Awlgrip application

What I learned I learned from a professional sprayer and I still get it screwed up most of the time, if not doing it on a regular basis, specially spraying, the feel goes fast and the gun setting takes for ever to get right, the paint "thickness" is super critical and should be measured through a "zahn" cup for proper application, also the prep work will show every flaw if not right. So as you see it is not an easy job for the amateur, roll and tip is less exacting but again requires a learning curve. awlgrip is not forgiving if you make mistakes, does not blend well for repairs and technically cannot be polished out. When we re finished our 70 ft here in Vancouver, we took it into the yard, built the tent, scaffold etc, did all the prep work and repairs, sanding etc, then the local spray guy said he would spray the boat for me for 1K if I provided all the paint etc etc..took us 2 months of prep, 2 days to spray. That was in 1998, the hull looks still really great but the superstructure gets a real beating here in winter with so much rain and pollution so I have started doing sections myself and it is a bear to get really good but worth the effort in the long run. Try to stay away from accelerators when spraying, can make a mess of the finished job.

It's actually very similar to automotive painting and if you're good at spraying automotive paint, you can be good at painting a yacht with a very short learning curve....... the prep is crucial, as is how the paint is mixed........other than that it sprays about the same as automotive, just larger areas and that's what you have to get used to........

Not to disagree with the authoritative Capt. it is not remotely like automotive spraying, the two skills are different, I had an employee who apprenticed in Germany as an automotive spray mechanic, became a journeyman and was lost trying to spray Awlgrip let alone understand the fairing composites , shrinkage , pinholing etc, some may get away with it.
YMMV

Dennis; I managed an American - Japanese joint venture and one day I indicated to the Japanese manager that I was uncomfortable with the new guy they brought in from Japan because his English was very bad and I couldn't understand him.. My Japanese manager told me not worry .... his Japanese was very bad and he couldn't understand him either.
Do you think maybe the German guy couldn't paint automobiles either?

Actually it was the complexities of the fairing work, paint mix, temperature and preparation of the aluminum that really got to him, he sprayed back in the late 60s in Germany and things were a little different then, once he watched a few pro's at it and we explained the theories and technical details of the paint etc he started to come around and with the addition of a wrist strap he improved dramatically, his varnish brushing skills were very good as was his work ethic.

Hi,

Spraying AwlGrip and Automotive Paints are quite different as Dennismc says.

There has recently been a large yacht that changed late on from an AwlGrip system to Du Pont. The Painters (who were very experienced) had to be given lessons on how to apply the Du Pont System.

Although changing the system so late on caused a delivery delay,after a few mistakes and re shoots the finished product turned out well - a much better end result than another large one being done next to it at same time with a full AwlGrip System.

No such thing as secrets

Awl-Grip, Alexseal, Imron and Sterling all have published guides that are the best place to start for learning how to apply the coatings correctly and that's the first place to start. They also have reps who are many times former applicators who are also useful sources for info. As has been mentioned, prep is 90% of the job and the actual final coats are, or should be, anticlimatic.

Pro's have different techniques individual to their own style and practice is the best way to learn how to do it the way you are most comfortable. Temperature and humidity are probably the biggest variables and can cause a shoot to turn nightmarish in a heartbeat if you aren't prepared.

Based on your location I would say most definitely use plenty of X-98 kicker to combat humidity if spraying, contrary to thr rumor mill, it does absolutely no harm to the finish or longevity. Apply one light tack coat, followed by two full gloss passes with 15 to 30 minutes between each. I set my gun at a 6" fan pattern from 9" away and use a 50% overlap on each sweep. Get everything set before you start and shoot a small test piece before attacking the big job, watch it for a few minutes and if it's good and doesn't start running, have at it! Worst case, if you find things you didn't see beforehand (very common) you just laid down a great final primer coat and can dust it off and do it again.