Boat Forum / Cruising / May 2006

;-)  Reminds me of the answer to how to fix the
rattles and squeaks in an older car.  "Turn up the
radio".

Don W.

Fired them off a short email.  We'll see what they
have to say.

Don W.

Okay, got a reply back from the Awlgrip factory,
and here is what they say.  I especially noted the
part about "Please note that these touch up spots
will be visible"

The following is by Beth Bernhorst at Awlgrip.com:

If you are wanting to touch up the scratches, you
can follow the system
below.  Unfortunately we do not have touch up kits
at this time.  The
smallest quantity of the color base available is a
quart and the
smallest quantity of brushing converter is a pint.
 Sometimes a local
boatyard that applies the Awlgrip may be willing
to sell a small
quantity of the paint for minor touch ups, or try
contacting the yard
that applied the Awlgrip - they may be able to
supply you with a small
quantity.  The following is the procedure for
doing touch ups by brush.

AWLGRIP(r) TOUCH-UP PROCEDURE

Note:  The procedure which follows is for very
small scratches or dings.

On large repairs it is often much more efficient
to re-paint a complete
section than it is to touch up a small area, this
work should be left to
professionals.

For small scratches and dings, use the appropriate
2 parts of color base
mixed with 1 part AWL-CAT(r)#3 Brushing Converter
(H3002), and a fine
artist's brush to re-establish the color and seal
the substrate.

For small repairs you probably will not need
reducer for the topcoat or
any primer.

Gouges that go deep into, or through, the gelcoat
should be primed
before applying topcoat.

Seriously cracked or crazed fiberglass should be
professionally
repaired.

Keep a clean rag nearby soaked with M.E.K. or
Acetone.  If you put on
too much paint, wipe it off with the rag while it
is still wet and start
again.

Please note that these touch up spots will be
visible.  The new paint
will have more gloss than the old and you may
notice a color difference.

We do not recommend buffing the surface to "blend"
the touch up area and
the old finish.  This includes the use of
Finness-It(r) and similar
products.

The benefit to touching up these small scratches
is you are sealing the
surface, helping to prevent water or other
contaminants from
under-cutting the paint film.

You may also want to try using Awlcare (Protective
Polymer Sealer).  It
goes on much like a liquid wax, but contains no
abrasives and is
non-yellowing and non-building.

Please reply or call 847-599-6212 if you have any
additional questions.

Some shops give you a  "touch up" kit after they awlgrip the boat.  If
you're lucky, you have it.  If your still lucky, you know what color
awlgrip was used on the boat, and youc an get some awlgrip and match it
up. (Go to a yard/paint shop  and ask them--you dont' really want to
deal with even the quart-size containers.)

That said, it's very difficult to touch up awlgrip and not leave a
visible seam.  Since it's paint, it goes on in layers, and the new
layer sits higher than the old layer.  You can't buff it, so what do
you do?  You can try feathering  a little and use a light hand.  I
wouldn't tape around the patch area--that will just leave distinct
lines where the tape was.  That said, be mindful of drips.

You got me.  I'm a fan of gelcoat repair myself.
Then when you get even a deep scratch, you can
fill it in with color matched gelcoat, wet sand it
down, buff, polish, wax, and you can't even see
where the repair was done.

I think that because gel coating is a little more
labor intensive than painting, a lot of people
choose the easy way out.

Don W.

Hi Frank,

I've applied Imron successfully with my spray rig
on several occasions, and I suspect applying
Awlgrip is similar.  I have a Binks gun with a
pressure pot, as well as HVLP guns, gravity feed
guns, touchup guns, and even airless.  Oh yes,
I've got an air brush with a compressor also :).

The PO painted the boat himself (rolled and tipped
it with Awlgrip), and although it looks really
good from ten feet away, it is not a professional
quality finish when viewed close up. Additionally,
the finish--which is less than two months old--has
two very visible dock rash scratches which are six
to eight feet long (sigh).  The good news is that
because it was painted so recently, I stand a more
than decent chance of getting a good color match.

Right now I'm just studying the issue, because
there are other things on the boat that will have
priority for a while--thru hulls, standing rig,
electrical wiring, sanitation, etc., but I might
bring my touch up gun and a compressor down and do
 an experiment at the dock.  If I get a calm day,
I can pretty much guarantee no overspray with the
touch up gun.  My experience with Imron is that it
is tough to wetsand.

Don W.