Brands of flowcoat available in EU?

[KompetentKrew]

Someone once remarked to me that,"if you can piss you can paint, can't you?" Out of embarrassment I have kept my mouth shut ever since. I have no idea what I'm doing, and no idea about the different kinds of coatings - emulsion, two-pack and IDK what else.

But this week I'm in the process of replacing the mechanical components of my fridge (which stopped dead around Christmas) and I'd rather like to paint the inside - removing one of the screws that mounted the evaporator plate caused the plywood to splinter a bit, and the existing paint is flaking just a little. It's not bad, and it has probably lasted many years since the original fridge was installed (could it be as long as 30 years!?) but the old evaporator plate is out now and the box is completely empty so this would be a good opportunity to make a good job of it. Hopefully it will last many years again.

A neighbour is advocating a two-pack ceramic based paint, but a number of previous threads here have said flowcoat, which sounds like it would get a good finish easily:

If you mean home-built, then I'd use flow-coated GRP: fit for the job, strong, versatile, vapour- and waterproof, easy to clean.

Both. I understood the suggestion was that if anyone does make a fridge liner out of plywood, one should coat both sides with epoxy (two or three coats) to produce an impermeable barrier with a white flow coat on the inside to produce a wipe clean finish. Not sure how you’re going to end up with condensate on the outside because you’d make sure the insulation is tight up against the exterior surface and you’d presumably ensure that no warm moist air ever got near that area anyway.

As I said in a previous post, once you’ve made the box, if you drill any holes to allow pipes for refrigerant and thermostat through, you’ve got to make sure you seal any raw edges of ply you’ve exposed. Simple enough with more epoxy and flow coat.

(When I fitted the pipes through my s/s box, the hole got a quick squirt of expanding foam to seal them in.)

My current fridge box is made of stainless steel, which I think is the best, but the previous one had been painted with flowcoat and that was perfectly functional.

East Coast Fibreglass have white flowcoat starting at £19, which is the right price, but I'm presently in the EU and can't find flowcoat listed as sites like Seashop.be or Compass2 4. I have even checked SVB24, against whom I hold a bitter grudge, to no avail. What should I be looking for, please?

 

[john_morris_uk]

If you can’t get flow coat, I’ve always found Danboline Bilge paint pretty reliable.

 

[AngusMcDoon]

East Coast Fibreglass have white flowcoat starting at £19, which is the right price, but I'm presently in the EU and can't find flowcoat listed as sites like Seashop.be or Compass2 4. I have even checked SVB24, against whom I hold a bitter grudge, to no avail. What should I be looking for, please?

German equivalent of ECF...

gfk-shop | eBay.de Shops

 

[Purple Velvet]

Easiest and best is a couple of coats of epoxy primer, followed by a colour coat of your choice. Don't be tempted by epoxy primer in an aerosol though unless it has an activator button in the bottom. You can get small quantities of good primer under the Kapci brand on Ebay. It is two component but it is NOT AN ISOCYANATE paint, so standard PPE is fine. You can spray or brush as you choose, but of course a spray job will look far nicer unless you sand between coats.

Completely inert when cured, robust, encapsulates the substrate and will require a dangly grinder to make any impression on it.

 

[KompetentKrew]

Easiest and best is a couple of coats of epoxy primer, followed by a colour coat of your choice.

Sorry, what kind of colour coat, please?

I assumed I could just lightly sand the existing paint and then apply the flowcoat?

I hate the feeling of ignorance that I get from not understanding this.

 

[Purple Velvet]

Sorry, what kind of colour coat, please?

I assumed I could just lightly sand the existing paint and then apply the flowcoat?

I hate the feeling of ignorance that I get from not understanding this.

If the existing substrate is undamaged, then you don't need a primer, but you will need to use a paint with the same base as already on there, to avoid "pickling". Flat to around 400 dry before cleaning and overcoating.

Flowcoat is not the product that I would use in this application. This is going onto steel isn't it? If I haven't misunderstood that, you would abrade the surface (dry) to 180 grit, clean it and apply two successive coats of epoxy primer. Leave to cure for 48 hours before attempting to flat it to 400 grit. When happy with the surface, you can apply whatever colour coat you prefer, from car aerosols, to white goods type enamels etc. The epoxy primer will not react to existing paint remnants nor will it react to whatever colour coat you choose. This technique would also work well with any other substrate, epoxy sticks like to proverbial to almost anything, even aluminium and most plastics.

You may be able to find "one coat" type white enamels in a aerosol if you just want to do a quick, less robust job. You might find something called "Radiator enamel / paint" which would be ideal for this or as the colour coat on top of epoxy primer.

 

[KompetentKrew]

Flowcoat is not the product that I would use in this application. This is going onto steel isn't it?

No, it's plywood box. Probably epoxy was used in construction, because that's what the rest of the boat is made from.

Where the old paint has flaked off it's glossy and has a plasticy feel. I have a flake here that's about 10mm x 15mm and it's quite strong in tension - if I hold it in thumb and forefinger of each hand and try to pull it apart, I cannot do so; I imagine I could with a twisting tear.

 

[Purple Velvet]

No, it's plywood box. Probably epoxy was used in construction, because that's what the rest of the boat is made from.

Where the old paint has flaked off it's glossy and has a plasticy feel. I have a flake here that's about 10mm x 15mm and it's quite strong in tension - if I hold it in thumb and forefinger of each hand and try to pull it apart, I cannot do so; I imagine I could with a twisting tear.

Difficult without seeing it, but the great benefit of epoxy is that it will not pickle the existing finish and should stick properly, so that remains my suggestion.

 

[Alicatt]

I've used Polyestershoppen - Leverancier van polyester en epoxy for various coatings

 

[Dellquay13]

Suppliers of grp flat roofing products should be able to supply flowcoat, you don’t need to solely look at marine sources. I have bought flowcoat from a couple of roofing supplies trade counters.

 

[Purple Velvet]

Suppliers of grp flat roofing products should be able to supply flowcoat, you don’t need to solely look at marine sources. I have bought flowcoat from a couple of roofing supplies trade counters.

Certainly. East Coast Fibreglass is one of the many that I have used over the years. However I still maintain that it is the wrong product for the job.

 

[Dellquay13]

Certainly. East Coast Fibreglass is one of the many that I have used over the years. However I still maintain that it is the wrong product for the job.

I have used flowcoat with excellent results several times on plywood in boats, for a simple hard wearing finish that is resistant to water, and easily wiped down, such as chain lockers, cockpit soles underneath marine carpet etc.
It’s quick to apply, doesn’t sag too much and hardens quickly. If you aren’t staring at it in full view all day, I think it a good utilitarian option.

 

[Purple Velvet]

I have used flowcoat with excellent results several times on plywood in boats, for a simple hard wearing finish that is resistant to water, and easily wiped down, such as chain lockers, cockpit soles underneath marine carpet etc.
It’s quick to apply, doesn’t sag too much and hardens quickly. If you aren’t staring at it in full view all day, I think it a good utilitarian option.

Fully agreed, but the OP is not working on bare substrate, but an unknown, flaky coating which will likely reject the resin. If unlucky, it might even reject the epoxy, so a small test area is a good idea.