Hi all,
I have seen multiple recommendations of paints to use on the outside of a canoe (I still have not made up my mind), but I am really struggling more with the inside of the canoe. It is fiberglass, and it is shedding fibers and making my son itch like crazy so we had to stop using it. I was thinking a two-part epoxy paint would do the trick, but I am concerned about the added weight if I choose the wrong materials.

So I am guessing a few of you have some experience in this area. I am looking for recommendations on both the outside paint and inside paint.

Thanks for suggestions!

I can't help you with the canoe paint specifically, but here's something to look for in the Epoxy paint.

Look and see what the % of solids is. The higher % of solids, the thinner the coat to get it to cover.

Could you just re-gel coat the canoe? I'd think you'd have to sand down the fibers first before re-coating or they'd stick up thru the new coat?

I HATE working with fiberglass.........

I’ve built a few kayaks using epoxy so if I was doing it this is what I would do. Sand down the fuzzy fiberglass. If you have an orbital sander it makes the job easier. Then apply one coat of epoxy to hold the fibers in place and to keep from gaining too much weight. I like to use 635 Thin Epoxy Resin and you have a choice of different hardeners to make the epoxy set up fast or slow. This epoxy is watery thin so you won’t have too much build up and accumulate weight as much as a thicker epoxy. You can buy the 635 at
http://www.uscomposites.com/

Yeah, I hate working with fiberglass too, but my son is exceptionally sensitive to it. It must be his Korean skin or something. I swear he just looks at it and breaks out. We haven't canoed in a while since new ones cost far too much IMHO.

Looked at a plastic used one this summer, and thought "oh wow, only $300!" then I tried to lift it. Then looked at some Kevlar canoes OMFG! Then I started looking at paints.

Frankly I am afraid of sanding fiberglass as nobody knows if the glass fibers are just as bad as asbestos when lodged in your lungs. I have already had my fair share of asbestos exposure when unknowingly removing a linoleum kitchen floor with asbestos backing... using a circular saw. No need to add to the pile of crud in my lungs.

The outside will need some sanding as it has some cracks and gouging in the existing paint surface. A lot of recommendations of several coats of paint to restore the outer part. The inner I just need to captivate the fiberglass to stop it from shedding. I will probably powerwash it, as I think sanding may "fluff up" fiberglass that has not yet broken the surface of the old paint and make matters worse.

Thanks for the recommendation on the epoxy resins as there are so many to choose from it is mind-boggling. I had visions of garage concrete paint, which would certainly stop the shedding, but also the lifting.

Go ahead and sand it, just wear a dust mask. If you really want to control the dust, have someone hold a shop vac hose next to the sander as you are sanding and have them follow the sander as you move it. 90+% of the sanding powder will be sucked into the shop vac.

liquidsquid I have been around epoxy & fiberglass since my 20's & near 80 now in the pattern making and model business and I have closely watched what my pears in the business died from. It wasn't from lung cancer but mostly heart disease, stroke and some different cancers but not one of a hundred I knew died from lung cancer. The ones that died from lung cancer and many other cancers were in a department next to ours and were white-collar engineers and draftsman. I always suspected the ammonia used to develop their blueprints was the cause for their lung cancer. So be careful but don’t over worry about the epoxy and fiberglass. Wear gloves.

Living is the leading cause of death, but a dust mask could not hurt