tremblay canoe, help with verolite

[Bronwyn]

I have a tremblay canoe (about 30 years old). It has a verolite covering and ceder inside. The verolite is in good shape but was a red colour that is now a yellow. I would like to paint this and make it look like a birch bark canoe. I know how to paint the canoe but I do not know what I should put over it. Is there some kind of clear enamel or something that I should use? I want something that will still alow me to see the birch bark painting.

Thank you

Bronwyn

 

[Benson Gray]

My wife and I created a decoupage of old photographs on a fiberglass model canoe last year. We covered it with a clear acrylic as shown at http://www.canoehullabaloo.com/grayhasty.htm but it has never been in the water. Good luck,

Benson

 

[Bronwyn]

thanks for the info

Thanks for the information and the pictures of your canoe. I hope mine turns out, yours looks great. Thanks again

Bronwyn

 

[Mark Reuten]

Finding the paint that will bond well to the Verolite may be the hard part. I put up a post a while back looking for people who have used "Enviroguard" by General Paints. It is a waterbased paint that goes on and looks like an enamel and is supposed to bond well to plasics. I've used it on fibreglass canoes years ago but have never heard back regarding longevity. I'll be trying it on the next W/C canoe that I do for myself but that could be a ways away.
I would suggest that you may not require a clear topcoat if you use the right quality of paints for your birchbark job.

 

[peter osberg]

verolite

I too have a trusty Tremblay with the verolite cover. Verolite was developed for the home-built aircraft market but never made it, although it was use in the marine industry for a while. I got on to the aircraft fabrics as a result of this and now use them by preference. The plasticizer for the verolite is probably MEK based and the Stits line of MEK based paints (they have great colours) would probably work although I have not done it yet myself. MEK is fairly toxic but an organic filter mask and outside work is safe(I forgot I was having my liver enzymes and blood work done the next day and ended up proving to myself that the organic filter mask really works) I would not spray apply it unless you have the full positive pressure hood and spray booth.