness of a boat that appears to be untouched by having been re-gelled.

Deep inside the little voice (one of many ? :biggrin.: ) says "it was born blue.. LEAVE IT blue". This is very likely what will happen.

As Fish and others allude to , at the end of the day you've got to do what YOU like.

Personally I think it would be in bad taste to change it even though I'm very curious.. This does not bear out in Cuda's predicament though. (what a tough situation !)

The strange thing... if you want to call it that.. is that when (BIG when) this is finished the boat will be better than new in every way but look no different than it did before I started.

I think that that is where the temptation comes in to change the appearance.. to make a statement... you know ... 'see what I did ? a new boat ! Yeah.'

Thanks for the input .. but never be afraid to say "WHAT A DUMB IDEA !" (To me anyway ..)

Steve

[New2Donzi]

I too am having some work done to my boat. When the old motor was pulled to repower they told me my stringers required work-repaired/replaced. My hull will also require work. What options do I have? New Gel or paint. Will paint hold up under the water line, and if so what should be used?
As you mentioned to re-gel is VERY costly.
Any sugestion would be greatly appreciated.

Thx....Ed :confused:

[Morgan's Cloud]

Ed,
Has your bottom ever been painted or is it the original albeit probably ratty, gelcoat ?

S

[Cuda]

I too am having some work done to my boat. When the old motor was pulled to repower they told me my stringers required work-repaired/replaced. My hull will also require work. What options do I have? New Gel or paint. Will paint hold up under the water line, and if so what should be used?
As you mentioned to re-gel is VERY costly.
Any sugestion would be greatly appreciated.

Thx....Ed :confused:

Do you plan on leaving it in the water for long periods at a time?

[New2Donzi]

Cuda,
Yes unfortunatly it has been previously painted. I leave the boat in most of the summer and take it out monthy to clean etc...
to re-due in gel is going to be costly.
Thx...Ed

[Cuda]

I believe that gel is the only thing that will take being submerged all the time.

[gcarter]

Cuda, you're absolutely right, compared to paint. But after having done two blister jobs on much larger boats, the real answer for longevity is epoxy (pigmented of course).
Take a look at the System Three web page, and you'll find they offer a wide variety of epoxy products for doing such things http://www.systemthree.com/p_clear_coat.asp. And the plus for epoxy is, if you do leave it in the water for extended periods, you won't get any asmotic blisters. Also epoxy is very forgiving, tough and NOT brittle (it will NOT chip...hopefully). You can spray it, color it, fix holes with it, build airplanes and boats out of it.

George...I HATE fiberglass, and blisters, and scratching, and itching, and ruined clothes, and sand paper, and... :uzi: