Another question

Cracker Larry · Post by **Cracker Larry** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 11:26 am

Joel, I just finished inspecting the 2nd coat I applied yesterday. Sadly it has a few more sags than the first coat. Nothing serious, you can't see them unless you get a foot away in the right light, but I think we can do better.

I'm sure the problem is temperature/thinning related. Yesterday the high was about 65 when I applied the paint at noon. It was still very tacky to touch at 6pm. The temp had fallen to about 50F by then. The previous coat was put on at 75 degrees and dry to touch in 6 hours.

I've read all the Sterling documentation, which tells me it is either applied too heavy, thinned too much, or it's not tacking dry quickly enough. I'd certainly agree with the latter. I thinned a little bit less than 25%, and I don't think it was too heavy. Might have been

They tell me it can be corrected with a faster thinner, or by adding a few capsful of U1385, U1014, or C8761. Researching this tells me that 8761 is Sterlings brand of MEK.

Do you think I could use hardware store MEK to help with this? Or should I use a different thinner than the 2965? Any other suggestions? We won't have many more days with temps above 70, and I'd really like the next coat to be the last

Cracker Larry · Post by **Cracker Larry** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 8:54 am

Bumped. Any advice for colder weather application? The long range forecast says highs in the 60s for the next 2 weeks, but the high only lasts a couple of hours. Figuring an hour to mix, 2 hours to apply and 5 hours to dry, the average temps may be in the 50s.

This paint has so many additive possibilities I'm confused

Maybe we need some accelerator? Maybe I just need to apply it thinner?

tech_support · Post by **tech_support** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 11:33 am

im sorry, I meant to respond yesterday

Do the final coat earlier in the day, yo want it to skin over before the dew point rises. The accelerator will make it skin over much faster, but it also means there is not as much time for the paint to flow out and your brush will drag quicker, so I would reduce a little more when using accelerator. I have only used the accelerator once, and I did not like it. But with cooler temps it may be needed.

I am going to go check to see if we have some accelerator.

tech_support · Post by **tech_support** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 11:36 am

found an open bottle

Its the same bottle I used a couple years ago, I think you only use a cap full at a time.

Its on it way by UPS.

Cracker Larry · Post by **Cracker Larry** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 3:18 pm

Thank you so much Joel

You guys are great

Also, do you think it safe to substitute plain MEK for the Sterling C8761, in capful quantities?

tech_support · Post by **tech_support** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 4:58 pm

I do not know for sure, sorry

Cracker Larry · Post by **Cracker Larry** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 5:06 pm

I'll blaze a trail

Thanks.

Cracker Larry · Post by **Cracker Larry** » Mon Nov 03, 2008 9:26 am

Thanks to your help and tips, we've got it all worked out to satisfaction:D

It was warmer this weekend so I didn't try the accelerator, but did thin the paint more and applied less material to the boat. Also your suggestion of dipping the brush in the reducer when it started to drag was a big help.

I added a cap full of MEK to help it dry faster and this was also beneficial. It tacked over in about an hour, and dried completely in about 4 hours. Much better

We're going to give it one more coat, just because we can, but it really doesn't need it

Thanks again Joel, I appreciate all your help

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