Wrapping MacGregor blue - silver metallic

[Agi]

Hi community,

I am thinking to wrap the MacGregor 26M from blue to silver metallic.
Do yo have any experience with that or recommandations?

Thanks a lot

[Russ]

I have seen boats wrapped. Never in shiny silver metalic.

Water spots would be a big problem. I have a hard time keeping the blue clean.

[NiceAft]

I’m trying to think of all of the positives of a silver metallic . The only things I come up with is that will possibly reduce heat build up below deck, (a blue owner will have to respond to that), and that it will be a very cool looking boat, otherwise, I can think of nothing.

On the negative side:
(1) With the sun at a low angle, you could be blinding other boaters.

(2) While anchored at night, the mirror like reflection could disorient those traveling at night to believe you are farther away, if seeing you at all.

(3) Any scratches to the hull will be difficult to remedy.

[Agi]

Even in black it would look very nice and unique!
But I can imagine the boat will get heated more.
Its more about the look and not for some functionality

The question is, would it be better to wrap or to paint?

[NiceAft]

BWY made a black , they named it the Black Pearl.

https://www.bwyachts.com/sailingphotospearl.html

https://www.bwyachts.com/californiapearl.html

[OverEasy]

That would be interesting approach… sorta like a magician’s mirror trick…a disappearing MacGregor!

If one’s objective is reducing solar heat load I be making the top deck a mirror before the hull as it gets the higher solar exposure.
It would look like a sparkling gem! A real stand out to be sure!

I’d have reservations about doing it though as the maintenance/upkeep would be a major PITA as Russ an NiceAft already pointed out.

Another aspect is with the application of shiny wraps is that EVERY flaw gets amplified!
The prep work and application of wraps has to be perfect to make it work… not cheap… lots of work

This is generally why the GoTo color for fiberglass boats has been white.
It minimizes the heat load, hides the potential flaws, tend to clean up well, tends to age well ….

There is another aspect I’ve personally dealt with professionally with dealing with solar heat loading of equipment and structures.
Starting with fresh shiny polished aluminum level sheet with an enclosed base I rigged up a contact thermometer to the back face.
This set up was repeated for a dull etched exposed surface, a shiny white painted surface, a matte white painted surface, a shiny black painted surface and a matte black painted surface. All the examples were of identical dimensions and orientations. The data was auto logged.

The result was that the matte white painted surface had the consistently lowest recorded temperatures over several weeks.
The highest consistently recorded temperatures were in descending order was the polished shiny surface, the shiny black, the matt black, the etched aluminum and then the shiny white.

(This high temp position for the polished aluminum surface sorta matches the experience of anyone who remembers inadvertently leaning on cars with chrome bumpers in the summertime …. Ouch!)

There is a bit of logic behind this in that the matt white has a higher refractive dissipative characteristic.
Now this was done with Rustoleum spray paints so other paint formulas may have potentially different chemistry and potentially different results… but I’m pretty sure the results would be similar.

Now add in the aspect that our boats have ceramic gelcoat which has its own inherent thermal barrier aspects over that of spray paints…. Which would actually make it a better thermal barrier than paint.

Remember that aside from anything else this is Your boat. Your rules apply.
There are seldom only one best solution…

Best Regards,
Over Easy

[NiceAft]

I smiled when I read OverEasy’s example of squares of color, and heat absorption in daylight.

Being from Philly, I am well aware of ole Ben Franklin doing the same experiment with colored squares of cloth over 200 years ago (placed them on snow, and watched to see which melted into the snow the most). It was my remembering of that, when I bought my 2005 , brand new in 2004; I chose white.

[Russ]

Yea, chrome or shiny metal is the hottest thing in the sun.

I would not do it. In fact, I get so many compliments about my blue hull for a few weeks that it's still shiny. However, it certainly does absorb a lot of heat.

[Agi]

@NiceAft thx for sharing these pictures. The black color really fits to the MacGregor at makes it a "Badass" boat

@NiceAft -> thx for sharing all these information. really interesting. didn't know that the silvermetallic ist so bad regarding the heat. I think I have to think again about it
maybe @Russ you are right and the best is to keep the blue color.

[rsvpasap]

The silver boat is not my boat. I just thought it was interesting. I don't have knowledge or an opinion about hull color except (1) If you bang your boat around as much as I do, you would probably prefer paint and (2) I prefer the boat with less black on the top side, second photo is after I painted over one of the stripes.

[Russ]

I really like the Non-Raccoon look. The black stripes are a PITA and I don't like the looks of them. Other people do like the look.
One day I will paint over them.

[OverEasy]

To Raccoon or to not Raccoon,
That is the question.
Whether is nobler and more dashing to have a stripe or perchance to simplify the painting…

These are questions immortal….



It’s a valid thing to consider when painting as it would substantially reduce the amount of time you spend painting. It’s all in the prep work of masking for the white then removing it all and then doing it again on the opposite side of the line for the black… it’s alotta tape (and the hope the one color or the other doesn’t bleed under the tape…

It’s a tough decision which is partly why we’re gonna do the hatches, panel and seat first as a familiarization trial before tackling the whole boat.

How did the process go for you RSVPASAP?

Best Regards
Over Easy

[rsvpasap]

For the black I retained on the top side I used interluxe brightside, thick consistency, single coat, worked extremely well, unfortunately recently discontinued, $50-$60 for half a pint, sheesh, but that was sufficient to do the job.

[Agi]

@rsvpasap I really like the 26X in white. I like it more than the 26M blue version

[NiceAft]

Well, then you will love the in white.