Majorgator's XF20 - SPLASHED :)

[majorgator]

Will you be putting any coats of clear on the topsides?

I think that I will put the clear coat on the hull sides, but not the topside. I'm using Orcas White for the bottom, but it may be Whidbey White for the topsides. Already, with just 3 coats, its very bright and glossy. Anyway, the hull sides are intended to be black, in which case I may want the clear coat to really bring out the shine. Are you recommending that I put a clear coat on the topsides?

seth

[ks8]

Wasn't recommending... just curious. The clear really buffs up glossy. But with black, that gloss will show every imperfection, in a very shiney way. And black will get warm, hot, when the Florida sun hits it.

[majorgator]

Wasn't recommending... just curious

I don't know. It may look really good, but I'm not leaning toward it because I'm going to have some non-skid areas.

And on second thought, it looks like I'm going to paint the sides white...maybe I have about 1 1/2 quarts leftover from the bottom painting, and since I'm not using this color on the topside, it seems like a waste to buy more paint. I don't know, we'll see how I feel when the time comes.

seth

[majorgator]

All 4 coats of S3 Topcoat are on, so here are a few thoughts I had.

I personally preferred the roll and tip vs. the spray. The 1st coat was sprayed, it took about an hour to apply, and about half an hour to clean up. The roll and tip took about 45 minutes to do, and about 5 minutes to clean. The coating was more even and thicker when rolled. The paint is now dry and void of any brush marks. Last 2 coats had the crosslinker.

I thinned about 20%, except for the bow area. For the last 3 coats, the only runs I had were in the tunnel.

The S3 Topcoat is EASY to use...when its 60 degrees and high humidity. I don't even want to think about doing this in 90+ degrees

Fumes were very minor. I did most of the work with the garage door closed because the wind was blowing pretty hard and I didn't want any leaves or dust settling on it.

I'm not saying its a perfect paint job, but its better than I expected. I guess its a waiting game to see how hard and durable the coating is. I'll try to roll it out in the sun tomorrow and get some good pictures.

seth

[peter-curacao]

More tea? yes please! thank you!

[majorgator]

I rolled the boat out yesterday so that it could get some "sun cure" time. It spent all day outside, getting about 3 to 4 hours of direct sun in the afternoon. I checked the weather before I went to bed: no rain, temps in the mid to upper 30's during the night. I decided to leave it outside overnight so it could be in the sun again today. When I left for work this morning, I noticed that the entire bottom looked as if I never tipped it, kind of like little tunny bubbles all over it. At least its uniform, right We did have a light, and very unexpected frost last night, so I figured that it caused some expansion with the moisture that was still in the paint. If I would have known it was going to frost, I would have put it back in the garage.

Its not the end of the world, but I would like to get that smooth look/feel back. What's the best route to go from here? Should I wetsand and buff? Maybe the texture will smooth out some once it heats up? Just not sure how to proceed. Thanks!!!

Seth

[slvrlng]

Sounds like solvent pop. Are the bubbles in any kind of pattern? Or are they very uniform?

[majorgator]

The pattern is very uniform...looks like it would make a good non-skid pattern The final coat was put on saturday afternoon, and the problem occurred early morning today.

Nonetheless, or whatever the reason, I just need a solution that will work the best.

seth

[SaltShaker01]

The pattern is very uniform...looks like it would make a good non-skid pattern The final coat was put on saturday afternoon, and the problem occurred early morning today.

Nonetheless, or whatever the reason, I just need a solution that will work the best.

seth

Seth,

It is from the dew that in turn turned to frost. I am new to bateau building but have restored eight production fiberglass boats. My experience with new paint is that it doesn't like any sort of moisture falling on it until it is well seasoned. It can be sanded out after cure and then you can put another coat on. Other than that you can just leave it if it doesn't bother you.

[majorgator]

Got home tonight, and everything was OK. Went ahead and moved it back into the garage and I'm going to leave it there until I flip it (Sunday hopefully).