Top Side Paint (1 quart)
If you want to improve the looks of your inflatable boat a new coat of paint will always work. Make your inflatable unique. Add color and style to you inflatable restoration project. Top Side paint may be used on new inflatables to make them look newer or on old inflatables to make them look new again.
Can be used on PVC/Polyurethane and Hypalon fabric inflatable boats. See note below about PVC fabric boats made in China.
Top Side Paint is specially formulated to have the elasticity and UV resistance required for use with inflatable boats. Because inflatable boats expand in the hot sun and contract at night in the cooler temperatures, constantly flexing, ordinary paint or vinyl stick-on numbers will not stay on an inflatable boat for more than a few weeks. But we don't stop there! We mix our Sealant in our Top Side Paint to further enhance the airtight integrity of your inflatable. Check out our Customer Testimonial and Picture tabs.
A quart will paint an 8-9 foot inflatable boat tube, with 2 thin coats. Generally, subject to how thick you apply it, here is quantity information for larger boats. Keep in mind that larger boats have larger tube diameters and are longer so the required paint quantity doesn't rise in a linear rate:
- 10 - 15 foot inflatable boat - buy 2 quarts
- 16 - 20 foot inflatable boat - buy 3 quarts
- 21 - 25 foot inflatable boat - buy 4 quarts
It's better to buy a bit more paint and have left over for an added coat, or touch ups later, than to run out before your project is ciompleted. These amounts will not paint the floor of an inflatable. If you want to paint the floor, buy another quart or 2 subject to the size of your boat. You can also buy pint quantities here for painting accessories in different colors or doing touch-ups.
COLORS: Top Side Paint is available in Red, International Orange, Yellow, Royal Blue, Grey, Black or White.
HOW TO APPLY TOPSIDE PAINT
- Sand (abrade) the area to be treated. A 3m or Scotchbrite pad is best but sandpaper works too.
- Clean the area well with a solvent such as Acetone or MEK (use safety precautions when using solvent)
- Paint it on by applying a thin coat by brush, roller or spray it on. Wait a minimum of 6-8 hours before applying a 2nd coat. Best to wait 24 hours though to ensure first coat is fully dry, depending on environmental conditions.
- Dries to the touch in 6-8 hours - cures completely in several days depending on environmental conditions.
This is a latex based paint so it is easy to use, and cleaned easily with soap and water.
WHEN CAN I USE TOP SIDE PAINT?
Use Topside paint alone to simply repaint your inflatable. The Top Side paint will not restore and cover abrasions or seal slow leaks. Read below about our 3-step process and restoration kit if your inflatable boat has any of these issues.
MAJOR RESTORATION PROJECTS
If you need to restore your inflatable to cover abrasions, and add an extra layer of protection to the old fabric of your tubes, we recommend that you use our Liquid Rubber product first before you paint your inflatable with Top Side paint. This will make the surface of your inflatable like new. Many of our customers have used Liquid Rubber and our Top Side paint to repair and restore inflatables that were 10 to 15 years old. If your inflatabe boat has slow leaks (loses air over a day or 2) use our internal tube sealant. It works wonders.
To make you inflatable more reliable, leak free and good looking for the long-term, use our three step process:
(1) Seal It (with our internal sealant liquid to seal slow micro leaks)
(2) Re-Skin It (using the Liquid Rubber paint)
(3) Paint It (using Top side paint) If you're applying our Top Side paint over the Liquid Rubber also, wait the 7 days of curing (for the Liquid Rubber) before applying the Top Side paint.
If you choose to do the 3-step process, buy everything you need in our Restoration Kit and save money overall.
If your inflatable boat has slow leaks (loses air over a day or 2) use our internal tube sealant. It works wonders.
IMPORTANT!!
The first step to repairing or restoring your boat is to make sure it holds air correctly. All inflatables, regardless of manufacturer, develop porousity problems over time. This simply means small pin-hole leaks develop in the fabric or seams that can not be seen from the outside. When this happens, the air chambers will typically leak air slowly over a day or two. These pinhole leaks must be repaired before applying any top-coating products such as Liquid Rubber or Topside Paint, or down the road, your boat will develop air bubbles under the top coating.
