Author Archives: Scarlet Revie

Filler Options for Gelcoats and Resins

There are many common fillers used with gelcoat and resin and here we’ll help you pick the one that is right for you.

When using putty, a good rule is not to go higher than 1/8″ thick without adding a layer of glass to prevent any issues. With the various fillers, for the right working consistency, you’ll want about 60-70% mix to resin ratio.

Milled Fibers: Finer than chopped glass, makes a harder putty that is strong and coarse.

Walnut Shells: Brown in color and preferred for wood putty or nonskid since it has large particles. Good Strength and darker pigment.

Microballoons or Microspheres: Phenolic spheres are generally plastic or glass and hollow, intact spheres that are lightweight. This is ideal for making fairing compounds. The Microballoons are a more expensive option for filler.

Fumed Silica: Also known as Cabosil FIller or Aerosil Filler. This is a hydrophilic fumed silica. Fumed Silica provides little change to weight, color, or physical properties after cure, used in resins and gelcoats to make them hang on vertical surfaces, (too much can cause porosity.)

Cotton Flock: Made from pieces of cotton and thickens to an off-white color. Great for bonding many substrates, especially wood. The mixture also creates a multipurpose adhesive for many other substrates in addition to providing excellent substrate wetting and penetrating characteristics. Increases impact and abrasion resistance.

Chopped Glass: These are the biggest pieces of fillers and are most popular for use with resin putty. Perfect for corners, crack resistant, and doesn’t affect pigmented gelcoat. 1/4″ glass fibers make the strongest glass reinforced putty.

Using a Signal Coat Indicator for Repainting Ablative Antifouling Paint

Antifouling paint is a type of underwater hull paint, also known as bottom paint. These specialized coatings are designed for the exterior of the hull of a ship or boat and combat the growth, as wells as, the detachment of underwater organisms, such as seaweed, algae, and barnacles. These aquatic life forms bind to the hull and impact a vessel’s performance and longevity.

Anti-fouling paints are often applied as one component of a multi-layering process which can have other benefits in addition to their antifouling properties, such as acting as a barrier against corrosion on metal hulls that will degrade and weaken the metal, or improving the flow of water past the hull of a boat or yacht.

Boaters recognized early on it is important to keep the bottom of their craft free of barnacles due to loss of speed and performance. The key is knowing when to pull your boat out of the water for a new bottom paint application. Ablative paints are typically reapplied every 1–3 years. One way to ensure you reapply your ablative antifouling paint when it’s needed is by adding a signal coat or flag coat.

To apply a signal/flag coat, when you are getting multiple coats of ablative bottom paint applied to your hull, make the first coat a different color. For example, if the bottom is going to be painted blue, make the first coat red. When the blue paint wears off and you see the red flag coat, it is time to repaint.

If you need further assistance with your boat painting project feel free to contact our technical team Monday-Friday 8:30-5:00 pm EST.

Antifouling Paint for Inflatable Boats

Be sure to apply a water-based ablative antifouling paint to your inflatable boat

Inflatable boats have become very popular due to their flexibility and variety of uses. If your inflatable-bottom dinghy stays in the water for long periods of time and you have decided to apply antifouling paint you have a few options. You’ll want to apply a water-based ablative antifouling such as Monterey by Sea Hawk or Aquagard. One quart of Monterey is enough for two coats on an 8-10′ boat. Avoid copper-based paint on aluminum. Before application clean the area with a maroon Scotchbrite pad for good adhesion. These paints tend to be flexible and adhere well to PVC and Hypalon but since they are ablative they can easily rub off so be careful when storing your dinghy on deck or deflating it for longer storage to protect surrounding areas from paint.

If you need further assistance with your inflatable boat paint project do not hesitate to contact our technical team Monday-Friday 8:30-5:00 pm EST.

Using Webbing Solution

Webbing Solution is a clear liquid added to gelcoat to obtain spatter or cobweb effects. It is mixed with a gelcoat of one color and sprayed onto a contrasting colored surface.

Decorative effects produced by the webbing mixture will vary, and relate directly to techniques or gun adjustments. A fine hairline spider web pattern results from plenty of air and scanty material flow. Coarse and splotchy patterns are created by fuller material flow and decreased air volume. While our webbing solution is only tested with gelcoat, customers do use with paint achieving similar results.

The manufacturer suggests on the initial coat you add the wax and while gelcoat is still tacky before it comes to a full air cure, you apply the contrast color of webbing (which should have the wax added too).

If you are applying webbing over a fully cured gelcoat, sand with 150 grit, clean with acetone, and then apply the webbing.

Mix 2 parts gelcoat to 1 part webbing.
Mix proper amount MEK-P for the amount of gelcoat.
Shoot at 10 to 12 PSI.

