Yellow paint

So, the question is, where were all you, my sage and wise canoeing friends when I decided to paint a canoe yellow? Over a dark grey primer? (I could have gone with a white primer). I had completely forgotten what LOUSY coverage yellow paint gave. I am using Kirby's Shaw Yellow. on a 1965 OT 50 pounder. I had to call Kirby's yesterday and order more paint. I sprayed the first coat, and then decided to brush the second to see if the coverage was any better. It wasn't. I just sprayed the 3rd, and it is looking much better, but it needs at least more coat. Never again!

 

Mark,
Photos please. I plan to paint one yellow this summer.

 

Yep, even looking yellow seems to really be depend on paint film thickness. I think I rolled and tipped three coats of porch enamel on this one before I was sure it was even. I have both regular and HVLP spray equipment, but by the time you thin boat paint enough to spray well, it can take a whole bunch of coats on some shades to get a solid color, so I don't bother. I'm used to spraying 20 coats on guitars, but I'm not going to do that on something as big as a boat.

The good news is that of all the possible colors, I don't think there is any other that really makes the warm tones of the cedar pop the way yellow does. You may get a few banana jokes from the peanut gallery but it's worth it. There was a photo in the 1969 or 1970 Old Town catalog of two hunters with a dead deer in a yellow O.T. Lightweight and I always thought "some day, I'm going to paint my Guide yellow so that the wood will glow like that". I did and it does. Looks nice with the fall leaves, too.

 

Mark,
I've had requests to paint Shaw's Yellow on 4-5 occasions. My advice is to just keep painting it..... When you sand, avoid the areas that sand through to the filler. It usually takes a bout 3 more coats than normal, as I recall.

 

That yellow does wake a person up.

Only 3% of Joe's canoes were painted yellow, 75% were green.

Dan

 

Todd,

The way the yellow "pops" the colors of the wood is why I chose yellow. I figured it would look pretty dang nice, and the posted photos by you and Dave only confirm that. But jees, what a pain! The real problem is that I am supposed to be delivering the canoe to Logan, Utah on Wed, and the last qt. of paint is scheduled for Monday delivery. That leaves a day and a half for the paint to cure before I strap it on the trailer, and hit the road. Not much time! And, I still have to install the stem bands.

 

Note that Joe only had 36 distinct colors recorded in the record, and I lumped all the primary colors togther for the percentages, ie, all greens, all reds, etc.

Dan