We offer a tailored approach to yacht painting providing suitable recommendations for each project. We will meet all your requirements, with years of experience in the application of all types of yacht and superyacht coatings.

We respect our client’s confidentiality and will only publish approved photos and video clips of our work and finished projects on our websites and online social media.

Each fairing and painting project is supported by our qualified technical management team, who work alongside our experienced fairers and painters keeping accurate records of every filler and paint product that is applied. Our expert production techniques and experienced fairing and painting methods are essential to the success of every one of our projects.

We only use the best quality tools, equipment and consumables for all our yacht fairing and painting projects. This includes using the best brands of fillers, paint, paint spray guns, compressors, air dryers, orbital sanders, sanding discs, tapes, plastic sheeting and PPE available (Personal Protective Equipment).

Yacht Inspection and Paint Survey before the Commencement of Works

Firstly it is very important to carry out a visual inspection of all areas of the yacht to be repainted. Some repair requirements may not be evident until the current paint has been sanded back or removed.

More details about Delamination and Osmosis on our Composite & Fibreglass Repairs page.

Planning and Logistics for Painting your Yacht or Superyacht

• Location – Where is the painting work to be carried out?
• Does the yacht require lifting out of the water or is a dry dock needed? For anti-foul paint applications and many topside/hull paint jobs, this is a necessity. (We need to know the size and gross tonnage of the yacht to be lifted to check which marina or shipyard can accommodate it).
• We need the GA drawings (General Assembly) and pictures to calculate the size of the painted surface areas. This will assist us in calculating accurate timescales and costs of the project and how many skilled tradesmen and support staff are required.
• When and where was the yacht painted last and what products were applied?
• What brands, types and colours of paint or coatings are to be used? There are many choices of fillers, primers, topcoats, clearcoats and anti-fouling systems that we can apply. We can recommend many different paint products depending on the type of finish required, cost and product availability.

Some coating applications can be repaired and polished, whereas other harder more expensive two-part polyurethane finishes may need to have areas fully re-painted, but last longer and have a superior finish.

Repairs & Modifications

Any repairs to the substrate areas are completed before fairing and painting. This will include minor repairs caused by blistering and cracking and more serious repair work if required caused by delamination, osmosis and other damage. Also, any structural modifications need to be completed at this point that are a part of the surface areas to be painted or that will affect the surface areas to be painted. Sanding Preparation for Fairing or Semi-Fairing Following completion of all necessary repairs, we sand and clean all the substrates to be faired or semi-faired. This is required so that the fairing fillers bond correctly with all surfaces they are applied to.

Full Fairing

When it comes to producing a world-class superyacht finish we know just how important the fairing work is. Our expert sanding preparation techniques, developed over many years are employed to achieve a result to be proud of with a mirror-like reflective finish once painted that will have the whole marina talking. These techniques include expert longboard and machine sanding. Longboard sanding is where several tradesmen all sand the surfaces together using one longboard wrapped in sandpaper. Using this method greatly assists in creating straighter surfaces when compared to individual sanding methods using an orbital sander alone for example. When longboard sanding, all the skilled workers have to move in unison. One of the tradesmen will count and conduct the process so everyone works together as a team. It takes a lot of practice to perfect to get the required results. (Before longboard sanding, high and low areas on the substrate are identified with paint applied to high areas and filler applied to low areas).

Smaller yachts and dayboats for example tend not to be fully faired as it is a time-consuming process and adds costs to the painting project, however, for those clients who want the best-looking finishes, this is the correct process.

Wordclass Superyachts are fully faired to achieve a straight mirror-like substrate without deflection or low areas once painted.

Racing Yacht Fairing

Our experiences with fairing & painting racing yachts have taught us how to fair using exacting methods. This includes the expert application of lightweight fillers and our tried and tested sanding techniques plus the documentation of the weight of all fillers and paints applied together with the recording of the weight of all products sanded off. Racing yachts are built for speed and the overall weight and shape, therefore, are of vital importance.

We have faired many racing yachts over the years and are very proud to have faired and painted Vestas Sail Rocket 2 for example, which still holds the world speed records for the nautical mile and 500m set over a decade ago.

Semi Fairing

If you need your yacht’s hull surface re-worked to achieve a much better finish, we can create a semi-faired finish using the same longboard sanding techniques employed with a fully-faired finish together with hi-build fillers to create a much straighter substrate. This is a less time-consuming and more affordable option that achieves a near-superyacht finish.

Scope of Painting Works

The next step in the painting process is to discuss with the yacht owner, captain or appointed yacht project manager all the details of the proposed project.

Firstly we establish the type and scope of painting works to be carried out.

