Applying two-part paint...

PuffTheMagicDragon

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...with roller and brush.This will be for the cockpit and for the deck parts that are between the areas that are textured for non-slip. What is the best type of roller to use? What about the brush that is used for 'tipping off'? Can I use cheap polyester bristles (e.g. Lidl) or should I go for a soft natural bristle?

TIA
 
The roll and tip method I have used involved a fine (short)nap roller and 50 mm brush with extra long bristles.

You will get a better finish with more light coats rather a single heavy one.

2 pot will surface cure very fast so if at all possible have one person rolling and one tipping off, the latter should have a good supply of white rags with a suitable solvent to wipe the bristles from time to time, like between each roller run and before starting the next run.

Keeping a wet edge is critical so plan your attack with care keeping this as a top priority.

Avoid full sun and wind, shade the area and let it cool before you start, to avoid humidity problems start after 10 AM and apply nother after 2:30 PM.

Good luck and fair winds.
 
Different people get good results with different brushes.
You could try the disposable foam 'Jenny Brushes'.
 
The roll and tip method I have used involved a fine (short)nap roller and 50 mm brush with extra long bristles.

You will get a better finish with more light coats rather a single heavy one.

2 pot will surface cure very fast so if at all possible have one person rolling and one tipping off, the latter should have a good supply of white rags with a suitable solvent to wipe the bristles from time to time, like between each roller run and before starting the next run.

Keeping a wet edge is critical so plan your attack with care keeping this as a top priority.

Avoid full sun and wind, shade the area and let it cool before you start, to avoid humidity problems start after 10 AM and apply nother after 2:30 PM.

Good luck and fair winds.

Agree with all of that; I also believe it is ESSENTIAL to have two people doing the job. I once tried rolling and tipping (just one part paint) on my own and tied myself into a terrible knot!

You could also have a read through this:

http://liambean.hubpages.com/hub/Roll-and-Tip-Method-of-Painting
 
Thanks Guys! There's a whole bunch of good advice there. I'm still not decided about the type of brush to use. It seems that while foam is to be considered as disposable, there is also a warning that the foam is affected by the solvent. False economy? In the case of bristles, cheap ones do have a tendency to shed hairs...
 
I painted all of upperdeck/cockpit/toerail etc. using International Perfection. I tried the roll on tip off method but wasn't happy with the result so just used the small type 4" foam rollers.

These gave me a very good finish after 3 undercoat/3 topcoat. Be aware not all foam rollers are the same as some start to disintigrate after 5-10 mins but good ones lasted over 30-40 mins.

I was advised by the technical department to thin the paint 10% to maintain the wet edge and flow characteristics. This was vital as the areas painted had no defined start/end and required the start to merge with the end after a lap of a 32' deck! This took two people with a well defined route to minimise leaving the wet edge too long.
 
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I painted all of upperdeck/cockpit/toerail etc. using International Perfection. I tried the roll on tip off method but wasn't happy with the result so just used the small type 4" foam rollers.

These gave me a very good finish after 3 undercoat/3 topcoat. Be aware not all foam rollers are the same as some start to disintigrate after 5-10 mins but good ones lasted over 30-40 mins.

I was advised by the technical department to thin the paint 10% to maintain the wet edge and flow characteristics. This was vital as the areas painted had no defined start/end and required the start to merge with the end after a lap of a 32' deck! This took two people with a well defined route to minimise leaving the wet edge too long.

But how can one tell which is a 'good' roller and which isn't? I tried foam rollers for antifouling twice: the first time and the last time! To say that I wasn't impressed would be putting it very lightly.

Still, judging from the photo you must have done a good job. Did the rollers leave a self-levelling finish or did you have to cut it back? My deck is also 32 feet long and the cockpit isn't exactly small. Thanks for the heads-up about planning the route; this would be especially important round the side decks.
 
The type of two pot paint you use is very important as some dry so fast that any feathering is impossible.International Perfection together with their own nº9 thinner is not too bad in this respect but you still won't have much time to feather the edges with a brush.Remember that the thinners are very aggressive to foam rollers so you'll have to change them every meter or so.
 
But how can one tell which is a 'good' roller and which isn't? I tried foam rollers for antifouling twice: the first time and the last time! To say that I wasn't impressed would be putting it very lightly.

Still, judging from the photo you must have done a good job. Did the rollers leave a self-levelling finish or did you have to cut it back? My deck is also 32 feet long and the cockpit isn't exactly small. Thanks for the heads-up about planning the route; this would be especially important round the side decks.

I will find the name of the rollers and let you know. They were only found by chance as I needed some quick for another job and then used them for this painting job. Only when they ran out and I tried a different brand did I find out that they could disintegrate very quickly! We found that we could quite happily paint all the areas mentioned using 4 rollers.

The finish has not had any further work done on it. All we did was to run the roller over with virtually no pressure on the last pass.
 
There are foam rollers and brushes available that do not fall apart with two pot paints and they do a very good job but still need the odd wipe as you go.

Look for a good quality one with a long taper and very fine texture.

Good luck and fair winds.
 
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