The AWLGRIP Knowledge challenge

[RIVERKING]

grady you need to buy 3m guide coat and smear it over your DA circles.It comes with a soft pad This will prevent you from over/under sanding. A kits about 28 dollars.AB supply store. I still say use good auto urethane primer it hardens like concrete after 2 weeks.

[grady]

Hey scott, Yeah she's all primed with awlgrip's 545 and mostly sanded.

The hull sides are done. When I resume, the cockpit and walk around is the next shoot. That area has been primed, sanded, touched up reprimed and resanded. Was ready to gloss out when temps crawled below sustainable levels.

Then all that's left is the cabin sides, and relatively speaking is the smallest area.

I will pick up some guide coat, I have a local body supply store giving me jobber pricing. I had to grab some blocks and a long board. and other misc non-marine crap.

[grady]

I don't really have any small circles, just was thinking that the long boards should my last step. (the circles were in my head).

It seems that the lond boards just do the fairing, but I was using them as part of a system. DA, opposing 45 degree long board cross hatch, small hand block where the long board couldn't reach, then a hand piece for the radius'.
over and over and over again.

BTW The hull looks really good, you should come over and check it out.

I still have that 100 gal tank if Frank still wants it. But all the other stern drive parts went to the dump.

[the1much]

hey creek-jester i mean river king ( you do know im playin right?) is that 3m stuff better then evercoats metal glaze?, thats what i use for my scratch's in dat bundo,,i mean bondo

[grady]

Hey Much, this stuff (3m's guide coat) is like a super fine black powder that fines it's way into all of your work's imperfections (not that your work has any) and highlights them. Also helps you keep track of whats been sanded and whats next.

Don't know the evercoat product but sounds like a creme finish coat. Two different beasts.

So how are you and jimbo getting along on the other thread? Boy, I would love to see the expression on your face when your pounding on those keys. You really have got to get a hobby.

See Ya

[the1much]

nahhhh,,,,,he hasnt gotten me even close to poundin my keys....hehehe,,i get a laugh outta him
the stuff i get is like a "paint consistancy" stuff,,but dries "grainy",,,it shows all the little scratch's and "pinholes" in the bondo,(not MY "imperfections),,it jus doesnt seem "hard" to me,,even after a long while.i like how it goes on,,and how easy ta spread ( more wipe) around. I think i'll try that stuff,, T.Y grady

[Jimbo1490]

Most everybody in the biz uses flat black lacquer in bug bombs as a guidecoat because we're too cheap to try the 3M guidecoat @ 28 bucks a can (I've always wondered if that stuff really works; I even got it all the way to the checkout counter once , but it wandered back to the shelf while they were totalling my invoice )

[grady]

What preparatory steps would one have to take to ensure a good bond of an epoxy skim on top of fully cured awgrip?

would you have to sand down to the original substrate? Or could you Just take'er down with a little 80 grit and call it a day?

Let's say for the sake of this query, that the paint is 100% sound. No issues.

[the1much]

i aint no epoxy guru,,,but sanding all the "shiny" away with 80 should be deep nuff for it to stick
i wanna add a P.S. hehe,,,its according to what your bonding onto it also,,,,,the heavier and more "used" areas i would go down past the gel to the glass,,,,,,but jus a skim i would think the previous should do

[Jimbo1490]

Not to alter the flow too much... Does anyone reading this thread have any experience rolling fill primers like 545? How well does it work? What are the problems?

Sometimes I need to roll primer as projects wind up stacked too close together and I don't want the overspray and can't spare the manpower to mask.

[ratrace2]

Originally Posted by grady

What preparatory steps would one have to take to ensure a good bond of an epoxy skim on top of fully cured awgrip?

would you have to sand down to the original substrate? Or could you Just take'er down with a little 80 grit and call it a day?

Let's say for the sake of this query, that the paint is 100% sound. No issues.

Grady,
Damn, I think I'm going to be calling you for awlgrip and painting advice pretty soon.........go find that body shop....Technique....ya know.

[Kaptin-Jer]

Originally Posted by Jimbo1490

Not to alter the flow too much... Does anyone reading this thread have any experience rolling fill primers like 545? How well does it work? What are the problems?

Sometimes I need to roll primer as projects wind up stacked too close together and I don't want the overspray and can't spare the manpower to mask.

Jimbo, I have never sprayed 545, I always roll, but I also sand my primer down to 325. I have never had any problems.

[grady]

When I started this project, I asked the regional awlgrip rep to come by and review the task at hand and to kind of give his blessing on product selection, application sequences etc.

There were a few spots where hardware was removed and left various sized holes and imperfections. Some of these were very close to one another (like canvas snaps) so I ground them down a bit to the where I could lay a small glass patch across a couple at a time then build up with epoxy. (I thought this process might prevent the holes from reappearing as they may had they just been spot filled)

The rep suggested that after I faired the area I should roll some high build on to the areas before I locked everything down under a coat of 545.

The product rolled out nice enough, but never flowed, and created a surface that had to be almost completely sanded off in order to be as smooth as the rest of the hull. ( now that said, let me take full responsibility for doing something wrong, possibly many things ) But I had occasion to use high build again, and opted to spray.


I think if you do your homework, and use the right reducers and the proper tools (good brushes and lint free epoxy rollers) you can get great results.

[grady]

Hey RR2, welcome aboard.

I'll be happy to give ya my advice, but you would be wise to validate by cross referencing with someone who actually knows what their doing. Haha.

[the1much]

it probably the high build man,,,,,that stuff is like mud going on and diamond plated rock commin off,,,when i had guys working for me i used it alot heheh i've brushed it on once in a SMALL area,,,,thank god fer 36 grit