What good yacht painters deliver
A high-gloss topcoat shows every flaw underneath it, so the work of a yacht painter starts long before the first coat of paint. Survey, preparation and fairing decide the final result, and the paint system has to be applied under controlled conditions and recorded properly. Superyacht Painters Ltd brings over 40 years' experience to that process, on motor and sailing yachts, new builds and refits.
Owners, captains, managers and yards use our yacht painters for:
- New build fairing and painting: full fairing and paint systems for new builds, including our work as fairing and painting subcontractor to Hyundai Yachts on the 40 m G40 and new build painting in Haiphong, Vietnam. See superyacht fairing.
- Hull painting: hull preparation, fairing and high-gloss hull paint systems. See yacht hull painting.
- Full repaints: hull, topsides and superstructure, from survey and removal through fairing to topcoats. See superyacht full repaints.
- Paint repairs and metallic blending: localised repairs that match the existing finish, as on M/Y Victon.
- Composites: GRP, carbon fibre and Kevlar repair, finished in paint. See superyacht composite repair.
Superyacht paint systems
We apply high-gloss two-pack primer, undercoat and topcoat systems from leading superyacht paint manufacturers, including buffable, repairable topcoats, with colours specified against the manufacturer's official colour cards on every programme. Our step-by-step process is set out below.
Our process standard: blast, fair, finish, repaint
There is a saying in our trade: “99% surface preparation, 1% applying the finish coats.” It is a saying rather than a measurement, but it is why our process standard is written to leading superyacht paint manufacturers' specifications, with independent ISO standards named wherever they apply.
1. Blast: cleanliness, profile and abrasive
- Steel: grit blast to white metal, SSPC-SP10 / Sa 2½ (ISO 8501-1), with a 50–75 µm surface profile (profile assessed to ISO 8503). Alternatively grind with a 36 grit disc to bright, clean steel with the same 50–75 µm profile.
- Aluminium: low-pressure grit blast with aluminium oxide or an equivalent abrasive, never copper slag, or grind with a 36–60 grit disc, to bright silver metal completely free of grey oxidation, with a 50–75 µm profile. Jagged blast profiles are ground to remove spikes.
- Before blasting: weld spatter removed and edges rounded to a minimum 2 mm radius. Soluble salt testing (ISO 8502) is considered, especially if the hull has been afloat uncoated.
- Time to prime: blasted or ground metal is primed in the same work shift, within 8 hours. If 8 hours is exceeded, the surface is sweep blasted or given a clean-up grind first.
- Hydroblasting is not accepted as final preparation under filled and faired systems; the surface is abrasive sweep blasted before priming.
2. Re-fair: fairing compound and high-build primer
- Bare metal is sealed with an approved epoxy substrate primer before any filler goes on.
- Epoxy fairing compound is trowelled on in areas that can be worked in 15–20 minutes, starting with coats up to 6 mm in the low areas and building out to the high areas. A maximum of 5–6 mm per application is used to minimise air entrapment, with air pockets kept below 4 mm.
- Each application is block or machine sanded with 36–80 grit before the next. Where battens are used, batten lines are ground out to a taper of more than 7:1 before refilling.
- Fairing stops when the surface meets the fairing quality specified for the project. Manufacturers do not publish a universal fairness tolerance, so the tolerance is agreed in each project specification.
- Filler is then sealed with full coats of a high-build surfacing primer before undercoats.
3. Finish: build-up, film thickness and inspection
- Epoxy primer / undercoat: applied in 3 coats at 35 µm dry film thickness per coat (45 µm maximum), with at least 50–75 µm remaining after sanding.
- Before topcoat: primer smooth sanded with 280–400 grit, using a contrasting guide coat, for maximum gloss and distinction of image (DOI).
- High-gloss polyurethane topcoat: 3 spray coats at 25 µm dry film thickness per coat (75 µm wet).
- Conditions: no application to surfaces less than 3°C above dew point; ambient temperature between 13°C and 41°C. In tropical humidity we work in climate-controlled tenting or covered paint sheds and record temperature and humidity in our paint application reports.
