Awlgrip... best left to professionals.
Last year, I made opening ports that were direct drop ins for a top window opening. However. I had problems with sealing the frames to the cabin side, and they leaked. I decided to fiberglass the frames right to the cabin side. Once the project was complete, and faired, a friend convinced me to use awlgrip paint instead of black gel coat to finish the area. *my intent was to do the entire black stripe since it had faded badly*
So I said ok fine. I bought a new gas mask style filter mask. Spent 90 on a pint of paint and activator. A quart was only a bit more, but was way more paint that I needed, and it has a limited shelf life. Primed both stripes with grey epoxy interlux primer. My friend and I then tried a few test spots. Reason number one not to DYI: every tiny defect in the surface was very conspicuous. It would take several more days of filling and sanding to get automotive quality finish. We were at odds with thinning. This paint is already thin. It has picky handling characteristics. He thins it down even more to water-like consistency and puts on at least three coats. He uses special foam rollers, and lots of foam brushes since the paint desolves them. I wasnt going to do all that work. So he bails. I will carry on myself. I decide to put on as thick a base coat as i can, to cover the imperfections (the surface, if painted with the one part boat paint sold at west marine, that I normally use, would have been nearly flawless)
So, reason 2. The paint is terribly toxic and smelly. I'm told one really needs a forced air system to do it safely. The mask did remove the smell. Though I still had a mild headache after. You must mix the two parts, then apply it in about half an hour. Thinning will increase working time. I used a plain disposable brush, the same I use for fiberglass work, but I did remove all loose bristles. I would use a better brush next time, but it worked ok and didnt turn soggy. I brushed horizontally and turn up and down. Took a bit of practice to not have sags. This paint is famous for those. When done, the job didnt look that great up close. It did cover the imperfections in the surface. But heavy brushmarks were visible. But from ten feet away, it looked fantastic. Black black black, even glossier then the OEM finish. It could use sanding and a second coat with a high quality brush and properly thinned paint. But I'm not going to do that till next year. It already looks better than its looked since new (from ten feet away
) I cleaned up and disposed of a pile of gloves, tape, and mixing containers (reason three, you will go through a lot of these) and called it a job. Take away.
I am a fair painter but never used this paint before now. I wouldnt really recommend it for casual use. Its way more toxic then the average stuff consumers use on boats. I'll have a forced air set up next time I use it (scuba tank)
All the stuff you need for a perfect job is expensive and you have to have it. Bunch of mini foam rollers. Bunch of foam brushes. Several for each coat. The special thinner. The face mask and lots of gloves.
The surface to be painted really has to be perfectly smooth. After my friend, who IS a professional painter, thinned the paint to his liking, spiderweb cracks UNDER THE PRIMER were still faintly visible. Unthinned, the paint covered those. Adhesive power on faded un prepped gel coat, skin, tools, metal fittings and rubber gunwale strip is excellent. :p
Ix
