Awlgrip, Gelcoat, or Epoxy

[ontherocks83]

I am in the process of refurbishing a 1969 15ft Potter. Aside from years of neglect and some rotted teak it mostly needs cosmetic work to the fiberglass. After I patch, fill, and sand some unneeded holes I want to apply new gelcoat (or at least a new finish) to the fiberglass both inside and out. There are 3 options I have been considering and wanted to know if anyone has any experience with them. I would like to test all of them and then decide but in the interest of time and money I am hoping to speed up that process through your collective experience.


First would be purchasing the proper spray guns/equipment and spraying new gel coat to the entire hull and where needed on the interior.

Second would be to use awlgrip for the hull using the brush and tip method and then I am not sure what I would do for the interior (not sure if awlgrip is recommended on the inside of the cabin.


The third option which I just found is a roller applied epoxy type gelcoat that is designed to be submerged and used on boats. You apply two coats with a roller, then sand, then do your finish coat and buff. It looks cool but almost sounds too easy. Here is a link and a video.


https://theepoxyexperts.com/shop/adh...l-coat-repair/

video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aWbHBIRoz0&t=2s

[ontherocks83]

Also if anyone has any thoughts on a fiberglass filler they would recommend. The easiest explanation would be a bondo type product. There are some weird seams on the boat that need to be mudded over (for lack of a better term) and then sanded to make the seam transition look good. Then obviously a finish coat on top of that.

[coopec43]

I finished off my hull using a mix of polyester resin and talcum powder as a putty. ( Others use poly/micro balloons).

I'd be a bit wary of using an epoxy paint because I don't think they bare UV resistant. (Could be wrong without checking)

I wouldn't worry about getting a paint that is for underwater as your boat will spend most of its life on land. I'd use polyester paint.

Clive

[model 10]

Be leary of an epoxy finish that will be in the sun. They can put additives in it to help with the UV but there are better things to use. I would also hold up on the sprayed gelcoat idea, super labor intensive. If you need a filler, don't use micro spheres, they fill up with water. Use an epoxy or a vinyl ester resin and some other filler.

[Benz]

Even if you spray gelcoat, to get a smooth finish you must sand through to fine grits, then buff and wax. Stupid amount of work.
You can fill and fair above the waterline with any good marine vinylester version of Bondo. Then prime with 545 primer, then paint with either Awlgrip or any marine paint that pleases your taste and wallet. You can paint Awlgrip inside, why not?
I'm not familiar enough with epoxy finishes to comment on them. But my vote is for paint.

[skipgundlach]

For fairing, I like AdTech epoxy fairing compound. Works easily (green; after cure it's like concrete), and has up to 1" no sag filler properties.

That said, I repaired significant bottom stuff with fiberglass and epoxy first, making the max fill on my massive bottom job not less than 1/4" fill.

Here's the gory details in picture form for our extensive bottom refit:

Pictures: Flying Pig 2011-2012 Refit/Bottom Job

[Mark Thurlow]

It would be great to see an Aulgrip v Gelcoar advantage/disadvantage debate?

[HopCar]

My choice would be to paint it with Interlux Perfection. It is a two part polyurethane like Awl Grip but was designed for amateur application by roll and tip. Awl Grip works best when sprayed.

Gel coat is just a pain to apply and get a smooth finish. Epoxy breaks down in the sun light.

I have painted two small boats with Perfection and gotten pretty good results. I use a technique that I learned from PT Watercraft. The trick is to thin the paint 15% rather than the 10% suggested by Interlux. You just roll it on, no tipping needed, and the paint flattens very nicely to a high gloss. Here is a link to their book. You can download it for $3.50. ?...By the way Rolling Perfection took me from very erratic results rolling and tipping to a star painter with gloss so shiny you use it to shave with. *Thanks...? D.P. ?rocketkayak?

[1affiah]

Another option is Industrial Imron. A somewhat limited color palette, but the white is excellent, and much less expensive than any other LP, and can be rolled & tipped or sprayed. Don't forget the pressure respirator, the vapors are highly toxic.

[Bill O]

Gel coat is a more durable finish than Awlgrip and once you paint you are committed. All depends on how long you want to keep your boat.


Personally I've never rolled/tipped Awlgrip, but have always sprayed. The spraying is fairly easy (if you watch what you are doing) and much quicker to lay down the film thickness needed. A decent HVLP spray gun can be purchased inexpensively.


A couple of things with Awlgrip is you can't really "wax" it or apply rubbing compound and is difficult to touch up. Awlcraft is their "repairable" product. Also getting the surface primed properly will make a big difference in the final presentation as well a durability. The Awlgrip/Awlcraft products are on the higher end of the $ scale for paint.

Lots of other 2 part paint products out there and you will need to wade through the hype to make a selection. Had good durability w/Interlux (now Interlux Perfection) on a 40' hull. Still looked good after 20 yrs when I sold it. Probably more work than you want to do, but applied (sprayed) 4 primer coats then 3 finish coats (sanding between coats). When finished I was told by workers in the yard it "was a <10' job". (there are 10', 20', 30' jobs finishes and is the distance you need to stand away when it looks good). More recently sprayed a couple of spars with Perfection and they are still looking good.


