Paint recommendation

[MR nova @#25]

At first, I was fine with my gel coated cockpit floor, gunwales and cap. until I Painted the engine compartment with bilge paint.The newly painted area makes the rest of my boat look dingy. What kind of paint can I use, that will stand up to foot traffic on the floor of the boat? and can I use that same paint on the cap or do I need to use another type of paint?

 

[Scott Danforth]

first, what color did you use for the gel. bilge kote or bilge paint is generally "ultra white" where most gel coats are not. most OEM white is a dull white, and most colors are more in the yellow spectrum.

so color matching is a must

then you must wax the floor to keep dirt from getting ground into the surfaces. you may actually have a dirty surface

if you have shoes on, there is nothing that will stand up to foot traffic
bare foot is another story. you can look at many of the 2-part coatings (yes, coatings, not paint) for the floor

personally, I would buff the gel on the cap, clean the floor and use the boat. the bilge kote will be dingy shortly in the bilge.