Prepping Deck for 2 Part Epoxy

[Perdiddle]

Originally Posted by 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.

Thanks for the help, Shipshape and Moosemiester. Valuable stuff to know. The tipping has been concerning me. Do you recall how much thinner you used w the Perfection? I know it can vary quite a bit, yielding wildly different results. I'm in Florida, I'll only paint in the a.m. at about 85 degrees F. 90% humidity. The deck is shaded. I'm not looking for a "show " paint job either, Just want it to look pretty good.

[Perdiddle]

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.

Thanks for that. The choice of brush sounds tricky, the tipping sounds spooky. What do you mean when you say rolled it on with a "wet" roller?You'd think in a country that put a man on the moon in 1969, developed lasik eye surgery and 65 different types of potato chips would have a company somewhere that could come up with a durable paint that is something beyond alchemy.

[Moosemiester]

Originally Posted by Perdiddle

Thanks for the help, Shipshape and Moosemiester. Valuable stuff to know. The tipping has been concerning me. Do you recall how much thinner you used w the Perfection? I know it can vary quite a bit, yielding wildly different results. I'm in Florida, I'll only paint in the a.m. at about 85 degrees F. 90% humidity. The deck is shaded. I'm not looking for a "show " paint job either, Just want it to look pretty good.

In my experience you want the paint just a tad thicker than milk.

My rule is if it looks good from ten feet away, it's perfect ;-) I have also found that all paint levels a bit more when fully cured, and it takes an amazingly long time for curing.

[ShipShape]

FLORIDA?! Ohmigosh, I painted mine in Florida (St. Pete) in February or March and it was "warm" enough to go too fast. Where is the boat? I'm visiting near Tampa at the moment and it is definitely too warm to paint. Actually it is almost warm enough to call hot. Forget about tipping, it is gonna get tacky before you can reach for the brush. If your boat isn't too big, it is so warm that no matter where you are in FL you can probably get both base coats and the first coat of Perfection on in one day. Remove the tape AS SOON as you are done, then you have 24 - 36 hours to re-tape and get the second coat of Perfection on.

The Perfection is very similar in its behavior to the Primekote, so learn what works from the Primekote, and your first coat of Perfection. I followed the instructions for the thinner, 25% for the Primekote, and only adjusted it a little bit for the final coat of Perfection. Maybe someone else knows better than I do.

[minaret]

Viscosity is generally specified on the TDS. As it varies with ambient temp, it can be easily measured with a #2 Zahn cup. You can get cheap plastic disposables. Viscosity is measured in seconds, it's very simple. This allows you to use the correct amount of reducer at any temp for any product.

[ShipShape]

Originally Posted by Perdiddle

What do you mean when you say rolled it on with a "wet" roller?

He might mean what I found out the hard way - get the roller thoroughly sopping wet to the core before starting to paint. If it isn't you get air bubbles on the deck as the dry parts of the roller wet out.

Originally Posted by Moosemiester

My rule is if it looks good from ten feet away, it's perfect ;-)

My kind of guy (don't let that scare you, Ima gurl ) Two things that have worked for me is, 1) more beer, and 2) get rid of "friends" who think spending time and money making the boat look good is more important than sailing.

[bstreep]

Here's a writeup of our Perfection project:

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ion-96573.html

[Perdiddle]

Originally Posted by ShipShape

FLORIDA?! Ohmigosh, I painted mine in Florida (St. Pete) in February or March and it was "warm" enough to go too fast. Where is the boat? I'm visiting near Tampa at the moment and it is definitely too warm to paint. Actually it is almost warm enough to call hot. Forget about tipping, it is gonna get tacky before you can reach for the brush. If your boat isn't too big, it is so warm that no matter where you are in FL you can probably get both base coats and the first coat of Perfection on in one day. Remove the tape AS SOON as you are done, then you have 24 - 36 hours to re-tape and get the second coat of Perfection on.

The Perfection is very similar in its behavior to the Primekote, so learn what works from the Primekote, and your first coat of Perfection. I followed the instructions for the thinner, 25% for the Primekote, and only adjusted it a little bit for the final coat of Perfection. Maybe someone else knows better than I do.

Thanks to all for your hard-earned know-how. I'm digging in to the primekote next week. I'll advise as to how things are going.

[bstreep]

Originally Posted by Perdiddle

Thanks to all for your hard-earned know-how. I'm digging in to the primekote next week. I'll advise as to how things are going.

Just in case you didn't read my extended post completely, a couple of suggestions for Primekote:

1) Get it down as smoothly as you can. It's very hard to sand.

2) On the "very hard to sand" part, do your sanding as SOON as you can. If you give it a week to cure, it will be an order of magnitude (10X) as hard to sand. It sets up rock hard. Try and get 2 coats on in 1 day, then sand the next.

3) Don't let Primekote sit in the sun for more than 2 weeks - 1 week is better.

[Perdiddle]

Originally Posted by bstreep

Just in case you didn't read my extended post completely, a couple of suggestions for Primekote:

1) Get it down as smoothly as you can. It's very hard to sand.

2) On the "very hard to sand" part, do your sanding as SOON as you can. If you give it a week to cure, it will be an order of magnitude (10X) as hard to sand. It sets up rock hard. Try and get 2 coats on in 1 day, then sand the next.

3) Don't let Primekote sit in the sun for more than 2 weeks - 1 week is better.

That was great information and very helpful. Thanks. After I put the first coat of Primekote on, I'm asking, can I walk on it that soon for the second coat (no sanding after first coat)? Once it hardens you can crawl around on it pretty much right away? i just want to be sure I've got this right. I just had to tear out a kitchen in a rental unit so my attention has been diverted.

[bstreep]

As I recall, you can put a coat directly over the first, without sanding (it's in the instructions). However, walking and crawling... Not sure I'd do that. We painted the non-skid separately, so it wasn't as much of an issue. I'd put down 2 coats and sand as soon as I could.

[motion30]

I had a 34ft boat that was professionally painted with all algrip. , sprayed. my neighbor had a 72 foot my that was rolled and tipped with all grip. His boat had a much better shine and seem to have better durability then my boat. my current boat will need paint soon and I plan on rolling it on

[Perdiddle]

Originally Posted by bstreep

As I recall, you can put a coat directly over the first, without sanding (it's in the instructions). However, walking and crawling... Not sure I'd do that. We painted the non-skid separately, so it wasn't as much of an issue. I'd put down 2 coats and sand as soon as I could.

Okey dokey. Thanks again. I'm about 10 days away from lift off. As I'm painting the deck by rolling I don't know how I can avoid applying the second coat w/o being on the deck myself. I suppose it's like when you're on an airplane, you should never put your full weight on the seat.