Polishing Linear Polyurethane Imperfections

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by minaret

Not familiar with any wax/protectants from Awlgrip. They specifically recommend never coating with wax or anything else. There are no benefits to waxing Awlgrip.

You are correct for the wax part. However, a polymer coating is not waxing. It provides a semi-durable non yellowing coating that will in fact protect the paint system as long as the coating is intact, which is 6 times longer than a wax. It will also prevent staining during that time.

I see that AwlGrip sells this now as AwlCare Protective Polymer Sealer. The product sheet shows compatibility with Awlgrip, Awlcraft 2000 and Awlgrip 2.

The RejeX that I brought up is a similar product and widely available. It is made by the manufacturer of the CorrosionX product. I have the feeling that there will be a price difference between the two.

ciao!
Nick.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by tamif27

I guess they changed the name or discontinued the AwlProtect. I don't think it was a wax product, per se. I bet the 'awlcare' is the same thing.

http://www.awlgrip.com/products/main...e/awlcare.aspx
http://www.awlgrip.com/products/main...e/awlwash.aspx

Yes, it is the Awlcare Polymer Sealer now. Here is the PDF: http://www.awlgrip.com/MPYACMDatashe...6+A+eng+A4.pdf

ciao!
Nick.

[minaret]

Nice! I've used the Starbrite quite a bit, never seen this stuff. And we talk to factory reps all the time. Obviously polymers aren't the same as wax, but we still call it "wax", as the application is the same. Haven't used Rejex either, I'll have to give them a try.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by minaret

Nice! I've used the Starbrite quite a bit, never seen this stuff. And we talk to factory reps all the time. Obviously polymers aren't the same as wax, but we still call it "wax", as the application is the same. Haven't used Rejex either, I'll have to give them a try.

It's a neat product. I first tried RejeX as a replacement UV coating on Polycarbonate (Lexan) windows after sanding and buffing them back to transparent. It outperformed other products I tested for that, even those much more expensive.

ciao!
Nick.

[tamicatana]

I am a little leery of polymer stuff (although I'd trust the awl-whatever), and here's why:

down here in Bayou Land, the water is brown, and hulls turn yellow. I used to have a Hobie 16 that I'd bleach and coat with a polymer (can't remember its name). I always was pleased with the result.

So when I got the trimaran, after a year or two the hull started to yellow, I bleached it, and tried the same stuff. It went weird on me. Like it turned grayish and I can't remember what all. But I ended up spending a fair bit of time wiping off three damn hulls with acetone to get that crap the Hell off my boat. I'm probably gonna grow an extra tit or something from all this acetone. I guess my husband will be happy about that.

I decided to try the StarBrite on a friend's recommendation. Knew that I shouldn't be waxing Awlgrip, but since the paint job is old, I didn't have much to lose. As I've said, it's been a good thing. Winter comes, we put the boat up on blocks, wash, bleach, and teflon wax stuff. 1x/year, good for me.

Gotta go two states away to get the awlstuff, but I guess for a once yearly application it wouldn't be too bad.

Jedi, are you by chance in a brown water part of the world? I'm interested in the rejex seeing as I can probably get it locally.

[minaret]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

It's a neat product. I first tried RejeX as a replacement UV coating on Polycarbonate (Lexan) windows after sanding and buffing them back to transparent. It outperformed other products I tested for that, even those much more expensive.

ciao!
Nick.

Nice, I'll try it first. It must be cheaper than anything with "Awl" in the name anyway. If we can convince new paint jobs that Awlcare will make the job last longer, it's one more step in the process. Means more billable hours for us! A happy boss is a good boss...

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by minaret

How about the neighbors boat 3 feet away with no masking on it? How respectful is that, trashing someone elses boat out of sheer laziness or lack of know-how? Not to mention the cars parked right there. Here it wouldn't even be legal to do that, ground wet or not, and it doesn't look wet. Prepping for topcoat with 180 is just beyond ameteurish, any study would tell you that's a terrible idea. And so is shooting a boat that's not even blocked on bare dirt and masked with newspaper. Sorry but thems the facts. Next time tell your buddy to come see us, we usually do a 40' trawler for about half that.

...boy...no kidding..it irks me to no end seeing this stuff so a couple of bucks can be saved. Once when I hauled, some morons were grinding on there steel stink-pot. When I arrived back the next day and the dew started the rust stains, everyone was denying it. People want to get theirs at the cost of others.

