Whaler Central - Boston Whaler Boat Information and Photos

Posted by twistedtree on 09/02/13 - 12:02 PM

I've got a 1965 16' Nauset that I've owned since 1974 and this year embarked on restoration #2. On the last restoration the interior was painted with Imron, but the blue color was all wrong. I've also seen boats painted with AwlGrip's "Boston Whaler Blue H5462/F5323" and think that (along with a lot of other people) that color is too blue. Getting a proper match seems to be an elusive problem, but I think I've solved it for anyone wanting to use Awl Craft.

A friend has a boat with original gel coat that's in very good shape, and he recently hand-matched some purchased gel coat for some repairs. The match is perfect, so I asked if he could spray a scrap of fiber glass so I could use it as a color chip.

With color chip in hand, I met with the New England rep for AwlGrip (Akso Noble) and checked the color against AwlGrips "Boston Whaler Blue" on their new color chart. Sure enough, they were different, with teh Awlgrip clor being darker and bluer than the correctly matched gel coat.

So, I gave them the sample and had them match it. The results are outstanding and there is now a new AwlGrip color code available for anyone who wants to use it. It's called "Real Boston Whaler Blue" and is F5653. That color code is for Awl Craft 2000, but if you ask I suspect that can create an AwlGrip color code too. I'm using Awl Craft, so that's the only formula that I asked for. The "Real Boston Whaler Blue" can be ordered from any AwlGrip dealer as a custom color.

One thing they provided me with was a big color sample, and I've gone around and checked it against 4 different whalers. Of course it's a perfect match to the boat I used as a sample. I found a 13' that had been painted a darker blue at one time, but there were a few spots where the paint had pealed off exposing the original gel coat. The match was near perfect. Just today I found two more boats and checked against them. One has gel coat in good shape and it too is a 95% match. The other was badly chalked (as nearly all are), but I found an area where the dock line had been rubbing and polished up the gel coat. It too was an excellent match. From what I've seen, I think the biggest variation in color on these old boats has to do with chalking, and you need to get a buffed area to really match. But when you do that, I think you will find this color to be pretty spot-on. At a minimum, it's WAY better than the existing "Boston Whaler Blue".

I hope this helps others who are restoring these great old gems.

Peter

Posted by mtown on 09/02/13 - 6:04 PM

I have a 1964 and a 1966 and when I re-did the 1964 I used Interlux Perfection Lauderdale blue for the interior. It was electric blue and I was about to live with it when my wife talked me out of it. I bought Perfection "off white" and mixed 5 parts off white with one part Lauderdale blue at it came out perfect as a match.

Perfection is an epoxy paint and if you want to experiment you can mix the two colors without the hardener to test.

Glad you solved your issue, just chimed in for those that use the Interlux product.

Posted by jack12 on 09/02/13 - 7:34 PM

Good to know. I have come across several paints called "whaler blue" but they never seem to look right. I did come across "Epifanes Boston Whaler Two-Part Polyurethane Paints" custom made for/by Jamestown Distributors. I would be interested to know anyone's experience with this. Rolled and tipped well? Held up well? Blisters?

Does awl-grip roll and tip well? Or much better sprayed? I read an old thread that it is difficult to roll but that the manufacturer may have adapted it better (developed a rolling thinner).