I'd think spar varnish then paint. The reason for this: if you paint first and then varnish over it, the paint will appear yellowish.

Or, you could mask off the area you will paint, varnish the boat, and then go back and paint in the masked off area. This would be an option if you were concerned about painting on the varnished area.

Shawn

> I teach high school wood shop and I have 7 students and myself building
> clc style plywood boats. We are all assembled and have three coats of
> epoxy on the boats. They are sanded and we are ready to finish. Should the
> students who want to paint a stripe do so before the application of the
> spar finish or should the spar finish go on first. I have talked to the
> supplier of both the captains spar finish and the interlux paint and I
> cannot get an answer out of either. Any help on this subject would be
> greatly appreciated. thank you in advance.

> Roger Burger