Antifouling - using paint pad

[Gazza]

I'm contemplating the usual fun job of a couple of coats of antifouling and wondered if anyone had any experience of using foam paint pads. The normally available rollers seem to be designed for emulsion paint, and usually leave bits of themselves on the hull; rollers for gloss, ie foam, are very small and I'd rather use something a little larger.

So, foam paint pads seem to be an option ..................................

Any thoughts before I go out and buy some?

 

[Lucky Duck]

I use them for the bits of the boat the roller can't cover properly such as the hull/keel join or the top of the rudder but can't see them as particularly suited for painting the whole boat

 

[thinwater]

If they are leaving bits you are buying crappy rollers. Read the data block and it should state whether they are suitable for oil based paints.

I think you are searching for a solution to a non-problem. 1/4" nap should be fine, but you can use mohair if you like.

 

[Lucky Duck]

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?450636-What-type-roller-for-eroding-AF

 

[VicS]

I'm contemplating the usual fun job of a couple of coats of antifouling and wondered if anyone had any experience of using foam paint pads. The normally available rollers seem to be designed for emulsion paint, and usually leave bits of themselves on the hull; rollers for gloss, ie foam, are very small and I'd rather use something a little larger.

So, foam paint pads seem to be an option ..................................

Any thoughts before I go out and buy some?

I would not have thought paint pads would be suitable and I'd doubt if foam pads will be compatible with solvent based antifouling. I am sure the product data sheets only suggest brush, roller or spray

Personally I use a 4" mini roller but the most common size (9" / 230mm) is available in the usual range of pile and foam types although the foam ones are not compatible with solvent based antifouling.

If you feel the "standard" 9" roller is too small then consider the 305mm (12") professional / heavy duty sheepskin rollers with a double arm frame such as this one from Wickes

see ............... http://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Sheepskin-Roller-Set-305mm/p/154970

B&Q also offer similar 12 " roller frames and a variety of roller types as do Toolstation and Screwfix.

If 12 " is still too small for you I notice that Screwfix have 18" frames and rollers. You'd soon get the job done with one of those
.

 

[Lucky Duck]

I have used the ones in chandlers for many years with this as a brush isn't suitable http://www.yachtpaint.com/MPYACMDatasheets/VC_Offshore+eng+A4+Y+20141215.pdf

 

[sarabande]

I've just completed two coats of Jotun on theboat today.


I used a foam back, short pile simulated mohair roller (£9) from Brewers on an extending pole. The commercial 8inch ??? roller not the domestic skinny one.

And each coat took roughly half the time that using a 4 inch foam roller took. And I didn't have to kneel on the ground once, and the roller has cleaned out well and looks as if it will do another day's work.


http://www.brewers.co.uk/product-range/brushes-rollers


No affiliation, just a satisfied customer.

 

[Spirit of Glenans]

I'm seeing an arms race developing here
I thought the conventional wisdom was that a 6" roller on a radiator-type frame (or a conventional frame on a short pole)was the best tool to use, as:
It is more effective on compound curves
It keeps the inevitable back-splash of A/F further away from your person
It allows you to reach right in under the hull without having to go right in under it, particularly useful on bilge keelers!
It can deal reasonably well with tight areas e.g. keel-hull joint, top of rudder
Less paint wasted when you chuck it at the end of the job
(Regarding the "back-splash"; I once witnessed a group of volunteers on a work-camp weekend, antifouling some keelboats in such a hurry to meet a tidal deadline that there was a blue mist of A/F in the air around them! )

 

[TQA]

I have always used a 9 in roller, so much faster than a 4 in.

As for wastage at the end of the day, well I am Scottish but don't see it as an issue. You can roll it dry quite easily.

Wrap in clingfilm and it will keep overnight between coats.

 

[alan_d]

A loaded 9 inch roller is heavy to use above head height, for example when lying on your back between bilge-keels.

 

[VicS]

A loaded 9 inch roller is heavy to use above head height, for example when lying on your back between bilge-keels.

Yes I did a friends boat for him some years back. He provided the roller......... I was so knackered by the time I had finished I could hardly drive home. I wished i'd used my little 4" one.

 

[TQA]

Yes I did a friends boat for him some years back. He provided the roller......... I was so knackered by the time I had finished I could hardly drive home. I wished i'd used my little 4" one.

Put an extension handle on a 9 in roller. Now you can use both hands which is much less tiring. Also you never need to raise your arms above shoulder level.

Works for this old codger who still rolls the AF on his boat every year.

 

[LittleSister]

Whilst not saying they're better than rollers (of a suitable type), I used to use paint pads for antifouling small boats (17' to 23') and found it convenient.

 

[VicS]

Put an extension handle on a 9 in roller. Now you can use both hands which is much less tiring. Also you never need to raise your arms above shoulder level.

I'd have thought that the extra leverage the roller has on your wrists when fitted on an extension handle it would not be so much as "can" use both hands as "having to" use both hands.

Lying on the ground propped up on one elbow though means you cannot use both hands