Awlgrip Battle (sagging) Roll and Tip Expert needed :)

[bstreep]

I'm not at all experienced with Awlgrip, just rolling and tipping Perfection.

I think you have too much paint on the surface. Again, not experienced with Awlgrip, but we found that hard foam rollers worked best, and better if we didn't tip. We used Purdy Oxhair for tipping where we had to.

[brianontheroad]

Yea we used perfection with small foam rollers and were happy with the results went awlgrip this time for a color choice doh.... When we used the foam rollers with e awlgrip it left more bubbles than the mohair

[Thumbs Up]

The trick is to use 4"high density foam rollers then tip with 3" Jen foam brushes. You need to be using brushing converter and brushing reducer. If it is very hot and humid, start with the maximum amount of reducer (33%) which comes out to 2:1:1 (paint, converter, reducer) Then add small amounts of reducer to the mix as needed. Plan on three coats. We paint early in the morning and use green scotchbrite pads to scuff the same day while the paint is still soft. We found that the more reducer we use, the smoother the finish. We have been doing this in very hot and humid conditions (Rio Dulce Guatemala). When tipping use a very light touch first horizontally and finish vertically with a downward stroke. Hope this helps.

[s/v Jedi]

My suggestion is to reduce further to 40%, to use West System epoxy rollers, roll as thin a coat as you manage and NOT tip... on a test surface of course. Often, light colors do not even need tipping when you use the West System rollers.

If you need to tip, cut up a West System roller and attach a handle to a section that you then use like a brush for tipping.

These suggestions are not mine; I just repeat from the pro's that taught me, but it did work out pretty good for me, although I needed to tip to get the bubbles out. Here is the result I got in Trinidad summer heat and humidity! This is a box lining for the freezer, fiberglass over plywood;

after priming:


after top coat:


after final top coat:


not bad huh?

[haw1961]

I can tell you what has worked for me. I add thinner as I go. Maybe start out with 15% and do the shaded area. When the brush starts to drag a little add another splash. I always make my last tip vertical.I use the small foam rollers and I tip with wide foam brushes. Always make sure you have plenty of spares. Keep your tipping brush fairly dry. You don't want to add paint while tipping. As I said these things have worked for me, but I think everybody does it a little different. Good luck,I'm pulling for you.

[brianontheroad]

Great -- thanks everyone it's really interesting and helpful to hear everyone's different experience!

[brianontheroad]

We tried the west system rollers and found them hard to get a thin coat, they really suck up paint even though they're only 1/8 foam but maybe we'll give it another shot -- it's nothing but rain for the for see able future so I may strip and prime an old surf board for practice ..l if I get really froggy might by a compressor, spray gun and some spray reducer/thinner and see if I can do better with the spray gun

[Krogensailor]

Buy an HVLP. Or at least an HVLP gun. Turbine is best though. Get the best mask you can find. Don't breath that stuff. Look on E bay or CL

[brianontheroad]

just noticed the picture I posted of the little sag lines from before was rotated 90 degrees so they look vertical, tilt your head or your monitor 90 degrees to get the full idea

[Bowman Sailor]

It may be a tough road to follow at this point in the game, but have you considered switching to Sterling? I rolled and tipped my boat in Virginia during the summer of 2007 and was very please with the results. Working with sterling was like painting with a high end enamel paint, though it's just as toxic as Awlgrip. I just followed the directions in their user's guide and was rewarded with excellent gloss and no sags. One trick I learned was to paint as early in the morning as possible.

Good luck,

Steve

[minaret]

Originally Posted by Bowman Sailor

It may be a tough road to follow at this point in the game, but have you considered switching to Sterling? I rolled and tipped my boat in Virginia during the summer of 2007 and was very please with the results. Working with sterling was like painting with a high end enamel paint, though it's just as toxic as Awlgrip. I just followed the directions in their user's guide and was rewarded with excellent gloss and no sags. One trick I learned was to paint as early in the morning as possible.

Good luck,

Steve

Good advice which I have attempted to give on roll and tip threads more than once before myself. Note, however, that Sterling was fairly recently sold and their website is down.