GERONIMO progress and question

[bobinpowayca]

Howdy folks,
This is where I'm at on my boat. For the stem cap I decided to laminate on two 7/8 inch wide pieces of white oak, first one 3/8 thick then another 1/4 thick. I rounded it but left a 1/2 inch wide flat surface; after I paint it I may add a 1/4 inch thick by 1/2 inch wide piece of stainless if I can get a piece fabricated that dimension with countersunk screw holes. I faired it into the skeg.
So after a few coats of resin on the stem cap, I plan on one more coat of resin on the entire boat before I paint it.
After fiberglassing, and two more coats of resin, it looked good from 20 feet but up close the resin coat looked pretty bad. I sanded it smooth between coats (sanding blocks) but after the final coat looked like a real bad Earl Scheib paint job - orange peel, fish eyes, "curtains", etc. I'm using silver tip resin, and 1/8 thick yellow foam rollers from Glen-L. Wonder what I did wrong? Maybe put it on too thick. Also, I kept "working it" for quite a while after first applying it; i.e., I kept going back with the roller to roll out what I saw as uneven areas or runs for about a half hour.
I did not "roll and tip", I just used the roller. I bought a good RO sander and now I've got it pretty smooth.
Any advice? I want to do a better job, especially when I get to the paint (I plan on using a two part poly -u like Interlux perfection or Pettit EZ poxy). Do you think the hot-dog type rollers do better than the 1/8 inch foam rollers? Do you think I should roll and tip the epoxy resin? When I get to the paint I'm thinking maybe I could do a better job with a good brush than rolling and tipping. Thanks for any thoughts! Bob

[Bill Edmundson]

Bob

I like the Inter-Lux for it's final finish. But, it goes on very thin and takes several coats. It rolls and tips great. Looks really good to me.

I've been using Ez-Poxy on the Bartender. It covers well. Roll and tips pretty good.

I used Total Boat some on the hull. It doesn't cover that well and roll and tip doesn't go that well. It turned out fine in the end, just rolling.

I've used System 3 WR. on an old sailboat. I couldn't do a good job of surface prep. Condition were not good. My help has not good, somebody to talk to. I only got one coat on and it pealed in a year. I didn't give it a fair shake. So, this is not a fair judgment.

OK I am NOT a good painter

Bill

[bobinpowayca]

Thanks Bill. I think I'll go with the Interlux, and give the roll and tip a try. Interlux has a better color selection. This is a fun part of the build, getting to pick out what color to paint my boat!
I had a bad experience a couple years ago trying the roll and tip method. But it was my daughter's swimming pool slide, outside of course and in the summer - I saw the method on the internet and got the epoxy paint and a bunch of little hot dog rollers at the marine paint store. I ended up having to sand it all back down and just use a brush. Maybe in the garage, on a cool morning with quality paint will be a different story. Bob

[bobinpowayca]

By the way Bill, what kind of rollers do you usually use on the hull? I'm wondering about the yellow foam ones vs the hot dog rollers Bob

[sscobra]

Bob, I used the silver tip epoxy and tried to roll and tip it on the first coat. Didn't work well. I sanded down the first coat to get it fairly smooth. From then on I just rolled it on as thin as I could and left it alone. I used the slow hardener and that seemed to help. I ended up putting on 6 very thin coats, one a day. I used the thin yellow rollers from Glen-L. I then sanded it and it came out very smooth. I have to admit, I wondered how much of it was left on the boat after I sanded it! I used the Interlux Perfection paints and really like them. They go on very smooth and have a very high gloss. I used the same yellow rollers as before. They hold up very well with the solvents in the paint. Don't think the thicker (hot dog) rollers would last as long. The paint is very thin and will take several coats to cover the hull (I used 4 coats). I rolled on a small section and then immediately tipped it with a foam brush. I tried tipping with a bristle brush but they seem to leave more visible brush strokes. You don't want to wait very long after painting the next section to tip it into the previous section. If you wait too long then you will see the overlap in the paint when it dries. I did sand between each coat with 320 grit paper as the instructions suggested. Skip

[bobinpowayca]

Skip, thanks a lot for the reply. After the resin coats, did you apply a primer before painting with the Interlux? When I talked to the tech rep at Pettit he said no need for a primer over sanded epoxy resin before applying their EZ-Poxy product - I liked the idea of not having to do the prime coats . But I see in Interlux's guide they recommend two coats of their two-part expoxy primer before applying the Perfection. Just wondering if you did the prime coats. Thanks, Bob

[Bill Edmundson]

Bob

I think most of the paints don't need primer over new, sanded, clean epoxy. Some do say it may help coverage for the lighter colors.

Bill

[bobinpowayca]

Thanks Bill!

[sscobra]

Bob, I did put on two coats of primer, just as their website recommended for painting over epoxy. I waited a week (or two?) for the epoxy to fully cure, then applied the paint. As others have said, I think most people don't prime but I felt that Interlux knew what they were talking about and I followed that advise. I am not sure what color you are painting your hull, but I painted mine a dark green and I thought the white primer might brighten up the green a little. Having said that, the white also was visible through the first couple of coats of green. The paint is very translucent and I applied it very thin so I needed 4 coats to get an even coverage. Skip

[Bill Edmundson]

Bob

I just used box store hotdog rollers.

I think Interlux says 3/16 nap rollers.

Bill

[specialk]

Bob .. if you can find these .. they work great... and are made by the same company that makes the foam... they have a velvet like nap...

[Craig Aho]

Bob, I think your Hull looks real nice and the glass work looks flawless. The biggest problem with my build is the glass work and at some point I will have to sand it down and repair the flaws and repaint. I find it interesting the comments from Bill and other on paint selection and would like to try a quality marine paint next time around. I used an inexpensive oil based floor paint and it works but doesn't give the results like so many others who didn't skimp are getting. I am trying to build on a small budget. I look forward to seeing your hull painted soon and with your great fibreglass work expect it will look super.