Ben just going to warn you this is going to get long!!
I was also ready to use Awlgrip as that seems to be the “name" for boat finishes.. But only because that’s the one that you hear the most about…..In reality I’m merely looking for the product that will give me the best finish with my abilities.
I have heard the same... and then some. Some say dont use this…. use that ... this ones no good… this one is.... Spray /don’t spray/cant spray … you get the picture. Bottom line they are all two-part aliphatic linear polyurethane coatings …… and everyone has a favorite that they are comfortable applying. I’ve talked with several Boatyards/restorers…One uses Interspray and nothing else the other uses Awlgrip the third uses Imron and cant stand the others. The marina where I keep the boat will spray Interspray or Awlgrip which ever I want and they made no comments about roll and tipping but the boats that they were spraying with Awlgrip were meticulously done ( they also charge a premium for their work…but this is where all the big custom battle wagons seem to migrate to get sprayed). …They did tell me that they are more comfortable using Awlgrip. I’ve heard Interspray is easily repairable whereas Awlgrip can be challenging to match color….( I personally feel any of the pigmented paint colors after time would be challenging to match )
From what I have gathered the differences between the products comes in how the chemical bonding occurs and with the Brushing/thinning agents as this allows the paint to flow into the mirror finish (seems some products will flow into a mirror finish with less difficulty). I have seen a couple of boats that were rolled and tipped with Awlgrip and I was not impressed…Bear in mind the person applying the coating has all to do with the final finish…One was a 35 Bertram that the hull was total “Orange peel”. On the flip side I have seen a boat that was sprayed with Interspray that was unbelievable…. It looked like the boat was just popped out of its mold…It was very high gloss and mirror like….but I have heard more negative than positive about this product….
I’m "keyed" in on the Sterling products for two reasons. One is what Fellow-Ship has had to say about the product…and the positive comments he has received from passerby’s. Two is the info and help I have received from Sterling. This down to the point that they wanted to know what color I was looking for …. So not only did the standard color chart come but also paint chips in varying shades of colors and whites that I had interest in (these custom colors were not represented on the charts and I was told that the chips also truly represent the color I will see when the job is done). Sterling/Detco has given me much more confidence in my ability to get a professional looking finish than has the others with one flat out not recommending it for roll and tip explaining that the chances of getting that professional finish are slim…….that is yet to be seen but Fellow-Ship sounds happy with his handy work using Sterling.
Sorry this is so long ….. but it took a lot longer to gather up all this insight to these products…..I dont know about you but this is something if I'm going to attempt to do I want it to come out looking the best it can the first time. I just hope it helps you in some way!!!! [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
Here is Sterling’s link
http://www.detcomarine.com/
[ July 08, 2002, 11:30 PM: Message edited by: Scott ]