Awlgrip

[mark1882]

I had my boat professionally painted 3 years ago with Awlgrip but parts of the coachroof are beginning to blister a bit.
I have spoken to the people who did it they say that it could be moisture in the gel when they painted it!!
This doesn’t seem right to me, thoughts and any suggestions as why it has started to blister. It’s not every way but in quite a few places. Could it be poor paint stirring or preparation?
Thanks
Mark

 

[geem]

I had my boat professionally painted 3 years ago with Awlgrip but parts of the coachroof are beginning to blister a bit.
I have spoken to the people who did it they say that it could be moisture in the gel when they painted it!!
This doesn’t seem right to me, thoughts and any suggestions as why it has started to blister. It’s not every way but in quite a few places. Could it be poor paint stirring or preparation?
Thanks
Mark

I had my boat spray painted with Awgrip. The boatyard checked moisture reading as my request prior to painting. It was fine. We also got blisters within 12 months.
The surveyor i employed tells me there is dust in the paint. This causes blistering as time goes on.
I also believe that Awlgrip paint isn't what it used to be. I will never use it again.

 

[lustyd]

The reason doesn’t matter, it’s their job to do it properly. If they are Awlgrip suppliers then there should be a 10 year warranty so ask them to fix it.

 

[Sea Change]

That's a shame that it's not as good as it used to be. Our previous boat had been Awlgripped in 2008 and still looked great (minus a few operator-error-induced scrapes) over a decade later.

 

[geem]

The reason doesn’t matter, it’s their job to do it properly. If they are Awlgrip suppliers then there should be a 10 year warranty so ask them to fix it.

I had Awlgrip come to the boat to look at my paint. They did everything in the power to blame somebody else. They supply the boatyard with Awgrip paint so they collude with the yard against the owner. The guy blamed moisture in the hull. He didn't know how to use a moisture meter. My surveyor ripped his report to bits.
I did a lot of research with my America pal who is a boat builder there. The conclusion I came to is that the paint is not a moisture barrier. Even with Awgrip epoxy primers, the costing thickness is incredibly thin. It's not their as a moisture barrier. It's a barrier cost to ensure paint adhesion.
If you think you are getting a premium product, think again.
It will never be used on any boat I own in the future. Way to expensive and not as good as far cheaper products in my opinion

 

[sailorman]

I had my boat spray painted with Awgrip. The boatyard checked moisture reading as my request prior to painting. It was fine. We also got blisters within 12 months.
The surveyor i employed tells me there is dust in the paint. This causes blistering as time goes on.
I also believe that Awlgrip paint isn't what it used to be. I will never use it again.

awlgrip "G-line is the best product mine good as new after20 years

 

[lustyd]

The guy blamed moisture in the hull.

They can try. There’s no way a customer would know ahead of time to check or have the means to do so, which means the blame sits squarely with them for proceeding with the job. That’s the nature of hiring professionals and with Awlgrip that’s the only approved way to buy the product.

 

[geem]

They can try. There’s no way a customer would know ahead of time to check or have the means to do so, which means the blame sits squarely with them for proceeding with the job. That’s the nature of hiring professionals and with Awlgrip that’s the only approved way to buy the product.

You are right of course but the only way to progress a claim is with your own surveyor and the courts.

 

[lustyd]

I agree the courts may be the direction, but I see no need of a surveyor. Regardless of the state of the boat, the professional painters took the job on to paint the boat and the layman is in their hands entirely. If there is a problem, the onus is on them to show it prior to starting work, not to ignore it and have a go anyway. Unless they have specifically raised issues then what would a surveyor tell you that would change the outcome in court? Even if they have terms and conditions, they would be entirely irrelevant (in a UK court) as unfair terms imposed by unequal parties. It would be perfectly reasonable for me as a layman to assume a professional painter would highlight any issues with the boat that might affect their work.

 

[Lightwave395]

Had my recently sold 12.1M boat resprayed in Awlgrip 2000 back in 2015, excepting fair wear and tear bits it was in pretty good shape when her new owner sailed off with her, certainly looked great from more than 10 feet away. But, at £14K I'd have probably gone for a wrap if there's been a next time but I suppose it also depends on money spent versus the value of the boat.
A most annoying factor was being previously charged over £30 for a tiny 50ml phial of touch up paint - When preparing her for sale I found a company in Wales who were selling 400ml spray cans of Awlgrip with accelerator for £25
I loved my dark blue hull but am somewhat more relaxed with my new AWB...

 

[Keith 66]

Many things can cause blistering in 2 pack paints. I had a mild case many years ago with international 709 where it blistered just above the waterline after a couple of years, never did get to the bottom of that one!
Seen it on my own boat after using Epifanes 2 pack polyurethane, (She had been painted with 2 pack before).
In the last instance I had left a PVC fender between the end of the fender board & the hull & upon removing it in the spring found a perfect imprint of the fender in blisters, yet these extended right down through the gelcoat to the laminate., upon reving the fender board found similar along a 7ft band in the middle of the topsides.
This all required grinding the gelcoat away & fairing with epoxy before repainting.
It was suggested by one GRP guru i know that the plasticisers in the fender itself may have contributed to the blistering.
Strangely it only happened on the Stb side & not on the port side that usually wears the fender board against her jetty. We know that the boat was peeled & epoxied & also resprayed by Berthons just ten years after being built so suspect an original gelcoat problem. This could have been as simple as the laminator using not enough catalyst or too much, or his brushes / roller contaminated with filthy acetone when he gelled the mould out.
As far as the original Ops problem goes at 3 years down the line its going to be hard to get anyone to accept responsibility.

 

[winch2]

I have various experiences using 'two pack' outside of boating and in every single case the darn stuff once cured goes off like an inert toughened concrete.. ie nothing will shift it, mark it or compromise its integrity. What I'm reading here sounds more like operator error in spades.
If it was me I'd want to see my hull sitting in a drafty shed for months to dry properly.....Applying TP to even a slightly damp hull will result in failure.

 

[Keith 66]

I have painted many boats with 2 pack & have always been very careful about the conditions, first blistering was on a hull that was 5 years old & had never been afloat, done in perfect summers day conditions.
My own boat was more recent & also done in pefect conditions, One side never had any problems yet the other side did, but only where the fender & fenderboard were touching it. There was been no recurrence anywhere else nor on the deck which was done at the same time. But in this case it wasnt the paint that failed but the gelcoat under it, For it to develop a bad rash of blisters in just 6 months from nothing right down to the laminate was unusual especially in the middle of the topsides. In all my years of boatbuilding, restoring & painting boats it was a real head scratcher.
These things are sent to try us!