Acrylic Latex Paint - Valspar Duramax

I first posted on this thread my use of Valspar Duramax acrylic latex: http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/boat-building/painting-my-boat-what-type-paint-33895.html

Since the thread above is more than 1,000 days old, I can't add to it. Here is the mix formula I used to apply it with an HVLP gun:

32 oz Valspar Duramax Semi-Gloss
6 oz Floetrol
11 oz water

Three coats of this used 1/2 gallon of paint to cover the sides and transom of our 25' Tolman Jumbo.

In three years of hard use, this has proven to be an outstanding paint for a boat. It is a tough, durable surface that has shown no signs of failure in both fresh and salt water use.

We decided to repaint about a week ago to correct some scuffed up areas and change the color. I wet sanded the entire hull to prepare the surface and was even more impressed by this paint. Adhesion on all areas was outstanding, it wet sanded well to prepare for the new top coat.

Consider this option for your boat as well. Mine's applied over a cured, sanded epoxy surface. I would expect similar excellent adhesion on clean, sanded gel coat, test to make sure. The new color is Simply Seafoam.

This paint is available at Lowe's for less than $40/gallon, any color you want. http://www.valsparpaint.com/en/find-...t/duramax.html

 

It always helpful to read a long-term report about a product.
Thanks.

 

The latest formulations of the acrylics are quite good, if you buy the good stuff, not the $20 a gallon stuff. These new mixtures rival alkyds and some of the cheaper single part polyurethanes. Duramax is Valspar's best modified acrylic.

 

all the r&d dollars go into acrylic latex (house paint) because it is such a HUGE market.

Paul Oman - MS. MBA
A.K.A. “Professor E. Poxy”
www.epoxyfacts.com
epoxies since 1994
Member: NACE (National Assoc. of Corrosion Engineers) -- SSPC (Soc. of Protective Coatings)

 

Even Peter Culler spoke well of using house paint. And Alaskan fishermen have known about house paint for years.

 

In the USA all of the acrylic are getting the most attention. The latest generation of water borne LPU's are very good.

 

Not according to this guy:

http://clearstreamwood.com/WordPress/news/weve-stopped-using-waterborne-finishes-for-boats

I also painted a hot tub cover I made out of luan/epoxy 3 years ago with Duramax. This sees 103 degree F water vapor continuously. No issues at all with paint adhesion or degradation.

 

He's using the System Three WR-LPU, which frankly just can't be sprayed (been there, tried several different ways), though he insisted anyway. He got the results of someone that learned this lesson the hard way. This is also a first generation WR-LPU and just not as capable as the latest versions (3rd generation). The automotive industry has been using WR-LPU systems for about a decade with little difficulty as has the aircraft industry.

I agree that System Three WR-LPU's don't work well if you spray and also if used over "FreCut" prepped (I learned this the hard way too) surfaces, but it is a good alternative to solvent based LPU's applied by hand, particularly in regard to price and application ease.

 

the link to clearstreamwood.com was NOT describing poor performance of a latex paint, but of water soluble clear finish for doing bright work. I would agree that the water borne clear finishes are not nearly as good as the oil based ones, and all the paint chemists will agree too. But that is a completely different product than the opaque colored acrylic latex paints.

 

ClearStream was talking about the WR-LPU's available System Three. They've been selling this stuff for years and it can't be sprayed. It's just dries way to fast. I've run the air hose though buckets of ice water, used turbine compressors, run humidifiers (yep, it's likes humidity), everything, but nothing prevents it from drying a few inches out of the gun, when atomized in a spray. The clear isn't bad, but these (again) first generation WR-LPU's are nothing compared to the latest stuff. Look at any car built in America, in the last 10 years and tell me you don't think the finish isn't tough, because they're all water borne LPU's.