hull painting and prep

[HCLEONARD]

I'm looking into a good coating.Awlgrip I have read this is the best??? How far down do you have to sand the hull,do you have to get all the old coating off and then prime sanding inbetween every coat.Do you have to spray it on? Sorry for all the questions.Trying to get as much info I can on painting a already painted hull.I'm sure I'll have more questions on this subject.

[FELLOW-SHIP]

Ha Chuck
Awlgrip has a little booklet out that might help you. There are two different ways to paint a boat you can spray it, but be very careful the stuff can KILL you if you don’t use the proper air ventilation system or you can roll and tip with a brush the paint. I painted my boat with the roll and tip 2 ½ yrs ago and it came out very good and is not as dangerous to do it that way. I used a different two part epoxy paint (sterling paint) that has a little better properties in it for the roll and tip method. As for hull preparation not all prior paints will except Awlgrip over it. My boat had paint on it as well and I sanded it down to the gel-coat first. As for priming the boat first YES and as for sanding between coats if you roll and tip yes as for spraying no if you spray all the coats at one time.
FellowShip [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[Scott]

Chuck

And to add to Fellowship comments..
Do a search on this subject ...There is tons of info about this in many threads in this section....

Compatibility...If you know what coating is on the boat already call up the manufactures of the coatings your thinking of (Signature, Awlgrip, Sterling, Imron, Interspray {Interlux is based in NJ} etc etc) for compatibility.

Sterling paint has a fantastic Technical support staff.I've talked with them many times.I've also talked with two of the other manufactures listed ...not to impressed

Its also good to talk to locales that use the stuff . Its way to much work and expense not to prep the hull properly.

Like Fellowship mentions Spray will get the best finish and cost the most ....Awlgrip , Sterling etc can be rolled and tipped but I've also heard that the Sterling product is better suited to get a "spray like finish" (better flow properties) and it is more forgiving during application.better for the do-it yourselfer

One of the painters in the yard my boat is in Rolled and Tipped a 45' Lapstreak hull last spring ( the owner wanted it painted ASAP and they could not get him in to spray for months) Mark (the Awlgrip R&T guy) showed me the hull as he was doing it ...and I was amazed at his finish ... Of course Mark does this type of work frequently and knows the proper amounts of brushing converters and thinners to use at any given time and atmospheric condition to get the best finish.

[Rich]

Sterling.......

She's AllRight............
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