Rolling & Tipping

[misfits]

I'm getting frustrated with my paint project

The areas on the deck look great, the hull is starting to piss me off.
I'm rolling vertically, tipping horizontally. The paint doesn't fully level out. I've added thinner to the paint.....

When doing a hull, should you roll horizontally & tip vertically to allow gravity to do it's thing? Does it make sense to leave the brush in thinner instead of paint for tipping to help things flow?

Thanks
Bob

[misfits]

Forgot to mention I'm using Pettit EZPoxy 2. The stuff that's so easy any idiot <<< can use it.

[Rhapsody-NS27]

Good question, I'm interested in this too. I'm using EasyPoxy on the upper side of my hull but still getting brush marks. I'm on the second coat. I was thinking maybe it's because it's windy, the thinner evaporates too quickly, or too warm which I doubt because it was low/mid 80's and sunny for me.

I tried rolling/tipping but it wanted to dry too quickly and didn't look good so I switched to brush only. Still trying to figure it out myself.

[Wotname]

Hmm... I roll and tip horizontally.

Not sure if that is the best way but it is the only way that worked for me.

Rolling and tipping will only work if the wet edge can be maintained until the tipping is finished so adjust your work to account for this.

YMMV.

[slowshoes]

misfits, I wish I could offer you some great advice, but I've never had any luck rolling and tipping no matter what I do. It's very frustrating to not have it turn out how you anticipated, especially after you put so much time in the prep.

[Rhapsody-NS27]

Wot, I think maintaining the wet edge is the hard part. At least for my boat, it's on its trailer so having to move a ladder once in a while, it causes that edge to start drying before I can get back to it, plus the wind can dry it out too.

[Formosa Scott]

I painted the topsides (less deck itself) with Interlux perfection. I tried rolling and tipping and it was a disaster. I read where someone rolled only with good results so I tried it and it worked great, it looks sprayed. I used this style roller Merritt Marine Supply. Corona UltraSmooth High Density Foam Roller Cover 3/8" Nap
The key was thinning the paint enough so it would lay down. Interlux has a message board and I posted there when I was working on it a couple years ago sp there may be more information there. I thinned more than the can said you could but I was talking to Interlux for advice along the way.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by Wotname

... Rolling and tipping will only work if the wet edge can be maintained until the tipping is finished so adjust your work to account for this.

YMMV.

I've painted a number of boats like this, gotten results I was saticfied with... and I never rolled and tipped. I either rolled (nice mohair) or brushed (nice varnish brush), ajusting the thinner for the day. If I tried to go back and tip, it was always worse. Best, get the thinner just right to get it on the first go, with just enough back brushing to get it flat and even. Overworking paint just makes it pull and never level properly. Perhaps on a flat surface you can go over on the solvent, but if there is verticle the window is too narrow.

[Reefmagnet]

We did our boat a few years ago with an industrial two pack epoxy. The job turned out extremely well using the roll and tip method. We tipped vertically. I think the secret is to have the paint as thin as possible. Our paint was much thinner than the theory would suggest. In fact it looked like and had the consistency of milk. I did both the rolling and tipping whilst my wife handled the paintbrushes and added additional thinner to the pot as it evaporated. The paint was so thin, we ended up applying 5 coats of paint all up. This was all done outdoors in the tropics in springtime. A few years before this we tried rolling and tipping with a marine epoxy two pack on another boat and just couldn't get it to work and I now know that that was because we didn't thin it enough. I should mention we used a foam roller and a very expensive natural fibre brush for the tipping.

Just remembered I had some photos of the last job:

[roverhi]

Got good results dipping the brush in thinner regularly. Just brushing with a dry brush left bad brush marks.

[SURV69]

I used one of the boat paints ... ezpoxy, I think.

The first time I painted, I used the roll & brush, and liked the results initially.

BUT, I ran into time constraint and forgot where to stop(my painting area), before I needed to tip, the previously painted area(a few minutes prior).

Anyway, through the confusion, I rolled the previously rolled area, with the roller, after the roller lost enough paint to continuing to paint the newer area.

That is ... I rolled an area, then replenished my paint for a new area.

My intention/routine, was to paint the second area, THEN tip the previous area(I found the very slight drying helped the tipping).

By accident, I actually RE-rolled the previous area, but found that if I re-rolled the previous area, with a near empty roller ... very lightly(almost like not touching more than the "tips"), that not only did it look as good as the roll & tip, but that the two processes occurred much faster.

Essentially, I "tipped", the previous minute or two's work, with the near-empty roller of the present area.

This was with one of those tight, dark gray foam rollers.

I thought the results were very good and others in the marina find it hard to believe how well using a roller ... only, worked.

[Formosa Scott]

That reminds me, that's pretty much the same thing that worked for me. I would roll a load of paint on with medium/firm pressure then med/soft then barely touching as the roller was running out of paint.

[HopCar]

"I painted the topsides (less deck itself) with Interlux perfection. I tried rolling and tipping and it was a disaster. I read where someone rolled only with good results so I tried it and it worked great, it looks sprayed."

I've had the exact same experience with the little boat I'm building. Tipping was just messing it up. I stopped tipping and just left the paint alone to flatten and it turned out great. I used a short nap solvent resistant roller.

Corona Roller Sleeve - Glasskoter 4" - MFG#R101F-4"

[delmarrey]

I just finished doing mine a couple days ago.

The best way is to have a scaffold up around the boat so you can walk around the boat nonstop. As one person rolls the other follows brushing. But also keeping the brush clean in thinner. The direction doesn't matter as long as the paint stays wet, it will level.

Also, don't paint in the direct sun light or in anything above 80º F. I use a foam roller and a very nice soft 4" brush.

In my case I couldn't get the scaffolding so I had to roll 2 stripes up/down and then quickly grab the brush as the wife would keep it clean. Then move the ladder. I did get a couple over lap seams due to the time it took to pour another half a qt in the rolling pan. If you put too much paint in the pan it tries to skin over. But after a couple months I can wet sand with 120 wetNdry and then polish it out. One should have 3 people working together to keep it moving.

This took 2 complete qts to do.

[UNCIVILIZED]

You guys surely have some nice paint jobs! If anyone has some good links to sites with painting tips, I'd REALLY appreciate it.
For me, getting a good finish with a brush & roller is akin to spit shining shoes... It's just something which I've never quite gotten the knack for.

In terms of technique, dare I ask how much pressure/force you're using to press down the roller with? Also, who out there does a test run on a small, non-visible portion of the vessel, prior to painting... or do you just keep a properly prepped piece of plywood nearby for your test runs, prior to the main event?