Barrier Coating

[gettinthere]

Any advice on applying a barrier coat? I stripped the paint off my rudder and want to seal it before bottom paint.

[GordMay]

The best manual on Barrier Coating comes from Gougeon Bros:

Gelcoat Blisters: Diagnosis, Repair & Prevention ~ West System (002-650)
➥ Gelcoat Blisters: Diagnosis, Repair & Prevention

See also:
Repairing individual and early stage gelcoat blisters ~ by Tom Pawlak
➥ WEST SYSTEM | Projects | Fiberglass Boat Repair and Restoration - Repairing individual and early stage gelcoat blisters

And ➥ http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...aint-4438.html

Excerpted from the West System “User Manual” ➥ Epoxy by the Leading Epoxy Manufacturer | WEST SYSTEM Epoxy

EPOXY BARRIER COATING:
The object of barrier coating is to build up an epoxy coating that provides an effective moisture barrier and a smooth base for final finishing.

Apply a minimum of two coats of WEST SYSTEM epoxy for an effective moisture barrier. Apply three coats if sanding is to be done. Moisture protection will increase with additional coats, up to six coats or about a 20-mil thickness. Additives or pigments should not be added to the first coat. Mixing thinners with WEST SYSTEM epoxy is not recommended.

Disposable, thin urethane foam rollers, such as WEST SYSTEM 800 Roller Covers, allow you greater control over film thickness, are less likely to cause the epoxy to exotherm and leave less stipple than thicker roller covers. Cut the covers into narrower widths to reach difficult areas or for long narrow surfaces like stringers.

Complete all fairing and cloth application before beginning the final coating. Allow the temperature of porous surfaces to stabilize before coating. Otherwise, as the material warms up, air within the porous material may expand and pass from the material (out-gassing) through the coating and leave bubbles in the cured coating.

1. Prepare the surface for.
2. Mix only as much resin/hardener as you can apply during the open time of the mixture. Pour the mixture into a roller pan as soon as it is mixed thoroughly.
3. Load the roller with a moderate amount of the epoxy mixture. Roll the excess out on the ramp part of the roller pan to get a uniform coating on the roller.
4. Roll lightly and randomly over an area approximately 2 ft x 2 ft to transfer the epoxy evenly over the area (Figure 30).
5. As the roller dries out, increase pressure enough to spread the epoxy into a thin even film. Increase the coverage area if necessary to spread the film more thinly and evenly. The thinner the film, the easier it is to keep it even and avoid runs or sags in each coat.
6. Finish the area with long, light, even strokes to reduce roller marks. Overlap the previously coated area to blend both areas together.
7. Coat as many of these small working areas as you can with each batch. If a batch begins to thicken before it can be applied, discard it and mix a fresh, smaller batch.

8. Tip off the coating by dragging a foam roller brush lightly over the fresh epoxy in long, even, overlapping strokes after each batch is applied. Use enough pressure to smooth the stipple, but not enough to remove any of the coating (Figure 31). Alternate the direction in which each coat is tipped off, 1st coat vertical, 2nd coat horizontal, 3rd coat vertical, etc. A WEST SYSTEM 800 Roller Cover can be cut into segments to make a tipping brush.

Recoating

Apply second and subsequent coats of epoxy following the same procedures. Make sure the previous coat has cured firmly enough to support the weight of the next coat. To avoid sanding between coats, apply all of the coats in the same day. See Special preparation-Cured epoxy. After the final coat has cured overnight, wash and sand it to prepare for the final finish.

[David M]

There is also Interlux 2000 and Interlux 3000 that you probably want to have a look at. I have both on the hull. Its tough as nails.

I run an aluminum workboat for a living. I rolled on three coats of Interlux 2000 over my afterdeck. I have dragged iron and cement anchors over the paint, some weighing up to 1000 pounds...hardly a scratch. The paint in amazingly durable. Being an epoxy, its also watertight.

[gonesail]

you should make sure the surface is dried out which can take a while if the boat has been in the water for a long time.

[David M]

Originally Posted by gonesail

you should make sure the surface is dried out which can take a while if the boat has been in the water for a long time.

Yes, if its a fiberglass hull, have a surveyor take a moisture meter to the hull.

[gettinthere]

This is only the rudder I'm doing. Boat has sat the winter on the hard. I drilled a hole at the bottom last fall and a little water drained out, done draining well before winter. Surveyor sounded it 2 years ago and said it was OK. I and a friend have sounded it this spring and felt it was fine.