What tape for temp coverage of peeled paint on W/C canoe?

[Glenn MacGrady]

I hit an underwater rock with my Rollin Thurlow reproduction Morris wood/canvas canoe, which knocked off a section of paint about the size of a Ritz cracker. The canvas filler is undamaged and intact.

I'm reluctant to spend $50 for 750 ml of matching Epifanes #34 yacht enamel just to use a couple of ml for a touch up.

I've been thinking of just covering the area with some waterproof, brown duct-type tape, but I'm afraid that when I eventually remove the tape it will rip off even more paint and/or leave glue residue.

Does anyone recommend using tape for this temporary coverup purpose on a W/C canoe, and if so, any particular type or brand of tape?

 

[Cheeseandbeans]

Gaff tape from the theater/production world come in many colors, but I think it would be a mistake. It hardens with age and leaves a nasty yellow residue when removed after a while. Like you said, more paint would come off.

There will be more rocks in your future. I would buy the paint.

Bob

 

[lowangle al]

That's a bummer Glenn, but I'm glad to hear you're back on the water. I wouldn't be afraid to use duct tape. I would make the patch just slightly bigger then the damaged area. Even if some paint peels off when removing it that area will be repaired anyway. If you are planning to do the repair yourself you might as well order the paint. In the mean time the tape will keep you on the water.

FWIW, I've never had tape peel off paint, and that is on a poorly painted hull with a tendency to have paint flake off.

 

[Seeker]

If it's below waterline, why not get some Rustoleum enamal? I bought a can each of green and red to touch up my Chestnut and Old Town W/C canoes. They're a close enough color match, and iirc, the pints are about $10 at Home Depot.

For tape, it's hard to say... I use Gorilla Tape on my Hemlock Nessmuk (carbon fiber) as a bang-strip on front and rear. Dave Curtis told me to make sure I don't leave it on too long (just for the trip), as the adhesive will get hard. Should work for your W/C. Even if it does pull more paint off, would it matter if you were pulling it off to paint the scrape anyway?

 

[ppine]

The normal routine would be to use some glue, (cement) that comes in a tube. Ambroid cement. Then paint over it when it dries. The paint does not have to be a perfect match. Tape looks like crap, removes paint and leaves residue.

 

[gumpus]

Clear Gorilla tape for my wood/dacron boat. In my case I have 2 spots about the size of BB's (from rocks) that may have penetrated the skin and I'm not going to reskin the boat for that. I've used it on paddles too and it's been easy to remove years later.

In your case I'd buy the paint.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

I spoke to Rollin Thurlow, who built my canoe, about repairing the flaked off paint. He was doing a workshop demo at the 2025 WCHA Assembly last week on why and how to shellac the bottom of a wood/canvas canoe.


Rollin advised me how to paint the flaked-off area, which I'll eventually do instead of covering it with tape. Egads, though, he advised me to TAPE around the area that I was painting. So, am I in a "ground hog day" loop about taping? No, since he was using masking tape on the painted hull during his shellac demo, I assume that won't leave a residue problem upon removal.

 

[stevet]

Think I would use painters tape to be sure there’s no residue?

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Yes, painters tape is what I meant by masking tape.