Painting Floatation Foam

[mallard150]

Hello,
First, I must say thank you for all of the great advice on this forum. I have used it extensively as I am rebuilding a 1980s 17ft aluminum Mirrocraft. I tore out all of the floors and decks in an effort to convert to more of a hybrid duck/fishing boat. Well, as many projects go, the more I tore apart, the more problems I found. The old foam was rotten and the way it was installed from the factory did not allow good drainage nor did it allow it to dry. Anyway, I have cut, shaped and shaved foamular 150 to replace the floatation foam. I know this is closed cell foam and the stuff many of you recommend. My question is:

Would it be worth while to paint a layer of exterior grade latex paint over the foam to prevent future rot, mildew or breaking down of foam?? I thought it might help longevity and for those times when water/moisture penetrate to the foam.

Thoughts??

 

[1lhorn]

Paint is certainly cheap enough. Not sure if it would work but it's worth a try.
My local store that sells fiberglass and epoxy resin had a display where they painted EPS foam with epoxy. If I have any left over from my floors I might put a light coat on my foam that sits lowest in the boat.

 

[richg99]

Some boat or another, I noticed that the foam was wrapped in plastic. Always thought that, if I were to re-foam a boat, I would put plastic garbage bags in the cavity.

 

[rscottp]

I put a couple coats of latex on a piece of blue foam because it is next to a fuel tank and I wanted to protect it in case of any incidental contact. It seems to be holding up just fine so far.

 

[mallard150]

Great thoughts!

I painted a couple of scrap pieces of foam and it didn't hurt it at all. I just want to make sure that I am not making any fatal errors by doing so. For example, taking a risk of trapping in any moisture or not allowing things to breath somehow. I know how important it is for things to air out.

 

[richg99]

Back when I was messing around with model airplanes, we found out that spray paint contained a substance, in the atomizer, that melted the foam. No problem with latex