Add to colored gelcoat to obtain desired webbing effect. Test in an inconspicuous area to determine satisfactory results

Testing for Compatibility of Topside Paint with Awlgrip Topcoat

SURFACE PREPARATION
COATINGS COMPATIBILITY & ADHESION
TESTS (ABOVE WATER ONLY)

Test One: Cross Hatch Adhesion (See diagram above)

Select test area(s) on the surface to be painted. Thoroughly clean,
de-wax and degrease this area.
With a sharp blade, cut 6 lines vertically and 6 lines horizontally to give
a box of 25 squares. The cuts must be deep enough to reach the
substrate. On thick fairing systems this test may have to be done to
several different layers.
Apply 3M #610, #895 or #898 3M Scotch Brand Filament Tape (or
similar type of packaging tape) over the scribed area, making certain
that the tape is tightly adhered to the test surface. Do not use
masking tape.
With an abrupt yank, pull the tape back parallel to the surface. Pulling
the tape straight up will give no test at all.
Examine the test surface. If any square of old coating in the scribed
area is removed, the adhesion has failed. All the failed layers must
be removed.

Test Two: Solvent Resistance

Saturate a cotton ball or small wad of cloth with one of the
Awlgrip Topcoat or Primer Reducers (T0003 or T0006).
Tape the reducer-saturated ball to the scribed area surface for
30 minutes.
After 30 minutes remove the cotton ball. If the reducer has dissolved
or severely softened the old coating, the coating is incompatible and
must be removed. If the scribed area has remained intact, allow a
15 minute recovery period and repeat all steps in Test One again.
If any square areas are removed, all the failed layers must be
removed.

Test Three: Coating Compatibility
If the old coating is still intact after Tests One and Two, perform
Test Three.

Lightly sand a small test area with 220 grit paper. Clean the sanded
areas thoroughly with Awlgrip Wipe-Down Solvent (NA/AP:
Awlprep T0008 ; EU: Surface Cleaner T0340) and using clean cloths.
Paint a small patch of the surface with Awlgrip Topcoat. Do not use
masking tape on the edges of the test application as the paint edges
created by the tape will ‘print through’ and be visible in the finish.

Shipping Questions

How long will it take to receive my order via UPS Ground shipping? The time to ship can be seen on most product pages and may vary by product. Most orders are placed before 2:00 EST. Monday-Friday is shipped the same day with a few exceptions that will be noted on the product page. Gelcoat/Resin materials along with any specialty colors typically ship in 2-4 business days. After the product leaves the warehouse, standard UPS shipping times apply. The map below shows estimated shipping times for items shipped via UPS Ground from our main warehouse In Florida, to destinations in the US. Please note that your order may ship from a manufacturer, or another warehouse resulting in less or more time stated in the map.

Not all items are stocked in the same warehouses, so you may get multiple tracking numbers if you order several items.

If you need exact delivery dates for your potential order or expedited shipping, please create an account and add all the items to your cart. Then email us or give us a call and we will be able to see the items in your order and determine exact delivery times and any expedited shipping rates if requested.

Do You Ship Outside of the US? No. We only ship to the continental US.

All Other Countries or outside the continental U.S.: Items can be purchased and shipped outside the US through the use of a freight forwarder. Items will be shipped through our designated carriers to the US freight forwarding company of your choice. After you pre-arrange a freight forwarding company, they will provide the necessary documents for export, charge you for the freight to the final destination, and provide you with a US shipping address. We will ship your order to the US freight forwarder as you indicate on the orders’ shipping address. NOTE: We do not offer customer pickup for international shipments. Our carriers must ship to your designated US freight forwarder.

Do you have overnight shipping? This is not typically offered since the cost is about 3-4 times that of regular ground shipping and most of our items are considered hazardous material and travel via ground only.

Aqua Buff 1000-W and Aqua Buff 2000

If you are looking to remove some unwanted scratches on your boat or to bring back shine into your gelcoat, Aqua Buff is for you!

Aqua Buff is a polishing compound that we offer in two variations: Aqua Buff 1000-W and Aqua Buff 2000. It is mainly used as a way to remove heavy oxidation, sanding scratches, and swirl marks from gelcoat. There are no oils or polymers in Aqua Buff, so the surface you see is the true surface.

The Aqua Buff 1000-W is used for deep scratches and heavy oxidation. It has a blue-green color which is why is not recommended for white hulls. Use Aqua Buff 1000-F on white surfaces. Aqua Buff 1000-W removes 320 – 600 grit scratches.

Aqua Buff 2000 is used for finer scratches, swirl marks, and light oxidation. Use it to remove 1000 grit scratches and higher. Cleans and removes scratches from Fiber-Reinforced-Plastic parts, metals, and painted surfaces. It is strong enough for most uses and provides a shiny finish.

Application Instructions

Apply a small portion of Aqua–Buff 1000-W or 2000 on the surface using a brush or microfiber cloth (stick to a small area)
Use a spray bottle to mist the surface with water. Only use about a coin-size amount of compound per square foot.
Immediately machine buff* with a clean, damp, compound pad.
Use wool or wool/blend pads only.

*Use machine buffers that generate at least 2500 rpm for best results.

For the best techniques and tips on how to apply Aqua Buff please watch the video below.

How to Articles | Bottom Paint Store

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