topside, gelcoat

[guglielmo6160]

Willie,
like the product you sent the link to,
my question is , how severe is the grainy look, I dont want it overwhelming, but do like the idea of an irregular look,
and non slip

[jimbo36]

Bill, When you rolled the Interlux with a closed cell roller the small bubbles you see need to be "tipped off" with a brush. I use a 4" foam brush and change it regularly during the process. This is where it takes some skill. The paint will want to dry so you need to work quickly, tipping into the wet edge. It is recommended that 2 people are necessay for large areas. One to roll and the other to tip off. I have painted hulls with this method and people think I sprayed it. When I tell them I did it outside they are amazed.

Gerry, Interlux makes a Polyurethane non-skid coating called "Interdeck" that is easy to work with and extreamly durable coating. Definately as good as Awlgrip and not as tricky to use. Jimbo.

[JuiceClark]

I think the gelcoat/paint preference can change with environment as well. Down here, even the best gelcoat, like that used on Bertrams, begins to break-down from the beating FL sun. A wellcraft I sold to a friend 9 years ago still looks great from my paintjob...and it was just 2 coats of Imron. I've found Imron rolled and tipped is much more scratch resistant than anything else if applied well and fairly thick....love the stuff. I gelcoated the fly bridge deck to get it on thick in one coat and it was easy too...but kicked off a lot faster.

One more thing, if it's a fairly warm day, put the paint in the refrigerator an hour or so before mixing. This gives you even more time before it kicks. The coat I did a couple weeks ago was still applicable when I finished 45 minutes after mixing. But adding the thinner is the key...flows so nicely.

[guglielmo6160]

I probably wont do any paintwork till spring, I decided to go with the Durabak coating, looks good, and the price is right, Im basically going to do the topdeck, along the gunwales up to the windows and cut a line before the flybridge, if I cant get a good clean line , I may consider doing the entire top deck as they offer a smooth finish as well,
I called that company and spoke with a few people and they say its a bulletproof coating,
here in NY its gets pretty nasty in the winter, and this is the first year Im keeping her in all year,
(strickly an economic reason, they charge less for winter , in water storage, I was used to keeping a 25 boat with a smaller beam, there killing me on this one,,,lol)
I liked the picture and information that Willie sent me, reminds me of the stuff I used on the back of my pickup a few years ago, I hope its a little more civilized , in respect to the consistency of the finish, as the stuff I used had a very aggressive pattern, and I dont want it to look like the deck of a tug, if you know what I mean,,,lol.
I gotta tell you, I love this boat, It handled well in the rough waters off the coast of Jersey last week, scared the s--t out of me, but she took more than I could. so I think its a keeper,, I love the size of her, as its the largest boat Ive owned, and I may look for a larger one in the future if I get a deal

[my10meter]

By far- If you are considering redoing any decks- roll and tip with Awlgrip--
The gelcoat does not require to be primered--unless you have a lot of areas that are missing gelcoat- Spot primering is ok.

Awlgrip mixed with sand provides a great easy to care deck surface.

Any hull or topside work can be done with Awlcraft-- the best part of Awlcraft is that it can be repaired--

Look on the Awlgrip site-they have great information.
Capt Dana