Kirby paints and scratches

[martin ferwerda]

I have been trying out Kirby paints on a few canoes. What I am finding is that the paint seems to scratch quite easily, for example, if I rub my finger nail against a canoe, it will leave a nice light scratch on the paint (the paint has been on the canoe for over a year, so it is cured). If I try the same with a canoe finished with Interlux brightside, it does not scratch. It seems that Kirby paints stay softer, anyone else have this experience? Comments?

 

[David McDaniel]

I have had the same problem with Kirby paint. I'm not sure what the problem
is , other than the paint just is'nt as abrasion resistant.

Later Dave

 

[Fitz]

??

I thought I was having good luck with Kirby's. I've got a couple of canoes with Interlux and 3 with Kirby's and I was thinking Kirby's was picking up less scratches. Nothing scientific to go on.

Although, I did scratch this one (attached) taking it out of the garage yesterday. The last coat is only a week old though.

 

[David McDaniel]

The canoe that I am referring to was painted last spring and it
still seems very fragile, scratch wise!
Later Dave

 

[Andy Hutyera]

This post made me curious so I went out and checked my Kirby painted canoe. The paint job is a little over a year old. I haven't noticed that it is particularly abraison prone. I tried the fingernail test on a small portion of the hull and found it did not leave any marks. There was no sensation of softness or give to the finish. I did use penetrol and brushed out very thin coats. Possibly what is being observed is from using the paint straight from the can which would likely result in a very thick coat being applied.

 

[Fitz]

I was thinking about this a little more...

I tried to scratch the week old finish with my fingernail last night - no scratch. It is a hard enamel finish. Anything harder than a fingernail will mark it (I scratched it on a saw horse). But what I think I was observing between interlux and kirby's is that during normal wear and tear tripping etc. I was more likely to scratch into the filler with interlux. The Kirby's would scratch, but seemed to protect the filler better. Again, no science, just my impression so far.

I did use a lot of penetrol in the kirby's on the above canoe.

 

[martin ferwerda]

Perhaps there is not that really that much of a difference. I have canoe that has a red border, half inch yellow parting stripe and a green body, the red and yellow are Kirby and the Green is Interlux. Been out in the garage dragging my finger nail across all three paints, the scratches tend to show on the red and green, lot less on the yellow, but both the Kirby and Interlux seem to be about the same, so I’m recanting a bit. What got me thinking about this is that I was pulling the canvas off a canoe that had a really tough paint on it, and was a bit surprised at how it did not scratch even as I was yanking it off, probably some kind of deck and porch enamel.

 

[mark wismer]

I sensed the same softness w/ Petitt marine enamel. I did not use penetrol. I also noticed it was damaged by long exposure to strong sunlight. I wet sand between coats so the thickness should not be an issue.

 

[Dan Miller]

I wonder if some of the scratching issues have to do in part with the particular pigments in the colors being used, and that marine paints are formulated to be more flexible than other types.

 

[Blue Viking]

Thanks for discussing this problem....Will give this subject serious consideration when it comes time to paint my 16' Laker when the restoration progress is finished...Still have no clue who made this one...but for $50 at an auction it is my version of a treasure....Hopefully will get some idea of who made it when its finished.