ICOMIA Paint Colour Guide: Yacht Coating Technical Guidelines

Description

The days of yachts only being painted with the typical blue hulls and white superstructures are well in the past. Today’s large yacht customers are desiring far more choice in terms of customisation and individuality of colours and special effect coatings for their yachts, from pastel colour shades to metallic or pearlescent effect coatings. The choice of finishes is almost unlimited. However, with this expansion of colour choice comes a growing complexity around colour range suitability, application successes and long term repairability, especially with the increase in size of vessels.

This document aims to provide a high-level understanding of the complexities and characteristics of colour in aesthetic coatings (topcoats) so that owners, applicators, management companies, shipyards etc. can make informed decisions about colour selection and the potential associated challenges with its application and in-service maintenance.

We hope this industry document can be used pragmatically and protectively with all industry users, to help gain a better understanding of paint colour behaviour, and to help provide some common sense explanations and solutions if and when colour issues do occur.