# Awlgrip aluminum boat painting



## bob_esper (Jun 3, 2021)

I'm getting dangerously close to being able to start painting on my skiff I'm building. I wanna bounce my game plan off yall and get some tips/advice if you have any. I know I wont get professional results most likely, but I'd like something that looks pretty good. 









So my plan is spray it with Awlgrip products. I don't currently have any painting equipment, but I have a 2.5 hp 5.5 CFM compressor. From what I'm reading it seems to be on the small side for painting but I THINK it'll do it. I do have a water separator that needs to be installed prior to painting as well. I've seen alot of cheaper (>100$) guns for sale, but i need to do some more reading on them before buying one. I will be making a "paint booth" by hanging some plastic sheets from the rafters in the shop. So, with all that being said my plan is as follows:


Wash the boat out
Use 200 grit paper on the orbital to smooth out places i've used a flap wheel on and any rougher looking areas
Rub everything down with scotchbrite
Wash boat out and let it dry
Clean boat with Acetone
prime with Alwgrip 545 and 545 converter and T0006 converter for spraying. Probably 1 tack coat and 2 full coats
Let dry completely, lightly sand with 200 grit by hand to roughen up for adhesion
Paint with Alwgrip polyester urethane top coat with awlcat #2 converter. 1 tack and 2 full coats
Let dry
Mask off for nonskid, lightly sand where I'm putting non skid. Spray tack coat, then sprinkle coarse nonskid and cover with another coat. Adding flattening agent to paint at this point.
Pull tape after paint has mostly dried
Pray it looks ok.

What do yall think? Any idea on amount of paint and primer i'll need? i know they have a coverage calculator, but i'm curious about real world results. Any spray gun recommendations?


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## gbc11 (Oct 4, 2018)

Since Brad cut about every corner he could building my 2014 IPB 14.5 I just did a load of fiberglass work and am in the process of repainting it. Im bacically doing what you said. All the videos I watched never said to sand in between coats of paint it makes since to me on what your thinking. I would also love to hear the thoughts of the group.


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## bob_esper (Jun 3, 2021)

Do you have your compressor and sprayer already?


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## Sublime (Oct 9, 2015)

The compressor is definitely on the small side I would say. Short of buying a bigger one, you can buy a second tank to increase the volume of air you have "stored up"


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## bob_esper (Jun 3, 2021)

Sublime said:


> The compressor is definitely on the small side I would say. Short of buying a bigger one, you can buy a second tank to increase the volume of air you have "stored up"


I've been keeping an eye out for a compressor with a bad motor for that exact same reason.


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

Paint It Black (member on here) is a professional painter and he has recommended the purple or blue Harbor Freight $30 guns in the past.

My question to you is: Why such expensive and hard to use paint? In addition to your shop equipment I did not see where you have listed positive pressure suit- this stuff is NOT beginner friendly.

The paint can be touched up if it gets scratched but it is not easy and will not match.

This is an aluminum boat - I would use some BLP Mobile or Sherwin Williams industrial paints and finish the job without lung damage.


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## dodgerodder (Feb 9, 2021)

Just a thought. 
People do amazing jobs rolling & tipping awlgrip. 
Using a slower brushing reducer, it flows out real smooth.

Might be something to consider!
Many YouTube videos cover it.

Love your skiff btw, really great fab work.
Compared to what you’ve done, paint will be easy!

Dan


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## bubba110 (Oct 5, 2016)

Your plan sounds pretty good. Looking forward to seeing your outcome! Remember it is an aluminum skiff and not an aluminum yacht, you will probably have a few blemishes here and there but its ok. I am more familiar with Alexseal products but both companies are pretty similar. Id recommend reading the TDS sheets, about 4 times over, for all of the products you are mentioning. 

Few other points:
-Consider using tack rags (cheese cloth rags) to wipe down right before starting to paint
-make sure to wait the right amount of time between coats (time should be in the TDS sheets) this will help the paint off gas and not leave you with solvent pop in your topcoat
-Consider mixing the nonskid into your topcoat then spraying the topcoat/nonskid mixture, might give you a more even spread of the granules then trying to sprinkle by hand
-get good airflow through your plastic tent, you can tape up some cheap air filers on one side and tape that box fan you have on the other, letting the fan suck clean air into your tent and pushing out the over spray that is floating around in the air

Good luck man! It will turn out good.

-Dirt


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## Pony Mullet Sightfishing (Aug 30, 2021)

Here’s some lessons I learned the hard way:
Run some paint through your sprayer before “paint day”. Want to know 100% that it will work with your equipment before you spend a few hours of prep for shooting.
Get a big ladder or scaffold for the hull, to direct spray down and prevent overspray.. and watch the compressor hose from rubbing against boat while you spray!


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## bob_esper (Jun 3, 2021)

DuckNut said:


> Paint It Black (member on here) is a professional painter and he has recommended the purple or blue Harbor Freight $30 guns in the past.
> 
> My question to you is: Why such expensive and hard to use paint? In addition to your shop equipment I did not see where you have listed positive pressure suit- this stuff is NOT beginner friendly.
> 
> ...


I sent him a PM yesterday. Hopefully he sees it. The reason for Awlgrip was just how great the reviews are on it holding up. I'm tough on my boats and don't want something that'll need touch ups every year if possible.


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

bob_esper said:


> I sent him a PM yesterday. Hopefully he sees it. The reason for Awlgrip was just how great the reviews are on it holding up. I'm tough on my boats and don't want something that'll need touch ups every year if possible.


Please read the warnings on spraying 2 part paints.


