« Paint can be presented as a liquid material that can be applied to a suitably prepared support, becoming a solid material after drying, leaving a thin layer (dry film or dry foil) that is continuous, adherent and endowed with particular properties depending on the support and the area of the boat to be coated » (Gérard Boulant, Marine Expert).
- CRTL : What does the Map Yachting company’s activities consist of ?
Map Yachting, based in La Ciotat (13), is the result of a collaboration between the Sicomin group, which specializes in the formulation of epoxy resins, and Mapaero, which specializes in high-tech paint.
We offer for sale different ranges of paint (industrial, small yacht, premium Yachting) for all supports (all composites, all metals, all woods) and consumables related to painting (abrasive, sander, masking system, protection).
We accompany our customers (professionals and individuals) in their paint application projects, on all types of units (from fishing boats to megayachts).
- CRTL : How do you meet the specific demands of a project ?
We are very often required to make technical visits on site to see the surface condition of the boat, the work to be done and the conditions in which it will be carried out.
This preliminary step allows us to collect a maximum of information and details before guiding the customer in the next step of his painting project.
- CRTL : How do you assist your client during the project ?
To visualize a painting application, let’s imagine a dashboard with cursors corresponding to different modules (weather conditions, ventilation, application materials, system storage, scaffolding, lights, fatigue, possible psychological pressures, etc.) : green represents optimal, orange a risk, red a problem. Before each new step, we take stock and validate all the green modules with our client. The more complex the project, the more cursors are used.
In addition, we ask our client to fill out a detailed application report that will be requested later if the result obtained is not up to his expectations.
- CRTL : Does your client ever feel dissatisfied with the result despite this support ?
It can happen, the paint can have an orange peel aspect, present drips, impurities, dust, dry or wet areas, blisters, peeling, etc.
There are various technical reasons for an unsatisfactory result. It can come from bad conditions of application, from not respecting the time of covering or degassing, from layers too thin or too thick, from a badly adjusted or unsuitable material, from the know-how of the applicator.
The success of a paint application depends on 70% technique, 20% know-how, and 10% artistic part. The human factor is in most cases the cause of a non-optimal application. The painter’s job is a thankless job, a good painter is a humble painter because the perfect application does not exist.
The high chemical technology of our French laboratories allows the production of very efficient and especially very tolerant systems. The technical advances of the manufacturers of spraying equipment allow us to optimize the results.
- CRTL : How do you determine if a non-optimal result is due to an intrinsic defect in the product sold or a defect in the preparation of the support / application ?
It is technically possible to retrace the history of the different application cycles, to go back over the phenomena that may have caused a non-acceptable result.
In particularly complex cases, we call on an ACQPA / FROSIO certified expert to elucidate the phenomenon and understand the cause. By taking core samples and sending them to several laboratories, the different layers are examined (number of microns per layer, etc.), and the recovery and drying times are defined.
These results make it possible to establish objectively whether the paint systems were applied according to the rules of the art or not.
For more information about Map Yachting : https://www.map-yachting.com/home/fr/accueil/
