Prepping Deck for 2 Part Epoxy

[Perdiddle]

OK, I need some wisdom here. The deck of my Seaward is properly sanded, almost all the deck hardware is removed, what's left is taped, and the Primekote 2 part primer is eagerly waiting to be mixed. The catalog recommended Interlux 202 fiberglass wash. Anything I need to know about the wash? The description says it's slow to evaporate. Does that mean 15 minutes or 3 hours?? Anyone have any experience with this solvent? Final paint will be Interlux Perfection. At least that's the plan.... and you know what they say about plans.Thanks

[Stumble]

202 is a wipe on wipe off type of product. You don't really let it set.

Wipe down an area of a couple of square feet, then wipe it immediatly off.

[psk125]

Make sure to be wearing an activated carbon facemask/air filter when you use the wash and the paint, along with rubber gloves. Check the taping again before you start. You will have missed some spots, and paint will get on them. The upside is that the two-part paint will hold up for maybe 10 years (ours has), unlike 1-part paints that last a season, if that.

[sestina]

Don't use Perfection. My boat was painted by a previous owner with the stuff. It's rubbish. Stains easily, lost it's gloss after 5 years, chips at the slightest provocation...

Why save a few pennies on cheap paint after all that hard preperation work?

[mitiempo]

Interlux Perfection is an excellent paint - maybe the previous owner didn't prep properly or maybe it wasn't Perfection. Other comparable choices would be Alexseal or Awlgrip.

[Perdiddle]

I'll admit, the paint choice can be a little confusing. After a great deal of prep, within reason "money is no object." It's a not a big boat, so only a few quarts are needed. Like in painting anything else in life... cars, houses, cabinets, space shuttles, the bulk of the work is in the prep. Without it, no paint , regardless of its cost, will produce a nicely finished job. Thanks to all for feedback. Wish me dry weather.

[Moosemiester]

Perfection is one of the best paints out there when you consider the cost .vs. awl grip. Perfection can be tipped and rolled, whereas awl grip is always sprayed.

Don't be tempted to put one part topcoat over two part primer.... I made that mistake, it flakes off easily.

By all means wear a good charcoal organic respirator this stuff is nasty.

Prime coat needs a week to set and then it needs to be wet sanded before the top coat goes on.

202 will lift all paints/varnishes/finished be careful with it. It's the ultimate solvent and it smells like it too.



Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[minaret]

Originally Posted by Moosemiester

Perfection is one of the best paints out there when you consider the cost .vs. awl grip. Perfection can be tipped and rolled, whereas awl grip is always sprayed.

Don't be tempted to put one part topcoat over two part primer.... I made that mistake, it flakes off easily.

By all means wear a good charcoal organic respirator this stuff is nasty.

Prime coat needs a week to set and then it needs to be wet sanded before the top coat goes on.

202 will lift all paints/varnishes/finished be careful with it. It's the ultimate solvent and it smells like it too.



Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

So how come Awlgrip produces and sells brushing converter and brushing reducer? Awlgrip rolls and tips beautifully, you just have to know what you're doing. Perfection isn't even close in looks or in the all important terms of longevity.

[Perdiddle]

Well that was a good overall synopsis. I'm set to put the primekote on this week if the rain holds. I've tented the boat deck at my dock, got all the goodies I need to do the job. I'll see how my rolling and tipping works out with the primer, and hopefully that little bit of experience will give me a leg up on the final coats.
Decks all sanded, hardware is off or taped. Thanks for the advice on the whole process. Very helpful!!

[ShipShape]

The weather was warm when I painted my decks with Perfection - when I tipped it the foam brush left streaks. I have a cruising boat not a show boat so I just rolled it on and left it at that. I can't even see the "orange peel" texture that is supposed to be left behind by the roller.

Also, I kinda remember that the solvents dissolved my latex gloves so I wore nitrile gloves, which dissolved slower - I wore three pairs of them and changed the outer pair as they dissolved. It really is nasty stuff, Moosemiester isn't kidding about the respirator.

BTW, the directions on/with the cans were different than the directions on the Interlux website were different than what the Interlux tech support told me over the phone. I did what seemed to make the most sense and two years later my decks still look perfect.

Moosemiester said to let it cure and sand it - you only have to sand it if you let it cure. You have a temperature-dependent six to 12 hour window where you can paint the Perfection right on top of the Primekote. If it isn't on/with the can it is all online.

[Moosemiester]

Originally Posted by minaret

So how come Awlgrip produces and sells brushing converter and brushing reducer? Awlgrip rolls and tips beautifully, you just have to know what you're doing. Perfection isn't even close in looks or in the all important terms of longevity.

Did not know that. Everyone I have spoken to about Awlgrip has been adamant that it is best sprayed, not rolled, and that it's not available in small units (e.g. a quart at a time).

[appick]

We used perfection on the topsides and did the same when it came to tipping off. We bought lots of different brushes to see which tipped off best. I ended up with a $30 badger brush. We got streaks no matter what. Then we rolled it on with a "wet" roller and then went back over the small section and laid it down once we covered our area. The stuff flowed out great this way and no streaks or orange peel at all. I did the decks the year before in brightsides and am sorely disappointed.

The only reason I went with Interlux over Alwgrip was the amount of information available. The interlux website, forums and help lines had tons of info about necessary steps ect, where alwgrip had just about zero. Alwgrip's mentality of this product is for professionals that know how to paint, doesn't help the guys like me and the OP that are willing to give it a go, but need a little direction. I'd painted cars and motorcycles before, and found most of the directions a little basic, but very thoroughly done. Interlux is clearly in the market for the DIY folks and Alwgrip for the pros. Plenty of DIY folks have used Alwgrip, and I'd give it a shot next time too, it's just nice when a company is willing to go the extra mile to provide customer support.

[minaret]

Originally Posted by Moosemiester

Did not know that. Everyone I have spoken to about Awlgrip has been adamant that it is best sprayed, not rolled, and that it's not available in small units (e.g. a quart at a time).

Yes, it is also available in quarts.

[minaret]

Originally Posted by appick

We used perfection on the topsides and did the same when it came to tipping off. We bought lots of different brushes to see which tipped off best. I ended up with a $30 badger brush. We got streaks no matter what. Then we rolled it on with a "wet" roller and then went back over the small section and laid it down once we covered our area. The stuff flowed out great this way and no streaks or orange peel at all. I did the decks the year before in brightsides and am sorely disappointed.

The only reason I went with Interlux over Alwgrip was the amount of information available. The interlux website, forums and help lines had tons of info about necessary steps ect, where alwgrip had just about zero. Alwgrip's mentality of this product is for professionals that know how to paint, doesn't help the guys like me and the OP that are willing to give it a go, but need a little direction. I'd painted cars and motorcycles before, and found most of the directions a little basic, but very thoroughly done. Interlux is clearly in the market for the DIY folks and Alwgrip for the pros. Plenty of DIY folks have used Alwgrip, and I'd give it a shot next time too, it's just nice when a company is willing to go the extra mile to provide customer support.

No doubt that Perfection is much more user friendly.

[Moosemiester]

Interesting, I had the best luck tipping with a 4" foam brush - actually, a whole bunch of them :-) Buy a case... use them to tip until they get overly saturated/start flopping around, get another one. Because these things have a perfectly straight edge, they work great.

The real secret is having the exact, precise amount of brushing thinner in the paint, and rolling the exact, precise sized area before tipping.

When you get that magic combination it's amazing. Then a little thinner evaporates... and it's too thick. So you add thinner, stir, and it's just a bit too thin. It's an art form, similar to picking the right fillers for resin, takes practice but it's worth it for the money you save.