LB26

[fallguy1000]

Mask at all times dirty Les. I have a spot on my lung; think it might he silica.

You will need to shroud those vents, no? From rain or big sea splash..

She really looking like a boat now.

[Jeff]

She is looking really good!!! Jeff

[les2021]

Hi Guys

Thought I better let you know why there have been no posts lately....

Well the first reason was good, I had a 6 day fishing competition in Holland and then a 5 day match back in the UK

Got ready to get back to work on the boat but the weather has gone mad, just checked the temperature in the boat shed 110 degrees and not even the hottest part of the day.... The main job at the moment is keeping all the combustible stuff cold and praying we do not get a wildfire near us, it is very scary at the moment as wildfires are everywhere and I have a very big lump of uninsured boat behind the house surrounded by olive trees.

Will post when I can get back to work.

Cheers

Les

[Jeff]

Les, I hope all goes well for you!! the fires are crazy again this year!!! Jeff

[fallguy1000]

Be ready with the chainsaw and waterhose!

Good luck Les...scary, indeed, epoxy burns hot and fast, fire is the primary concern of any foam/epoxy boat..

[TomW1]

Good luck Les. Will keep you in my prayers. I know how scary a wildfire can be, a few years back one got to within to .1 miles, .161km of my house but it had a road and a river to jump and they stopped it. It looks like the wild fires over in Greece and heat are nasty.

Tom

[les2021]

Hi Guys

Thanks for the good luck messages, we are ok at the moment ( roll on autumn )

So my patience ran out waiting for the temperature to drop and decided to try and top coat the hull !!! ( idiot ) So this is what has happened so far.... I am using International Paints One Up base coat and Toplac Pro. The Data sheet says it can be used up to 36 degrees I WOULD LIKE TO DISAGREE !!!!

Base coat went on fine and that was where it stopped going right.

First try at top coat bad orange peel.... sand it back, so second time set the alarm for 3am...cooler about 29 degrees orange peel... sand it back.

So spoke with Tech department in the UK so they suggested upping the thinner content to 20 percent BUT no more.

It was at this stage I decided to bring in the US Navy..... a friend of a friend knows someone at the base down the road at Souda who bless him lent me some portable aircon units.

So attempt number 3 !!! set the alarm 3am started the aircons at 8pm sun set... Temperature about 22 degrees ( perfect ) I was dreading going to look the next morning morning, MUCH better but still orange peel.

HELP

So a question to all you painting experts out there, how can I get around this problem.

I wash the boat down with Acetone, soapy water, clean water, dust down before painting. I am using a 4" high density foam roller, I line the tray with foil, I keep the lid on the paint once mixed and only take out small amounts at a time. The paint goes on really well !!!

What am I doing wrong ??? I am close to giving the boat to the US Navy for target practise

Cheers

Les

[fallguy1000]

Show me a picture of the roller.

Is the paint two part or one part?

You can never go back. So you roll and never reroll.

But my hunch is your rollers are too thick.

[les2021]

Morning Dan

The paint is one pack the only thing added is the Thinner 100.

The only time I go back over is the wet edge, I try do do about 2" panels sheer to chine so as not to loose the wet edge.

I have put a pen next to the rollers so you have something to gauge it by.

Cheers

Les

[fallguy1000]

So, a couple observations from across the Atlantic and then some.

1. I prefer a bit wider roller for the main hull. 150-180mm or so. Any bigger and the roller will walk funny.

Consider the overlaps. If you use a 100mm wide roller; and you overlap ?20mm each pass; you are applying an extra 20% paint that must flow each time. At 180mm, the same 20mm overlap is 11% extra paint to flow vs 20% or about half.

2. The maximum roller thickness needs to be 3mm. Same story. If you load a 6mm roller cover; it is literally double the paint. Make sure you offload the roller well. One direction; usually 5-10 passes offloading.

3. The surface must be perfectly flat. If you start with orange; topcoat will not fix it. Your first coat should be applied at 180-220 grit. If you start with orange or dimpling after primer sanding; not enough primer is down.

4. The surface will start out and end with some orange peel. It is impossible to avoid without tipping. How much is the only question.

So, let's say you start out and primer is not orange peeled; perfectly flat and sanded to 180 grit.

The 180 grit surface is rather 'sticky'. You would put a coat or two of toplac down or up to 3 (no sanding)but I'd go two. Then sand it two 220 grit which is less sticky. But you must sand it flat! No orange peel, probably primer will bleed through. Overthinner in the early topcoat is bad. You want some orangpeel, like it or not.

Then a couple more coats...maybe with a tiny bit of thinner. Or thin as you go with a small capful of thinner mixed right in the tray. The paint is losing its solvent as you offload the roller and so maybe halfway down the boat; add a capful this time. It should look better, but some orangepeel.

Two coats again or so.

Then sand with 320 grit. This paper needs to be changed often. I prefer sanding with a festool rts400. For two part paints, I am getting only about 4 square feet or about a half a square meter or so per sheet before they stop cutting. Lotsa sandpaper ends up in the bin.


Again, there should be no orange peel or you sanded poorly. If you see a spot or two of orangepeel and don't want to sand further; expect orange peel on follow on coats. This is key. Even in the final sanding pass; when you see an area with sanding not flat enough; you will know the finish will not be perfect. I had a few areas I gave up on, but not too many. I had some fisheye issues related to the paint trays.

Then you can try for a final coat with thinner paint. If you don't like it; again only all the way to 400 grit.

Each successive grit will reduce the amount of paint that 'sticks' to the surface. So, it is vital your roller is super thin 3mm max thickness and wide enough to not overlap too much.

Hope this helps. The challenge for you is sourcing the 3mm by 180mm rollers. They also cannot have a seam!

here is my favorite paint roller cover in the world at 7" width

You may contact them and see if there is a regional distribution; but be careful; they sell a split/seamed roller and those will not work.

https://www.nour.com/foam/wound-foam-refil-3-mm