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## bob_esper (Jun 3, 2021)

DuckNut said:


> Please read the warnings on spraying 2 part paints.
> 
> View attachment 182907


When I started doing some actual digging into spraying awlgrip i was very surprised to see how dangerous it was to spray. I wasn't planning on doing a full body suit, but at least an air supplied respirator. Honestly the biggest reason I wanna spray vs roll is spraying will be easier to get in the nooks and crannies. I'm sure I'd be plenty satisfied with the overall finish quality. I still haven't ruled out rolling and tipping, that's one of the reasons I started this thread. I wanted to get some more points of view. I THINK i'd rather roll and tip Awlgrip vs spray a less durable paint. The overall cost of the paint isnt a huge deal to me, i'd rather spend 6-700$ and have a durable finish vs spending 250$ and have to baby it.


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## bob_esper (Jun 3, 2021)

Anyone in here used alexseal products? Been seeing some youtube videos on it, looks like a good product that's repairable.


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## Silent Drifter (Apr 29, 2021)

Tell us about the boat 🤔 is this a one off you did your self or followed plans? Whats the thickness bottom, side ,top ,did you use salt water grade aluminum? Or is it for fresh water ? Did you use Tig or Mig to weld her up 😊 I like how the top cap overhangs should reflect a good amount of spray 👍😎 often thought about getting my buddy to help me build one out of aluminum hes got mad skills with welding and Red Neck Fabrication 😁👍😎


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## bob_esper (Jun 3, 2021)

Silent Drifter said:


> Tell us about the boat 🤔 is this a one off you did your self or followed plans? Whats the thickness bottom, side ,top ,did you use salt water grade aluminum? Or is it for fresh water ? Did you use Tig or Mig to weld her up 😊 I like how the top cap overhangs should reflect a good amount of spray 👍😎 often thought about getting my buddy to help me build one out of aluminum hes got mad skills with welding and Red Neck Fabrication 😁👍😎


Basically I looked at some pictures of Sabine boats and tweaked it a bit for my needs (90% lakes 10% poling) I have a 4-5 page build thread on it (aluminum poling skiff build)


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

bob_esper said:


> Anyone in here used alexseal products? Been seeing some youtube videos on it, looks like a good product that's repairable.


Basically the same paint Bob.

Look up some of the products from the companies I listed above. Very durable and won't kill you if sprayed.

One thing to mention about the HF spray gun is after you are done spraying, throw it away.


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## bubba110 (Oct 5, 2016)

bob_esper said:


> Anyone in here used alexseal products? Been seeing some youtube videos on it, looks like a good product that's repairable.


Like Duck said, Alexseal Topcoat and Awlgrip Topcoat are very similar products. From my understanding Alexseal is much more repairable because the color goes throughout the full thickness of the topcoat. Where as Awlgrip the color is only in the top 1/3-1/2 of the full thickness of the topcoat, which makes it more difficult to repair then a paint that has full color through the thickness of the topcoat.

With that being said Awlgrip does have another topcoat called Awlcraft 2000 and I do understand that the Awlcraft 2000 is supposed to have full color through out the thickness of the topcoat. But I do not have much experience with the 2000. We mostly use Alexseal products.

Please be mindful of safety when spraying either companies products and wear the correct respirator and have good ventilation.


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## bob_esper (Jun 3, 2021)

Looks like Totalboat has a 1 part top coat that won't kill me to spray... will also save about 400$ over the awlgrip. Anyone used any of the Totalboat products?


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## Silent Drifter (Apr 29, 2021)

Thanks for the info i had missed the build thread but reading it now 👍😎 i work 12 hr shifts been training several employees on heavy machines so im a little behind thats why i haven't been posting as much on my favorite site👍😎


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## Hank (Jan 14, 2019)

What about painting the exterior with one of the super slick coatings? Gator Glide is one. Then regular paint for topside?


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## Silent Drifter (Apr 29, 2021)

Instantly i would say heat may be a factor, but the water is also a heat sink ? Some black coatings absorb heat more than others ,but other than that i love the idea gator glide is a proven product 👍😎 while the other is said to chip off in chunks ....


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## Hank (Jan 14, 2019)

Gator Glide and competitors come in other colors than black. I’ve been thinking about using ir for painting the outside of my metal hull right up to the gunnels.


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## FishWithChris (Feb 6, 2019)

Give the guys up here at ScandyWhite a call; I bounce ideas and such off them all the time, even though I don't have one of their boats, and they're always super helpful (even if they _ARE _gator fans  ) 

GatorGlide is great, but enough bottom hits and it will wear quickly. I'm waiting until spring and will do the bottom of my Xpress in it.


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## devrep (Feb 22, 2009)

consider Sherwin Williams Kem 400 with their dura-plate 235 epoxy primer. apparently a lot of aluminum boat builders in LA are using this. it is an industrial coating. we are going to use this on my grandsons 20 ft aluminum StarCraft project. will be a while until we get to that stage though.


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## bob_esper (Jun 3, 2021)

devrep said:


> consider Sherwin Williams Kem 400 with their dura-plate 235 epoxy primer. apparently a lot of aluminum boat builders in LA are using this. it is an industrial coating. we are going to use this on my grandsons 20 ft aluminum StarCraft project. will be a while until we get to that stage though.


I'm strongly leaning towards the Kem 400. I was going to use the etching wash primer though.


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## devrep (Feb 22, 2009)

the etching wash primer is what most use from the research I've done. we repainted a 14 ft 1968 StarCraft 4 or 5 years ago though and used a 2 part epoxy primer and it still looks the same today. only used in the salt. so may stay with the epoxy. plenty of time for us to decide.


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