Applying Epifane Mono-urethane paint. First Time

[pheffley]

I am trying to paint hte bottom of my 17ft O'Day daysailer with Ephane Mono-Urethane paint. This is extremely difficult as I have never owned a boat before and live in Pennsylvania and no one around has a boat or knows about boats, so here I am.

The online distributer I bought the paint from told me to thin it 10%. That didn't work. Too thin.
Then I called epifane tech support and they said to use it full strength and roll it on with 1/8in thk. foam roller. This I did and ended up with orange peel finish. Called tech support and they said I was supposed to "tip it" after rolling it on. Orderd a brush. Also I am supposed to sand the first coat with 220 grit sand paper to get rid of the orange peel prior to putting on the second coat. Sand paper loads up.
Changing paper every 2 sq.ft.

I have been stripping and working on this boat since April. My patients are running thin.

Any advice on the application and prep of this paint would be appricated.

Pete

[knotaloud]

Here's what I'd do:

Sand off all the orange peel first, using a heavier grit, somewhere between 100 -180, then sand smooth with 220.

Then prime it with a good marine primer, then sand with 220.

Find the tightest, super finest, smallest diameter roller you can get. I used one designed for applying glue when installing laminate.

You may need to do a couple of coats, but I would use the paint without thinning and apply going from front to back, not top to bottom. Start at the stern, roll out a section about two feet wide, immediately attempt the tipping procedure, lightly dragging the mostly dry brush using only the bristles on the very tip. And then roll another 2 foot section, but be sure to over lap the first section by about six inches.

If the tipping ain't cutting it, try rolling a small section again, and carefully and SLOWLY, re-roll with another pretty dry roller. The slower the better, so no bubbles are created. I spent three days trying to master the tipping thing, and gave up. But I hope it works for you. Try practicing on a piece of glass, or an old mirror.

Again, to avoid orange peel; sand, prime, sand, finer roller, small sections, work fast, but roll slow.

[Sailormann]

I find I get the best results when I use many layers of thinned paint. It takes a long time to build up, but it's the only way to get a true glassy finish. Prep your surface really well - if it is not smooth your paint will never look good. I find that fine steel wool, or the 3M sanding pads that look like the pot scrubbers are good between coats.

Make sure you let each coat dry properly, don't sand it until it has cured. When it's pretty hard, go over it everywhere with the steel wool and then rinse it thoroughly. When it's perfectly dry, apply the next coat.

If you use paint that is too thick it is almost impossible to get a beautiful finish, there are always drips and marks somewhere. If you go slowly and carefully it is not difficult to get a pro-quality sheen.

[pheffley]

Thanks for all the advice. I'll give it another try. I really appricate the responces!

Pete

[pheffley]

Well I rolled on the second coat after sanding the heck out of the first coat. Rolled on with a lot of bubbles so I thought what the heck it looks bad now, I'll try tipping. Man that worked! Smoothed it out and then it leveled. Got to say boat looks pretty good.

Is all marine paint so difficult to apply or is it just this mono-urethane? Stripping, sanding, resanding. A lot of work?

Pete

[Sailormann]

Is all marine paint so difficult to apply or is it just this mono-urethane? Stripping, sanding, resanding. A lot of work?

Basically yes. But I find that it's the same regardless of what I'm painting - walls, trim, boats, frniture. Sand it well between coats - it looks great and lasts a long time. Do a slapdash job and it looks like s!*t very quickly...

[pheffley]

Well the paint was three days old. Decided to put the boat on the trailer. The trailer rollers tore the heck out of the paint on the keel. That really torqued me off. Bad!.

I got on the phone to Epifanes. They told me the paint needs three weeks to cure. If the directions on the can would have said that I would have waited. So, I touched up the paint and am going to wait the required three weeks.

I guess these people assume everyone knows how to apply their paint.

Next year will be easier.

Pete

[mlrice]

I've had similar problems when using the Epifane primers/paints. They seem to be very lacking with their instructions and they take forever to dry! I used their Multimarine Primer unthinned on an epoxy covered swing keel and it still wasn't dry after 10 days! I ended up scrapping it off, resanding, and applying a thin, 10% thinned coat of the primer. It still took a week to cure enough to wet sand. If you're having trouble with your sandpaper loading up quickly, try wet sanding with a drop or two of dish soap in the water. Rinse with cear water and let dry throughly (like overnight) before recoating. I now have the first coat of mono urethane on the keel, it's been drying for 4 days at 60-70 degrees in a heated garage. (Cold temps definitely increase the drying time!)
I rolled on the mono urethane (thinned 10%) with a small foam roller I bought a Lowe's and tipped the rolled paint with a natural bristle brush, and it came out beautiful except for some dust particles and a sag here and there. If this first coat of the monourethane ever dries, these flaws will be wet sanded out with 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper and then a second coat of the mono urethane will be applied using the same method. Epifanes recommends 3 coats for max duability... I will see what the second coat looks like. I don't know whether this extremely slow drying is a characteristic of the Epifane Products or just urethane paints in general. I will definitely research it better before using Epifane products again!