- Inspection: dry film thickness measured to ISO 2808; gloss measured to ISO 2813 and adhesion checked by cross-cut test to ISO 2409 where specified. Appearance and DOI acceptance levels are agreed in the project specification, since no single figure is published for every system.
4. Repaint: full repaint or overcoat?
- Survey first: the existing scheme is inspected and three checks carried out: cross-hatch adhesion, solvent resistance and coating compatibility.
- Overcoat, good or fair condition: sand P320–400 and remove all gloss, then prime and topcoat.
- Overcoat, poor condition: sand P120–180 and remove all gloss.
- Fairing required, good or fair condition: hard machine sand P80, removing all damaged or cracked layers back to sound primer or filler.
- Full repaint, poor condition with fairing: sand P60–80 or abrasive sweep blast back to sound epoxy primer or filler, removing all existing topcoat, with spot blasting to bare substrate where needed. Any bare metal exposed is primed before other primers or fillers.
- Refresh without repainting: on buffable topcoats, down-glossing and light scratching can be corrected by buffing, polishing and sealing, provided the remaining topcoat film stays above the manufacturer's minimum thickness. Non-buffable topcoats are cleaned only.
Yacht painters in Asia, the UK and worldwide
Our head office is in Singapore, our Thailand branch is at Ocean Marina Jomtien near Pattaya, and we work in Vietnam. Our yacht painters also travel to yachts in Hong Kong, Japan and beyond, and our record covers the UK and Europe.
- Superyacht painting Singapore: our current 76m superyacht project, full fairing and a new paint system in the covered paint shed at ST Engineering Marine.
- Yacht painters Thailand: our Ocean Marina base, with yacht painting in Phuket and Bangkok.
- Superyacht painting Vietnam: Haiphong new build painting.
Recent work by our yacht painters
- M/Y Asian Poseidon, 40.2 m Benetti, Thailand: full exterior paintwork and repairs at Ocean Marina, completed over 12 weeks.Delivered
- M/Y Victon, 41 m, Thailand: extensive paint repairs and metallic blending at Ocean Marina. Case study.Delivered
- M/Y Sea Pearl, 60 m, Bangkok: full Alexseal refair and repaint. Case study.Delivered
- 76m superyacht, Singapore: full fairing and a new hull paint system at ST Engineering Marine.In progress
- M/Y Kerry, Hong Kong: composite repair. Case study.Delivered
“Their painting and repair services consistently meet and exceed superyacht standards, a level of quality demonstrably rare within the Asian region.”
Captain Paul Stanton · M/Y Asian Poseidon · Read the full reference →
How we work
Every programme is documented. The YRA Project Status App gives owners, captains and managers one secure sign-in to a live progress dashboard, twice-daily work photos and paint application reports recording temperature, humidity and hardness tests. Work is carried out to RINA, Lloyd's Register and Bureau Veritas standards. Full refits and project management are handled by our sister company, Yacht Refit Asia.
Yacht painters: frequently asked questions
What do your yacht painters do?
Our yacht painters carry out new build fairing and painting, full and partial repaints, paint repairs and metallic blending, and GRP and composite repair, in high-gloss two-pack superyacht paint systems.
Where do your yacht painters work?
We have bases in Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, and our team travels to yachts in Hong Kong, Japan, the UK and worldwide.
Which paint systems do you use?
We apply high-gloss two-pack primer, undercoat and topcoat systems from leading superyacht paint manufacturers, including buffable, repairable topcoats, with colours specified against the manufacturer's official colour cards.
Can your yacht painters work as a subcontractor to a yard?
Yes. We work as a main contractor, for example at ST Engineering Marine in Singapore, and as a fairing and painting subcontractor to builders, as on the 40 m Hyundai Yachts G40 new build.
How do I get a yacht painter to look at my yacht?
Email info@yachtrefitasia.com or call +66 (0)80 829 0122, and our team will arrange an inspection and discuss your project.