For this reason, we highly recommend you treat your boat with Sealant as a first step. Sealant is an internal sealer that has been used by the US Navy and Coast Guard since 1985 to cure porosity problems. We also recommend re-treating older boats every year or two as new porosity problems will develop over time.
Remember, inflatable boat repair of kayaks, rafts, dinghies, or tow toys is dependent on proper preparation of the surface area. If you do not clean your inflatable as instructed, you are wasting your time and the products you have purchased.
HUMIDITY CAN SERIOUSLY AFFECT THE QUALITY OF PATCHES, PAINT, LIQUID RUBBER AND LIQUID TEAR REPAIR PRODUCTS.
When you are sure your boat is holding air, the next step is to be sure you are working with a clean and dry surface. If possible, take your inflatable boat or other repair item into a room with low humidity, or perform the repair when humidity is below the manufacturer’s recommendations. Check out our Cleaning and Preparation Products, specially formulated to prepare your inflatable for patches, rubber and paint!
Special Note to PVC fabric boat owners:
For the past several years, many boat manufacturers have been using PVC material from China. The reasons for this vary, but usually include cost as the main factor. As a result, the frequency of boaters reporting a ‘breakdown” in the material has risen drastically. The PVC material will actually start to decompose, resulting in a sticky or tacky surface, especially when exposed to intense sun like we have here in south Florida. If this condition exists on your boat, be very cautious in using any top coating product as it may not dry and cure properly. Always test a small area first.
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"Almost finished with the project Avon. Thought you might want a picture of "TT Soul Seeker. Your product brought this 1990 back to life."
Steve
East Wenatchee, WA
"I fish about 125 days a year and have broken four "National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame" world records so it's very important for me to have a dependable boat. I took good care of my German Metzeler inflatable and it looked like new but three different sections developed numerous leaks. Several boat dealers told me Metzeler was out of business and one of the reasons was that the material they used often developed a form of fatigue that was incurable. They said throw the boat away and buy a new one. I was not convinced and further investigation led me to your Sealant Kit or should I say in my opinion your "Miracle Sealant Kit. After using your product my boat holds air perfectly. It's like having a new boat. Your Sealant Kit saved me from buying a new boat and at least $2,000."
Bill Neavin
Hemet, CA
"You just saved me $2,500! That's what it would cost me to replace my Seaworthy hard bottom inflatable. Your Liquid Rubber on the exterior and Sealant on the inside make by boat perform and look like new. Thanks for products that live up to their claims."
Capt. Jack Nolan
Aboard "Whisper," Galveston TX
"What a product!!!! I've just recently used your Sealant kit and am amazed at the results. My ten year old West Marine inflatable now stays rock hard (better than it ever has). Now the only problem is the copious amount of water it takes on due to the almost total lack of rubber on the bottom. Therefore, I would like to order your Liquid Rubber kit to re-skin the bottom. If it works half as well as the Sealant I should end up with a brand new boat!"
Sean Lackey
San Francisco Bay
"I just used your Sealant Kit and does it work! It only took one application and the boat holds air just like a new one. The reason I'm writing is I have several friends who have the same problem with their inflatable. Can we buy the Sealant in larger quantities?"
Thank You,
Dennis Klein
Dingmans Ferry, PA
"We host a family reunion at our lake house every year. I had just spent $300.00 on a 12 ft. towable for my nieces and nephews and naturally they tore it up the first day by putting a 2 inch gash in one of the air chambers. I had some of your Patch Kit left over from repairing my dingy and figured I would try it. What a product! The next morning the raft was as good as new! You couldn't pull the cut apart! The only question I have is do you sell this glue in a lipstick applicator for my sister-in-law?"
Bill Carlson
Lake Lanier GA
"It's always a pleasant surprise to find a product that really does what it's supposed to do. Your inflatable boat Sealant Kit performs even better that your advertising said it would and my old formerly saggy inflatable is almost good as new again. Where I was having to pump it up almost every day, it now stays hard as a rock for weeks at a time. The porosity problem is solved. It's amazing, and it was so easy to do just by following the instructions. Congratulations on a great product. Next I'm going to try the Top Side Paint."
Jack Turner
Aboard Kalypso
