preparing old gelcoat for Awlgrip paint

[naturewaterboy]

I'm getting ready to paint my transom, which I had to patch a hundred holes because I screwed (and bonded with glass and epoxy) plywood to the inside to increase the transom thickness. It is a 1978 boat, was painted before, but I stripped it all off. I sanded with 36 grit, then made a final coat of epoxy with cabosil over the holes. I thought that was looking pretty good, so I slathered the epoxy/cab over the whole transom. I intend to sand it before painting. Was this a dumb thing to do, or will the epoxy give the paint a better base to grip to? I'm thinking of using Awlgrip, cause I've been led to believe that Awlgrip will last about 5 years here, where the one part enamel paints last about 2 years here in south Florida. Any opinions on this - is it worth it to use Awlgrip?

[pescaloco]

let me start by saying i am not a paint expert but am familiar with the product and have used it / read their littature. epoxy is a good base, BUT all of the paint systems recommend that you you use their propriety primer as a base.

if you want a nice fair finish i'm sure it will require a good deal of block sanding
There are high build primers for this purpose that will be mostly sanded off then there is the choice of a finish urethane primer or you can spot putty and paint right over the high build.

however the west system epoxy book reports their epoxy is a "good" base for most lp paint systems.

mark

[the1much]

ive painted with awl-grip for over 10 years,,and yes it will last the longest of all paints,is tougher,and comes in alot of colors.,your cab,epoxy mix probably has air holes you'll need to fill after you sand. you should first apply awl-grip primer, sand with 320,then do your final. of course theres alot more to it depending on how good of a job you want,,as they say,(and ive learned the HARD way heh) the paint job will only be as good as your prep work

[naturewaterboy]

Thanks. I plan to use a primer over the epoxy, I figured that the epoxy layer would be a better base to put the primer on than the old gelcoat, and that the epoxy would give the best protection for waterproofing the fiberglass below.

I guess that the hi build primer, sanded before the finish coat is applied would give the best finish? I'm working on my fishing boat, but I figure if I can spend a few more hours sanding and priming, maybe the paint will hold up longer.

[the1much]

if there is nothing wrong except few cosmetics with your gel-coat thats on there,,i'd just sand the gel-coat then spray my primer,but for your transom i'd use ultra high build if you think its pretty unfair,, if its close to the way you want it then just use high build, and if its already faired then just use the regular primer.i would like to remind ya of the safety issues with awl-grip too. you shouldnt spray with just a charcoal filter on,, you should have full face mask, with a separate source of air. this stuff is bad bad for ya.

[naturewaterboy]

Mmmm, I meant to check on what resperator I need for Awlgrip. I have some full face mask with organic vapor filters. I wore these when I was inside the bilge putting all the epoxy/glass/plywood in on the inside of the transom. I'm pretty respectful of the danger of epoxy. I know too many people with screwed up immune systems - I think epoxy is one of the chemicals that will definitely put an immune system out of whack. Are there safe filters for Awlgrip, or do I need an air supply?

[the1much]

they (awl-grip) say you need the air supply. but on the other hand i only use the regular charcoal ,organic, vapor respirator, and once the paint failed on me and awl-grip sent a painter out to use the batch i had, and he used the same, but kept reminding me the whole time we where painting a 70 ft sailboat that we should have an air supply hehe.

[naturewaterboy]

Thanks, the1much. I think I'll rig up an air supply. I have a small blower that I've rigged with some 4" plastic flexible dryer vent hose into a tyvek suit. I could rig this to blow into a facemask. I don't want to get any more brain damage!

[the1much]

most the rigs they use is like a tyvek hood, with the air supply comming into the hood(plastic bad lol) from the top, the air comming in doesnt allow air to go into (bag) from anywhere but the supply hole. it doesnt have to be tight around ya neck cause the air flowing into supply forces everything out of the bottom loose fit. hooking air to a resp. might be too much pressure,forcing air into ya brain lol, but maybe not, haha,send me a pic of ya rig,, if it works maybe we can talk someone else into it haha

[naturewaterboy]

So you can buy tyvek hoods for use with an air supply? Never looked for them, but I will. When I put the air supply into my tyvek suit, I puff up like the StaPuff marshmellow man, and all the air vents past my face (I'd wear a clear face shield) so I would get (mostly) air supply air. Not perfect, so I'll look for a hood.

[the1much]

try nappa, or somebody that carries 3m products, i could give ya the 3m item # but most places that carry 3m(auto parts store) cant,or wont, order from the 3m industrial book, but if ya think it would help ya i can look them up.
i can barely type this, i got tears running out of my eyes from the mental pic i got haha

[naturewaterboy]

Thanks,
I'll try MSC Industrial supply for the hoods. My girlfriend thought I looked pretty funny too.

[Yacht Care]

Hi there!

My site is in Swedish but maybe you can get an idea from the pictures how to get that "mirror finish" in your paint job.

Good luck Tony "The Swede"

http://www.yachtcare.se/Lackprojekt.htm

[naturewaterboy]

Nice pictures of nice work! I've brushed on some primer, and in the 90 degree F heat, I am getting lots of brush strokes. I am concerned about the finish coat - I don't want to spray if I don't have to, I'm not that experienced although I have a cheap gun (conventional with cup on top) and a good compressor... I've sprayed some stuff, but my boat is at the inlaws place and I'd have to take my compressor over there and set it all up. Is it worth it to spray - I'm going to use Interlux Brightside or Toplac... any opinions on these paints?

[Geoh]

Tony Your work speaks for itself in that universal language of perfection...

George