Attn Mercguy / Boat refinish tips

[Steve Johnson]

Hey pal, You had an excellent thread going on another site a few years back. Any way you could post us a link to it? Tis the season to re paint. Thanks man.

Steve

[mercguy]

Hey pal, You had an excellent thread going on another site a few years back. Any way you could post us a link to it? Tis the season to re paint. Thanks man.

Steve

sorry Steve, that site does not exist anymore. Maybe someone (Sean?) saved the info???? But, if you have any questions, feel free to email or call me.........

[Howie Nichols]

Here's what I copied from Daren:

Daren's Finishing Tip #1:- As you guys know, I apply epoxy with a spray gun. I bought a "cheap" HVLP set, that includes the regular sized gun and a touch up gun, both gravity feed. If I have a large area to coat with epoxy (I only use West System, but the other brands should work the same), I use the larger gun, but smaller areas, such as the rear half of the bottom, the small gun works great also. Keep in mind though, by spraying the epoxy it does tend to make a big cloud in the area you are working in, but a big fan is great help.
To spray epoxy, it needs to be thinned out, with either acetone (which flashes off faster) or lacquer thinner. I generally use acetone. Using the smaller paint gun also allows you to make more coats without the fear of a huge run, which is always a pain in the butt. I spray one "cover coat" and let it sit for 20mins, then go back and make a couple more coats. You only need to spray enough material to completely cover the wood. After that sets up for at least 24hrs in a warm environment (60 degrees or warmer) you can then sand it smooth.
A tip for you, is after your epoxy has setup for awhile, go back and take some HOT water and wash off the top coat of the epoxy, it is the amine blush, and was causes the heavy sandpaper clogging. It is the waxy residue left by the epoxy.
Daren Goehring:- Another trick for applying epoxy in cold weather, is to warm up the product (epoxy) or item the epoxy is to be applied to. I mix both parts together thoroughly in a metal jar then heat it up slightly with a heat gun. This allows the epoxy to flow smoother and allows it to "go off" much faster. Also for Karl, cleaning your paint gun after spraying epoxy is no different than when you would normally clean it after spraying auto paint...........use lacquer thinner to clean out the residue in the cup, remove the nozzle head and needle and soak them both....
Daren's Finishing Tip #2- OK, now that you got a good coat of epoxy down, it is time for the dreaded sanding!!! You first want to "wash" off your boat after your epoxy has "set up", this will remove the waxing stuff on top that contributes greatly to your sandpaper clogging up.

Now, depending on how good your epoxy application was, dictated what grit of sandpaper to start with. On mine, I start with 150grit on my 5" orbital sander. I then go through the steps with 220, then wet sand by hand with 400, then 600 grit wet/dry paper. You want to sand WITH the grain as much as possible to eliminate sanding swirls.

Usually I go back and apply another coat of epoxy, but it all depends on how aggressive your sanding skills are. You want to end off with a final epoxy finish that completely covers the grain of the wood with no "holidays" showing. That is the key to the next step........applying a clearcoat of prepping and priming for the paint you want to use.
Daren's Finishing Tip #3- OK, on to step #3.........after you have sealed all the wood grain and surfaces with epoxy and have sanded it down smooth, it is time to paint or primer. The way I go about it, is if I am going to paint certain areas of the wood, I prep that area by sanding it smooth with 400grit wet sandpaper, then apply the first coat of primer. If you want to retain the natural wood look, then you MUST sand those areas down to 800grit sandpaper. The key to a nice finish is all in the prep work, which means ....sanding!!! Once you have applied your primer to the areas you are going to paint, sand the primer down smooth to 800grit. You next will have to spray a coat of "sealer" over the primer, so that the primer does not suck up all your paint. You just need to spray a light coat. After the sealer has dried (no longer than 6hrs), it is time to apply your color/colors of choice. It is very important that after each coat of primer and sealer, that you remask those areas each time with fresh masking tape. I use 1/2" fineline tape for the edges of the graphics I apply. This creates a nice straight line, with no "bleeding". TIP.........after you have masked off the graphics that are in "sealer", go back and spray another coat of sealer. What this does is seals up the tape edges and prevents the paint from bleeding out around the tape. After that coat of sealer has dried, it is time for the color. I spray 4-5 coats of color, allowing 15minutes dry time between each coat. After the basecoat has dried for about 1hr, go back and remove all your masking tape around the graphics and revealing the natural wood finish. The final step is to apply your clearcoat. You could also use a single stage paint, eliminating the clearcoat, but I prefer a clearcoat, as it allows you to sand out any flaws, dirt, bugs, etc you might have in the final coat. I spray 4-5 coats of clear, which after it dries, you will end up sanding off probably 2 coats. This allows a good build up of clear, so when you go back to wetsand, you will not be able to feel the "edge" of the graphics......final step is the dreaded wetsanding of the clear (after it has cured for a couple days). Start with 600 grit, then progress down to 1500grit, then buff!!!! If you take your time and do the tedious amount of sanding, you will have a nice and durable long lasting finish.

As to paint, I use a mid-budget base coat (color), OMNI, but use a very top quality clearcoat, PPG Concept 2021. This clear leaves the most durable finish and is very UV protectant.........finish off your freshly polished paint job with a high quality water resistant wax..........
Sean:- Also, I don't think you are going to want to apply a wax until after the paint has fully cured (which I think takes 60-90 days). Applied too early could cause the clear to cloud.

[Steve Johnson]

I'll pm some time

Bummer, that was an awesome thread. See what Howie posted.

[mercguy]

sorry Steve..........

Bummer, that was an awesome thread. See what Howie posted.

maybe I will sit down and update/edit the one Howie saved and posted in the next few weeks.........

[Tom Cronk]

Finishing Tips

Daren
When you up date it send me a copy.
Tom

[ZUL8TR]

Site with the info

sorry Steve, that site does not exist anymore. Maybe someone (Sean?) saved the info???? But, if you have any questions, feel free to email or call me.........

here is the site I saved on my favorites it is still available

http://www.freewebs.com/swampcridder...ishingtips.htm

[mercguy]

here is the site I saved on my favorites it is still available

http://www.freewebs.com/swampcridder...ishingtips.htm

cool, thanks for locating it. I will UPDATE it during the holidays FOR SURE. Guess I should figure ot how to do it in a PDF or WORD program???? WOW< its amazing something I actually write is listened to!!!!!!

[ZUL8TR]

Daren's finishing tips

cool, thanks for locating it. I will UPDATE it during the holidays FOR SURE. Guess I should figure ot how to do it in a PDF or WORD program???? WOW< its amazing something I actually write is listened to!!!!!!

Good tips last forever.

[blueskyracer]

cool, thanks for locating it. I will UPDATE it during the holidays FOR SURE. Guess I should figure ot how to do it in a PDF or WORD program???? WOW< its amazing something I actually write is listened to!!!!!!

Had to happen sooner or later