COATINGS
WHITE ON TREND? There has been a growing trend away from painting a superyacht white says Chris Toole, The Product Manager, Yacht Coats at Hempel, “It is,” he says, “very much following the automotive industry, for more and more metallic or pearlescent coatings. Initially used as accent colours, it is very noticeable now that full hulls are being painted in these effect coatings as they are generally termed. He adds, “Also, like cars, there will be trends within colours pace often matching the trend of cars or fashion. We’ve seen a lot of blue and dark blues over the years, when metallics launched there were always the off-the-wall brightly coloured trendsetters, however blues and whites still remain favourites, along with greys.”
ANOTHER ASPECT OF A WHITE PAINT FINISH IS THAT IT CAN BE A LITTLE MORE FORGIVING IN TERMS OF SHOWING ANY SLIGHT SURFACE DEFECTS OR INCONSISTENCIES IN THE HULL FINISH
Ken Marcovich agrees saying, “You only have to look at the number of performance sailing catamarans being launched at the moment. All seem to have brightly coloured and metallic paint systems. MAP Yachting supplies these paints and works with many other superyacht builders and refit specialists on non-white finishes.” He adds, “The base material finish is critical, and something like a metallic finish needs a well-drilled painting team, but it’s definitely something owners are asking for more and more.”
2021 saw about a 60% increase on previous years in the number of customer requests for colour studies and developments. Owners and builders come to us looking for a colour that doesn’t exist, and we are able to develop a bespoke shade that is their colour, unique to them and their project. At MCR Marine in Italy Micheli Gabriele the Technical Manager says that in “recent years the trend among modern designers has been to offer attractive lines and geometries, accompanied by special colours such as metallic, pearlescent and dark colours.”
GET YOUR UV ABSORPTION AND REFLECTION WHITE When looking at colours other than white, there are important factors to consider within manufacturing to reduce UV absorption and reflection. Micheli Gabriele the Technical Manager at MCR Marine in Italy believes that in the case of composite yachts, surfaces should always be subjected to a “post-curing cycle” to prevent UV absorption in the composite that causing movement and re-activating chemical processes in the resin. He says, “The type of resin to be used must also be assessed, take epoxy resin as an example. It has a high cost but it offers high performance in return.” He adds, “On the other hand, for metal yachts, structural design is crucial; for example, for lightweight aluminium yachts in dark colours, a solid structure behind the sheets and the thickness of the sheets themselves can help reduce the risks of deflections and movement when exposed to temperature limits.”
The fairing/painting cycle is also important. Due to the new trend/demand for special finishing colours, paint manufacturers are developing chemical technologies that are more stable even under extreme temperatures. Some products are already on the market, tested and used with excellent results.
Inge De Jonge, says that UV absorption is controlled by the final product used when painting a yacht. There are two paint systems available to painters – a direct gloss 2K top coat or the clear-over-base system. He says, “UV sensitivity is a property built into both of these as part of the manufacturing process - the 2K top coats in the direct gloss system, and our Imron® Marine DP6940 Clearcoat, in the clear-over-base system. This works effectively regardless of the colour of the basecoat – from black to white and all shades in between.
While both paint systems handle UV absorption equally well, at Axalta we tend to favour the clear-over-base system largely due to the colour choice our Imron Marine Basecoat offers yacht designers and owners. It can be mixed to create any colour, including all solid, metallic and pearlescent colours, as well as tri-stage and tinted clear colours. This really provides an infinite colour palette from which to choose while still having outstanding UV absorption properties.”
MAP YACHTING Since 2001, Map Yachting has been developing and distributing complete high performance paint finishing systems for naval, military and high-tech industries. Benefiting from the recognised expertise of the Sicomin Group, Map Yachting markets high-tech products, suitable for the most complex projects. Today, Map Yachting is the only French paint brand servicing the world of yachting and shipbuilding markets. For more details Tel: +33 (0)4 42 98 14 50 or visit
www.map-yachting.com
ONBOARD | WINTER 2022 | 175
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