Mad River Grey/Grey Matching Interior Paint?

[Guest]

I have a rehab to do on a 1991 Mad River Independence. The interior has some fugly patches from long ago, smutch from old vinyl pads and drips of varnish or oil. I plan to lightly sand that crud off as best I can, and then repaint the inside, hopefully keeping true to MRC’s two gray colors and “football” shape.

PA270065 by Mike McCrea, on Flickr

PA270064 by Mike McCrea, on Flickr

Two questions:

What paint to use, hopefully something boot-scuff resistant and hardware store available.

And, more specifically, what shades of grey? I am very color blind (I had to ask my son if both colors were grey) and I’m not hauling the Indy into the paint aisle to ask for color matching assistance.

Hoping someone on Canoe Tripping has successfully repainted the inside of a composite Mad River and remembers the paint/grey colors they used.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Never did it myself but have been told by people I respect: enamel porch paint. It's made to resist years of scuffs from constant walking and drunken stumbling. Marine enamel such as Epifanes, used on high end wood-canvas canoes, would probably also work but be more expensive.

 

[Guest]

Thanks Glenn.

With a can of light gray porch paint

PB020008 by Mike McCrea, on Flickr

It went from this:

PA270064 by Mike McCrea, on Flickr

PA270066 by Mike McCrea, on Flickr

To this:

PB030012 by Mike McCrea, on Flickr

Added some pigment:

PB030014 by Mike McCrea, on Flickr

To this:

PB040051 by Mike McCrea, on Flickr

I still have a lot of work to do on that canoe. I don’t like that 20 years ago I stained the gunwales and decks dark, and then put in a used unstained seat, drops and thwart.

PA270061 by Mike McCrea, on Flickr

I’m undecided about de-webbing that seat, stripping the varnish off the blond brightwork down to bare wood, staining it dark and rewebbing. I probably will, but that is a stupid amount of work.

Lotta work still to do on that boat, and I won’t be floating under that bridge for at least a couple weeks.