The AWLGRIP Knowledge challenge

Thank you. I can find local varnish but how do you know how long it is going to last under such or such exposure. When I use ep and pu, I have datas that secures the product. But I will think about it.

 

Awl-Grip makes a product specifically to accomplish what you are trying to do. It's their 'Awl-Brite Plus' Clear polyurethane varnish. It is a very fast drying, high building clear varnish that can be applied in multiple coats very quickly, then later sanded down to perfection and buffed to a super high gloss.

Jimbo

 

Thank you. I will try to source but it is not so easy to source here.

 

That's the Much I love and miss!!

 

All the guys that would know are subscribed here - so

That is why I decided to post my question here. You-all, or most of you have see the pics of my roll and tip work. I am equally as proud of my bright work, but now I worked myself into a problem. The interior of my boat is ALL wood. (not teak, but a close cousin). I have been sanding all the old varnish off and it is looking pretty good (for a sunk boat). but I realized that it has taken me 6 week ends to get 2/3 finished. If I project that time into applying and sanding 5-7 coats of varnish I'll be 3 years just varnishing !!

Questions: I have never sprayed varnish, but I assume it can be done. Can it be done with an inexpensive electric sprayer? Is there such a thing as a no sand varnish? Somewhere in the fuzz of my memory I seem to remember an adv for one. There is nothing in the boat that would prevent me from spraying (no vinyl, no floor) just tape the ports and go for it.
If it will make this more for the Awl Grip thread --I do have a can of clear that I can use as a top coat----

 

I have never seen an electric gun worth having personally, yes, we spray all the boats we build inside, mostly 70 gloss, with full gloss trims. You will enjoy the full gloss bit as it is all done by hand.

The semi gloss finish hides a multiple assortment of sins, but it is best done over full gloss, as the full gloss undercoats make sure all the prep is good first. Use an SS70 or similar gun.

 

The little Kobalt gravity feed detail gun available at Lowe's for quite cheap is a surprisingly good little gun which would work perfectly for this as it atomizes well while producing little overspray (important when working inside in a finished boat.

Jimbo

 

Thanks guys, I am sure I can find a cheap gun, but the real question is still do I need to sand between each coat as I do when I brush?

 

I tried electric gun a few weeks ago but we came back to traditionnal gun quite fast when it comes to PU varnish. I must say that epoxy with xylene were not perfect but quite ok. For your application, in order to have a good work and fast, I would look for a very thick epoxy and lay with brush. 1 layer should be enough and as it does not has to be UV resistant (as inside boat), I would not do anything else: nor sanding, nor pu varnish.
A supplier of mine Resoltech did a product like that for me and it give a very thick layer at first. But it was for us too expensive to use on a large scale. For you, considering the time involved, it might be ok. If you are interested, I will give you their contact. Good luck.

 

Jer
If you apply the coats within the 'wet re-coat' time of the product then you do not need to sand, at least in order to get adhesion between the coats. You may need to sand to level defects and orange peel, though.

Jimbo

 

Contact Luc on l.loriot@resoltech.com and ask him to give you informations on the thickest epoxy that he made for Teakcell/Laurent. cheers

 

Thanks,
I sent them an email.

 

Kapt, with R&T, what do you think of a last coat reduced 60-70%, just a clean last coat with a low chance of a run. I still get those and it drives me nuts. The white is very hard to see after 4-5 coats, and its easy to get too much paint here and there.