Which white?

[Stuart 28-2]

I'm thinking of painting the transom as opposed to gel coat repair. Anyone know what color off white matches 1988 Ericsons? (I am assuming all are similar color off white but maybe they're not.)
Awlgrip have quite a few off white selections and I'm told you can't tint it.

 

[jkfuller10]

We recently restored the topsides of an E35-II with a hull polishing, new stripes (adjusted waterline) and painted the transom. We went through a deep analysis of the color matching and found the Awlgrip "Matterhorn White" to best match our existing hull / shade. HOWEVER - with varying degrees of color fading, I'd highly recommend doing your own analysis.

 

[Christian Williams]

I held an Awlgrip paint chip chart against the transom and needed immediate psychiatric help.

Why, the color match seemed to change with sun angle and time of day , or shadow or bright. Impossible to choose.

But it doesn't matter at all. The eye can never see the topsides and the transom in the same light, so anything close works.

My painter sanded down the ghosts of old vinyl letters, taped off the ladder and chainplate, and used Awlgrip. Cost $300. After six years it still looks good.


sanded and primed

 

[Bolo]

My 2 cents. If you're that worried about matching which shade of white than just paint it a different color. Blue, gray, etc. Just the transom of course. Or get as close as you can with white and live with it. In the end, if there is any difference only you and no one else will notice it.

 

[peaman]

I'm thinking of painting the transom as opposed to gel coat repair. Anyone know what color off white matches 1988 Ericsons? (I am assuming all are similar color off white but maybe they're not.)
Awlgrip have quite a few off white selections and I'm told you can't tint it.

I recently took a close look at my 1987 boat and decided that Awlgrip Silver White is the closest match. Fleet White was very close, but not as close as Silver White, in my opinion. Desert Tan was the closest match on the non-skid. I haven't applied any paint, yet, but Silver White will go on my spars, soon.

 

[patrscoe]

I also have ghost letters. Would sanding 320 grit, to 600 and 1000 wet sanding work?

 

[Christian Williams]

Worked for me. Gelcoat under old vinyl is proud of the surrounding gelcoat, so it's just a matter of leveling.

 

[HerbertFriedman]

I recently painted the deck of my 87 E34 with Alexseal Cloud White, it looked the closest match to the deck white gelcoat. It was way off, much whiter than the deck gelcoat and definitely much whiter than the topside gelcoat.

 

[Gaviate]

My 2 cents. If you're that worried about matching which shade of white than just paint it a different color.

Exactly my plan, forget trying to match anything on my 50 year old boat....new paint before splashing next spring means I get to choose color tho, I will likely keep the same scheme

 

[Loren Beach]

Strictly in the "FWIW" dept, if you look at our pix in my blog of the finished paint, and for whatever reason see an actual O-34, you will wonder if we really matched the pale blue of the original. Well, not quite.
After several bewildering sessions with the large color chip pages in the Awlgrip book, we did slightly change our ideas & choices. Awlgrip has so many choices that you can darned near have a brain melt down.

That said we could have exactly matched the old gel coat if we wanted, or at least been close enough. We finally decided that we really wanted a different shade, but not so much that a scratch would instantly stand out.
All that said....... in the past I have found a reasonably close match in a stock color from the 'epoxy paint' selection at the local chandlers. As Christian points out accurately, no one views both sides or a full side and the transom at the same time.

 

[peaman]

At the Newport boat show, I asked an Awlgrip rep about color-matching. He told me that an Awlgrip technician can visit a boat, with a camera, to take photos and then to digitally match the colors. I would imagine that, with their reputation on the line, they would be able to apply specialized gear and serious technology and expertise in order to make recommendations. Of course the need for that is probably typically much less among "us" than with some other sorts of yacht owners.

Matching by eye can be very difficult, in my experience. I got a 3-page Awlgrip color chip brochure (for free!) from Defender, and used a 1/4" hole punch to put a hole dead-center of each chip. By placing the brochure flat on any area of interest on the boat, I found it to be much easier to discriminate colors with the area of interest entirely surrounded by the chip color, versus a side-by-side comparison.