Matching Ericson Blue with Interlux Polyurethane

Has anyone tried to match the Ericson blue in the gelcoat boot stripe with Interlux Perfection or Brightsides polyurethane paints? We're using the two-part Interlux paint, Perfection, and Flag Blue is too dark. Has anyone found that Mauritius is closer? Then there's the Dark Blue in the Brightside one-part paint, which some people recommend as a close match. But the Dark Blue seems slightly too blue -- not quite dark enough. In any case, we'd prefer to use the two-part polyurethane. Any ideas?

Thanks,

Brooke

Take the brighter one...

Hi Brooke,

had the same issue with our red stripe. Looked long and hard on all the reds in Interlux family. Needed a lot of Admiral's help - my color sight is medically OK but all the semi-tones are somehow lost on me. There was nothing matching exactly, but there was one more intense but close color.

I could not really believe that PO or factory bothered with mixing colors, so we took a correction on years of UV and salt exposure and went with that more intense one. Admiral did an outstanding gob painting. One year since, you cannot tell the difference. So, correction on fading was appropriate after all.

And by the way, you will not beleive how that freshly painted small stripe changes the appearance of the boat.

So, I'd go with a one-part Dark Blue color. Also, do you plan to roll, brush or spray?

Thanks,
Stan

I agree with the fading/weathering theory but not the one part recommendation. The Perfection is much tougher and will last longer than Brightsides. Do it once in ten years rather than 2 or 3 times.

Mix the paint, thin properly for environmental conditions then roll and tip it on and it should look as good as new gelcoat and will take a lot longer to fade.

Interlux two-part, rolling and tipping

Stan, we applied the two-part Flag Blue by rolling and tipping. After the first coat today, we thought perhaps it was too dark. We think we'll switch to the two-part Mauritius, but we've been debating whether to go with the one-part Dark Blue. (One-part polyurethane can be applied over two-part, but not vice versa.) I'm inclined to continue with the two-part because it's more durable.

The color question comes down whether to go with slightly too dark (Mauritius) or slightly too light, using the one-part Dark Blue. The Dark Blue isn't so much too light as too blue, rather than a blacker blue. The color loses some of its bold Ericson edge if it's too blue, I think. However, the Flag Blue Perfection is too dark. I don't want to be stopped by the Coast Guard this summer for having a boot stripe that isn't quite Ericson blue.

-- Brooke