[CharlieCobra]

Originally Posted by minaret

Surprising. With all those old woodies I would think you would be master of enamel tipping. Do you enamel old wood boats, and do you spray them? It's been a long time for me since I got to enamel a woodie. I spray enameled a Dragon Super Jet Black a few years ago, none since then. Just not so many wooden boats here as there used to be. We gave the Dragon what we call the Lamborghini finish-longboarded to 220 grit in fairing. Needs to be dead fair for Super Jet Black. It looked incredible. One of my friends here in town runs a small crew which specializes in enameling wooden boats, seems like they get all of these jobs now.

Varnish tipping, yes. Enamel to a degree. I spray the last coats when I can. Now we are doing Centauri on a boat we're flipping and rubbing it out followed by a good buff. Incredible gloss.

[GSouth]

I know im reviving a very old thread here, but I am having the exact same issue with the exact same product (Interthane 990).

Due to reasons, I am unable to spray. I tried rolling and tipping and got exactly the same amount of orange peel as the OP. (my finish matches pretty much exactly the photos posted by OP in post #11)

At this point I'm wondering if it is an inherently difficult product to roll and tip, or whether I am just inherently crap at it.

I tried following the best advice and techniques I could find on the internet (although none existed specifically for this product); not painting on overly warm days(70F, 21C), little to no wind, thinning by 10%, etc.
I rolled on in 1 foot sections with a foam roller, tipped with a very soft, long bristle, chisel tip brush, moved on to the next section while the edge was still wet, and never came back over already tipped areas.
I don't think the coats were too thick, I used about 600ml to cover about 8m², which is mostly in line with the recommended thickness from the datasheet (11.4m² per litre).

As a test area I have sanded back the stern to remove the orange peel, it quickly starts looking a little patchy, almost as if its becoming a bit transparent, and I am unable to really get the gloss back, it also seems like it is very susceptible to scratching once I have done this, even though the final coat has cured for about 3 days by now.

I still have more than enough unmixed paint left over to do multiple coats if needed, but am sortof running out of time and motivation.

Is there anything about my method that just seems wrong? Any tips would be appreciated.

Thanks
G

Originally Posted by Epicurean

Here is a picture of the bootstripe which shows both a run and the heavy orange peel. Is that a run that should be blocked? I understand the danger of sanding through the topcoat with too heavy a grit but I can't believe I have enough days in my life to sand it down starting with 1000 grit. So, I"m thinking of starting with 400 (or maybe 320 as that is the finest pad for a velcro DA sander which I can find here). Figuring I might have to sand it I put on 5 coats. I guess if I do go through I can spray touch up and polish that. Also attached is a picture of the (velcro attached) buffing pad I used on a test panel. I'm not sure of when to use foam pads, sheepskin, or this corduroy pad. Another question is when do I wet sand (not with my electric DA sander) and when do I dry sand. Also, since the polyurethane cures completely in several days what's the advantage of waiting longer than a week to do this? I really appreciate the help I've gotten here so far.

[brankin]

The easiest thing to do at this point is change products. Engineered marine coatings will roll with no need to tip. Finish will have a little peel but will look like a spray job From 10’. The coating doesn’t weather. My paint job is 10 years old and looks like new.

[Thumbs Up]

It is an acrylic polyurethane so can be compounded (if you have enough thickness). I don't think that this product is designed to be rolled and tipped. Can you spray?

[GSouth]

not that i think it makes a difference to your point, but as far as I am aware this is an engineered marine coating, was suggested by my local marine paint store.

Originally Posted by brankin

The easiest thing to do at this point is change products. Engineered marine coatings will roll with no need to tip. Finish will have a little peel but will look like a spray job From 10’. The coating doesn’t weather. My paint job is 10 years old and looks like new.

[GSouth]

I would have to rent a compressor and spray gun, have never done it before though.
Would I need to thin the product in order to spray?

Originally Posted by Thumbs Up

It is an acrylic polyurethane so can be compounded (if you have enough thickness). I don't think that this product is designed to be rolled and tipped. Can you spray?

[s/v Jedi]

I don’t know the product you’re using, but with Awlgrip it’s just a matter of reducing more with the brushing reducer. Reduce and test. I have gone up to 40% and got a sprayed-like finish.

[Thumbs Up]

You have to thin it. I see now that you only thinned 10%. Awlgrip products (same company different line) call for a different hardener and a different thinner for roll and tip. If you are working in hot weather you have to thin even more. The stuff goes on water thin. It is worth trying again but thinned more. Jen brand foam brushes work best for tipping but start to fall apart after ten minutes so you need several. If you do spray you need a proper respirator. Try to find someone who knows how to spray cars and have them shoot it.