• Full yacht re-paint
• Full yacht or new build fairing and painting
• Superstructure re-paint
• Topsides/Hull re-paint
• Yacht paint repairs or new style lines
• Mast re-paint, full fair or repair
• Brightwork – varnishing interior and exterior
• Underwater system – Antifouling

When the brand and colours of paints have been selected, test panels are made of the gloss topcoats to an un-faired yacht standard of approximately 1 square meter in size. These are also used as a part of the completed paint works inspection process at the end of the painting project.

“We give free quotations for all proposed projects.”

“All our paint works are covered by our Limited Warranty.”

Painting

To get the best finish, paint is applied using high-quality spray guns. Years of painting experience are required before being considered an expert yacht painter. Our yacht painters are time-served specialists and have painted many yachts and superyachts over the years.

Some paints and brightwork clearcoats can be applied by roller and by brush and tip method depending on the application specifications and type of yacht project we are working on.

The paint is applied in several applications starting with primer coats, each of which is sanded and cleaned before further coats are applied. High-build primer is applied to low-surface areas if needed.

If sacrificial topcoats are applied, these will be sanded back before the final topcoats are applied. This is part of the process to achieve a superior superyacht finish.

We use the best paint products for the job that meet the client’s requirements too. We follow all the application guidelines and apply within the correct environmental conditions to make sure your new paintwork lasts and meets the product warranty requirements. We also record accurate temperature, humidity and dew point readings before each application, which we share with our clients in a full report book and USB thumb drive at the end of every project, including photos of every application and process. These readings are also required for our Limited Warranty validation.

Limited Warranty

Yacht Refit Asia Co., Ltd. Provide a Limited Warranty that covers craftsmanship, the products purchased and their application from the date of acceptance and signing off of the completed works.

Limited Warranty durations vary from one year upward depending on what type of work is carried out. Our Limited Warranty is also transferable if you are looking to sell your yacht. Please contact us for more details.

Environmental Control

When painting a yacht it is of vital importance to create a dust-free environment with clean airflow and air extraction systems in place to reduce over-spray to the rest of the yacht and to protect any yachts nearby, which is often the case when painting in a marina or shipyard.

For full painting and topside/hull painting projects we build a controlled environment around the whole yacht together with a full set of scaffolding inside a custom-built tent allowing easy access to all the surfaces that require painting. For a superstructure repaint only, for example, we create a controlled environment encompassing all areas to be painted.

We use a combination of fans and air conditioning systems to maintain the correct temperature range and humidity suitable for painting. We also use an air extraction system to draw filtered air into one end of the controlled area which is extracted out at the opposite end of the tented environment creating clean airflow. In colder countries, we need to use heating systems to maintain the correct environment.

Health & Safety

It is of vital importance that we create a safe environment for our painters and support staff to work in. We follow strict guidelines and application recommendations from the product manufacturers adhering to health & safety requirements. All our tradesmen use recommended high-quality PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) clothing and masks when applying coatings. This is especially important in enclosed spaces, even with good airflow.

Completed Paintwork Inspection Criteria

• There shall be no visible difference between sections of the yacht painted with the same shade of paint.
• An instrumental assessment may be carried out in the event of any dispute. (Documented Dust Inclusion Min/Max Value
• A maximum of 5 dust particle inclusions per square decimeter in high visibility areas.
• A maximum of 10 dust particle inclusions per square decimeter in low visibility areas.
• This distinction between the aforementioned surface areas will be determined in cooperation with the Owners Representative Orange Peel Level Min/Max Value
• Reference sample panel for Gloss, non-skid and un-faired yacht standard of approximately 1 square meter will be provided to the Principal.
• The sample panels will be used as the reference panel during the acceptance stage/delivery of the coating works.

Surface Fairness Details

All faired, longboard sanded, corroded and generally treated surfaces should have a “flawless” surface appearance, free of large surface imperfections, and/or irregularities such as indentations, air pockets, shimmering effect, scratches, sanding marks and local filling shall not be visible.

No filler shrinkage or appearance of sanding marks/scratches should occur.

Note - Any large lows and imperfections that need to be addressed above the faired area (above the blue line on the topsides) will be agreed upon and logged for repair on arrival inspection please note when the substrate is in finish gloss, deflections will become more visible.

Final Coating Appearance/Topcoat

Defects Coating defects such as run drips, sags, pinholes, silicone/grease spots, print marks, cleaning marks, clouding, striping or other imperfections will not be accepted and should be repainted to the closest point where tape lines will be less visible.

Smaller coating appearance defects such as those described above may be accepted in “low visibility areas” by the Owners Representative, depending on size, nature and location. Independent Paint Inspection Some clients prefer to get independent paint surveyors to carry out a full report before signing off on the paint works.

Here is an example of an independent report for one of our full painting projects carried out by CCS Yacht Coating Services.

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