Good luck w/the project. If you do paint, try to perfect either your roll/tipping or spraying techniques on something smaller before the big project.


Bill O.

[Dooglas]

I have restored several fiberglass boats using marine grade polyester filler and 2-part polyurethane paint. With a little practice. 2-part urethane can be applied by roller and brush tipping to give a very professional looking finish. The resulting surface is glossy and durable. The finish on my 28 ft sailboat (which was red) still looked great after 10 years. Urethane paint is also quite easy to repair if it is later damaged, unlike gelcoat which is very difficult to match and blend after it begins to chalk and fade.

[nickseeger]

In 2005, on my boat's 20th birthday, the gelcote being old and needing work, a friend, who works on boats showed me the Awlgrip painting he did on several boats. I did it, and the boat looks brand new still! Maintenance of it is easy, wash with special awlgrip soap and seal with a wipe on (don't have to let it dry) and wipe off awlgrip cream. I do the cream once a year, and the wash as needed. Awgrip is very strong, many colors and allows me to clean and cream a 34 boat in a single afternoon. When she was a gelcoat boat it took me three weekends to get her season ready!

Awlgrip also comes in many colors, a good hard finish, cleans with a little acetone if you get a smug that doesn't come off with soap and water, and is very temperature resistant. The paint was developed to withstand high and low temperature environments.

Save your energy, it can be rollered and tipped, or sprayed and will last years!

[SteveSadler]

I painted large charter boats for many years in Hawaii. My first contract after several good friend jobs, wa a 115' 1930 ketch for Windjammer cruises.
My friend and I ground off all the topside paint, faired the planks with 7" 24 grit grinders and planers. Then we applied 3 thick as possible coats of epoxy resin without sanding between.( we found that high spots would sand thru to bare wood too easy) Then sanded with 150 and 250 on 9" soft pads on a grinder. We touched up some bare spots with epoxy fillers and sprayed 2 coats of black Imron. The results were spectacular.

This is by far the least labour intensive longest lasting method of all.
Imron dries much faster than Awlgrip, leaving it less vulnerable to dust, bugs, rain, condensation etc.

I found that using Imron topcoat is also the best primer for areas that need it.
It dries fast and sands the same day. If scratched no other colors show thru.

For gel coat prep, sand out the spider cracks and fill with epoxy, but if a thin coat is needed use lacquer putty instead as epoxy will stay tacky.
Iv'e had blistering issues with awlgrip several times after a passage keeps the topsides wet for long periods, so prefer Imron.

Its difficult to get a good bond between old fiberglass and polyester and vinyl resins. Epoxy is always a better choice. Some has uv filters but when painted doesn't need it.
Gel coat is very hard to spray and has a horrible tendency to orange peel, causing you to resand and rub out over and over again. I don't know of any epoxy gell coats, so bonding will always be a problem. Not to mention waxing every season.

Roll and tip is a great way to do it yourself but unless you can slow the paint way down, it will dry too fast to finish tipping. But the pro spray finish is way superior.

Spraying LPs is a skill that takes some practice, too little you get orange peel. Too much it runs. With paint that expensive I'd hire a pro just to spray after you prep it.

Also these paints should not be waxed. Wax oxidizes and needs to be rubbed off before new wax applied. This process scratches your otherwise perfect paint. Just wash it.

Painting your topsides is the fastest cheapest easiest way to make your look new again. Good luck

[flyingfin]

Used Awlgrip fairing compound to fix damage, then sanded entire hull. Thinned a Sherwin Williams two part polyurethane and sprayed two coats. That was 30 years ago, held up good to the Florida sun! But I also watched a Midnight Lace come out of the mold at the factory and get painted with black gloss Imron by roll/tip. Was amazed at the quality of the finish. Of course the guys doing the roll/tip were experts.

[SparkyDorado]

Originally Posted by HopCar

My choice would be to paint it with Interlux Perfection. It is a two part polyurethane like Awl Grip but was designed for amateur application by roll and tip. Awl Grip works best when sprayed.

Gel coat is just a pain to apply and get a smooth finish. Epoxy breaks down in the sun light.

I have painted two small boats with Perfection and gotten pretty good results. I use a technique that I learned from PT Watercraft. The trick is to thin the paint 15% rather than the 10% suggested by Interlux. You just roll it on, no tipping needed, and the paint flattens very nicely to a high gloss. Here is a link to their book. You can download it for $3.50. ?...By the way Rolling Perfection took me from very erratic results rolling and tipping to a star painter with gloss so shiny you use it to shave with. *Thanks...? D.P. ?rocketkayak?

Wise words - this really is the best option for your project. Two-part polyurethanes simply lay down better than any epoxy paint, and are much simpler than trying to get a smooth finish with gelcoat. I have used the PT Watercraft method for a few dinghies, and honestly, people don't believe me when I tell them it's rolled-on, they swear it's a pro spray job. I have tried the Awlgrip roll-and-tip method (I even bought the video and practiced on a junk boat) but rolling Interlux Perfection is much easier, and the results are spectacular. Buy the E-book mentioned above for $3.50, it will be the best investment you make in your entire project.