Superyacht Finishing Stuart Downie FIMF 5/10/2016 Working together for a safer world
Introduction Why does the painting of superyachts deserve a presentation? How does the painting of superyachts differ from the painting of anything else? What is involved in painting a superyacht?
Why Paint? Corrosion protection Decoration Communication Antifouling Camouflage Special Purposes Non-slip Conductivity
Why is Superyacht Finishing Special? Superyachts are special objects They are huge, industrial structures, ranging from around 45m to almost 200m in length They have all the usual corrosion issues of a commercial ship, but They are usually the personally owned toy of a very wealthy and often powerful person, used to getting exactly what they want.
Currently For Sale at http://kitty-mason.com/ Priveledge One - 127m Comes with: Ferraris - 4 Boats - 11 Submarine - 1 Helicopters - 2 Cargo boat - 1 Jet Ski watercraft 6 Built to LR Class
High Expectations It s probably fair to assume that the owner will not accept anything like this.
High Expectations This is more like it
Why Superyacht Finishing? The process of applying a paint system to a superyacht, which when done right will achieve: A mirror finish A smooth, uninterrupted profile along the entire above water area The highest possible levels of gloss and Distinctness of Image (DOI) Gloss level will be over 95% measured at a 20 angle DOI is difficult to measure and is more of a judgement of the human eye All of the above results lasting for many years with minimal maintenance
How Does Superyacht Finishing Differ? Commercial ships have a far lower requirement for gloss and reflection Usually as long as it s the right colour and protected from corrosion, everyone will be happy
How Does Superyacht Finishing Differ? Even very expensive cars don t compare Look closely and you will see a blurred image caused by surface texture
How Does Superyacht Finishing Differ? The closest comparable finish? But they cheat!
Process Time - Cars Cars are painted on a production line Painting is just one part of a mass production process Process time is in minutes or hours Car paint dries very quickly and sometimes can be dried in seconds using UV curing
Process Time - Aircraft An aircraft will be stripped, cleaned and repainted, including branding and logos in ten days Aircraft are expensive things to keep on the ground
Process Time - Superyachts Superyachts take considerably longer to paint Sometimes years But why?
What s Involved in Painting a Superyacht?
Sanding Throughout the process of fairing and painting a yacht, sanding is paramount Sanding each layer of applied material from filler onwards starting with coarse grits and gradually working through to very fine grits before topcoating Fairing compound - P60 Finishing filler - P120 High build primer - P180 Undercoat primer - P240 Undercoat primer - P320 Showcoat - P400 Rule Never step more than 100 P grades between each coat
Substrate Preparation and Priming Cleaning and abrasive blasting to ISO 8501-1 SA 2½ Anticorrosive primer Typically a pure epoxy with aluminium pigments Holding primer Extended overcoating interval Chromate free Epoxy Typically ~ 250μ DFT Holding primers with extended overcoating intervals allow for work to continue on the yacht for some time before fairing commences
Filling and Fairing The starting point of a superyacht paintjob is far from flat and smooth
Filling and Fairing The end point by comparison is a smooth, uninterrupted surface
Filling and Fairing Fairing is the process of using fillers to create a smooth surface Lightweight epoxy filler is applied to all visible areas of the vessel Thicknesses from a few microns to several centimetres Like plastering a wall, but more difficult
Filling and Fairing The cured filler is sanded Machine sanding will leave visible texture from the shape of the sander Longboards up to 5m in length are used to ensure that the surface is perfectly curved over larger areas Typically P40 or P60 grit abrasive is used This is very heavy work
Filling and Fairing The result should be almost perfect But don t put your tools away yet especially not your sanding tools!
Finishing Filler A fine Finishing Filler is applied to the main filler No shaping is done in this step Finishing filler is only used to fill coarse sanding scratches, no real thickness should be applied Sand again
Filling and Fairing We should now be ready to start applying paint
High Build Primer The next layer in the system is a high build primer Typically ~250μ wet can be applied, 2 or 3 coats Achieving a total dry film thickness of ~375μ Usually applied by pressure fed air atomising spray guns to achieve as smooth a finish as possible and sand again P180
Undercoat Primer The next layer is an epoxy undercoat primer, designed specifically to be easy to sand Unlike primers for cars, these tend to be very low viscosity and should be treated like a topcoat Applied by pressure fed air atomising spray Not unusual to see 5 or 6 coats @ ~50μ dry film thickness each Sanding after 2 or 3 coats, then again after final coats
Showcoat The Showcoat is a step which only those seeking the ultimate finish take It adds expense and time but is the difference between an amazing paint job and an absolutely amazing paint job The topcoat material is applied in two coats and the best finish is aimed for When fully cured (10 days), a visual assessment is made to try to spot any abberations, which are repaired if found Finally, sand P400 before the final topcoat application
Topcoating The final topcoat is applied in two or three layers This is the critical point, only the best painters are allowed There is no possibility to rectify problems unlike on a car or a piano There are no joins or lines to segregate a repair unlike an aeroplane Any defects mean removing the entire topcoat and starting again But the result can be breathtaking
The Result
The Result
The Result
Points of Interest The cost of these paintjobs is higher than the cost of the material and fabrication costs of the ship One superyacht builder in Holland still applies it s topcoats by brush, even on very large vessels and they can achieve the same standard of finish as a spray job The biggest selling topcoat on the market is a 40 year old formulation and customers will not accept any alterations to the recipe So much filler is used on superyachts that the biggest manufacturer in the world often has insufficient capacity to produce enough Yacht filler is typically around 0.8 g/l and if applied to the underwater area would cause the ship to sit higher in the water
What didn t I cover? Problems with superyacht paintjobs Paint formulations and properties Equipment used to apply superyacht paint Application processes and environmental control Gloss and DOI definitions Measurement and inspection Sanding media Maintenance and repair of superyacht finishes
What did I cover? Does the painting of superyachts deserve a presentation? I will leave that for you to decide How does the painting of superyachts differ from the painting of anything else? Fairing Complex paint schemes Time Finish quality What is involved in painting a superyacht? Quite a lot
Questions?