Painting questions

[turtle2180]

I have a 14' fiberglass SkiBarge I am planning on painting with Valspar tractor paint. Priming with the Valspar primer. I will be using the roll n roll/tip method I have been reading about. I will also be adding hardener and acetone to the paint as it was recommend by wood on glass in another forum. I will be painting in my 24 x 24 garage which is insulated but heated with only a kerosene heater or a propane heater (the kind that mounts on the wall and has a pilot light). I live in central Illinois and the temps are 30 to 40's outside right now. I can easily heat the garage over 50 and can most likely get it up to the low 70's.

Some of my questions...

I have never painted with the hardener and understand the fumes from it are pretty bad to breathe but not as bad if rolling.

So how flamable are those fumes? Is the propane heater safe?

If I have the walk through door open with a fan in it will that be okay? Although will pulling out my heated air.

How long after I have finished painting a coat should I leave the temp above 50?

Do you wet sand between coats of primer? Between coats of paint? I assume with the enamel paint if you do any kind of sanding it will lose its shine. So it would be okay for between coats but what about the final coat?

If there is any other suggestions or advice please feel free to lay it on me.

Thank you in advance for any responses. I have been reading forums on here for some time and apperciate all the help.

 

[boatnut74]

Re: Painting questions

I am unsure if the fumes are flammable, You might look on their website. You wont have to wet sand between the coats of primer. I usually go over it with 400 grit, wipe with acetone and shoot another coat. You can sand between the coats of paint also, the final coat will cover it up. I actually like sanding between coats to knock down any high spots there might be. Someone with more knowledge will swing by soon

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Painting questions

Fumes will be ok with Rolling. Spraying is where you would have an issue. Keep the heat on for @ least 4 hours. Sanding, I'd recommend a Scotch Brite pad between coats to knock the nubs off. Wipe down with acetone between sandding and next coat. With the hardener you'll only have to wait about 4 hours between coats. Make sure and mix the paint for 30 minutes, off n on, after you add the hardener to let it "Cook". Don't mix more than you'll use for two coats cuz after 8 hours the paint is crap

 

[turtle2180]

Re: Painting questions

Thanks for the info guys. Do you think I will need to vent with an open door with rolling or should it be okay? Will obviously be easier to keep the heat it if I can close it but also don't want to take any chances. Thanks for throwing that in there about mixing the paint for 30 mins as I didn't know that. So you think that even at around 50 - 60 degrees I can recoat at 4 hours? What would be your best guess on how much paint it will take to do one coat rolling? Boat is 14' long about 56" across the bottom and sides are about 30" on average.

 

[JDA1975]

Re: Painting questions

Wear a respirator since your going to be working in an enclosed space, overall fumes did not seem bad to me while rolling, but i worked in an open car-port. One suggestion I might add, from my own roll/tip experience is to get a little practice before you start the actual boat, I messed up my first 2 coats and after 13 hours of wet sanding to get it all smooth again I learned that the hard way! The method works better the more you've done it, if I could do it over, I would have done my trailer first. Anyways, Wood can guide you, he helped me a lot. Good luck and hope it goes well for you!

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Painting questions

fumes will not be that bad. You can keep it closed. Keep it as close to 65 to 70 degrees. When rolling this paint in cool temps thin it with Acetone. It will "Flash" Off faster and the 4 hours should be about right. When rolling light coats are best sooo...using my formula which is on Page 10 of my thread, you should get one coat per two cups of paint. I'd recommend mixing two cups at a time with 1 oz of Hardener. See how far this goes the first time and then adjust from there. I'd say most peoples mistake when rolling is using too much paint. Light is Right! Takes longer but you'll avoid fisheyes and orange peel. Also Heavy pressure with first couple of passes then begin to lighten your stroke. Listen to the roller. If you hear a Sticky sound you are rolling too long and this will cause fisheye or orange peel. Like the judge says, practice does make perfect and you'll get better as you go. Start on the transom first.

 

[turtle2180]

Re: Painting questions

Thanks guys for the all the info. Feeling pretty confident I got this under control. I will try and post some pics of my progress.

 

[fstalfire]

Re: Painting questions

Is this tractor paint an Alkyd or an Acrylic Enamel?....I'm a paint rep for DuPont, i think you'll have plenty of fumes in your area if not ventilated and if your not used to them you'll be feeling uncomfortable after a while. do, mix the paint as per manufactuers tech sheet. the problem with rolling is the bubbles created, there is an additive that is a bubble breaker

 

[BillP]

Re: Painting questions

As mentioned by fstalfire..."mix the paint per manufacturers tech sheet".

The Valspar paint is enamel and the hardener (optional) is not to cure the paint, only to make it harder/glossy. Enamels are best thinned with turps or mineral spirits. Valspar says thin it with mineral spirits and they really do know best. Use turps for slower evap and mineral spirits for a higher evap. In your part of the country I think you will be wanting to slow down the evap rate instead of speeding it up...but thats just me reflecting on my experience with enamel in low humidity with low temps.

Also, beware of using a thinning mixture from other parts of the county...unless the temps and humidity are close to each other. If not, don't expect the results to be the same. Do your own testing. It's less of a problem with enamel but is an issue with poly.

To help yourself, record the volume, temp, humidity and amount of thinner each time you mix. Watch and record how easily it rolled, drying time and what the final results were, Use that info as a benchmark to adjust the next batch. You will eliminate guessing...and be following what professionals do.

bp