Flo Coat Advice Pls

Hunson

Hunson

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I am in the process of preparing our grp tender for non slip flo coating.

I have read my tech sheet and it advises that the surface should be prepared with acetone and or abrasion. I have done the abrasion side of things as I ground out the old two pack paint that had been applied.

When I googled acentone it came up with white spirit, not being in the know of the difference I would be grateful if the sages could say if the are of like substances or where I could get some proper acetone from.

Also the area I need to cover is 2 by 3 m and being applied by brush. As I will probably be operating within the minimum temperature 15c my pot life is 25 mins. I have thought that probably starting from the center and working my way up towards the gunwhales or should I start at bow/stern and work my way into the center.

Many thans in advance.
 
Acetone is not white spirit.
Any grp supplier should sell you some, you won't need much.
It will also clean brushes with uncured resin.
Suggest work on an area you can easily do in 10 minutes, rather than mixing up lots in one go before you've got the hang of it. Maybe work on one side at a time, tilting the boat so that it doesn't sag?
So long as the resin coat is not weeks old, a second coat will bond to it without re-abrading etc. You can put more on a lot easier than removing runs/sags!
What sort of non slip are you using? Some sort of sand?
I use polythene gloves!
 
G'day Gary,

Surface should be sanded with a 50 or 60 grit, swept clean and washed with Acetone, use only white rage and keep turning it to maintain clean cloth, use plenty of clean rags for the best results.

Flow coat is around 50% solids so needs less catalyst or you will get a sticky mess.
Make small batches, around 4 cups at a time and note the coverage.

Acetone is what you need, I would use no more than 2 litres and that includes cleaning brushes and tools.

Best applied with a standard 10mm nap roller, buy a cheap 130 mm roller and cut into 80 mm lengths. This will speed up the application and give a nice finish, you will also need a 25mm brush for tight corners.

Mix in a wide shallow container to reduce heat build up and prolong pot life. If the flow coat is very cold, stand the container in hot water for 20 minutes or till just warm.

Use latex surgical gloves, put 2 gloves on each hand, pill the top one off when it gets sticky.

Work from bow to stern and keep a wet edge at all times by working in narrow strips. You can avoid sanding between coats by applying wet on tacky, 2 half coats will give a better finish than one heavy coat.

If adding granules to produce a non slip surface, add less than you think you need and you will still get a good non slip that is easier to keep clean; granules should be coated after application and the first has all but gone off, hardly sticky but can be marked with a finger nail.

15 degrees is a bit low, apply some heat for at least an hour after you put the last coat on or you may get white blushing. A fan heater or heating lamps will help, even a heat gun or two.

Hope this helps.

Avagoodweekend......
 
Hi oldsaltoz,

The flo coat comes complete with the pre mixed with the coating.

I will be endeavouring to keep the temp between 15 and 20, and have a heater specifically for the keeping the temp up. But need to good old british weather to play a helping hand by at least being 11c or above to help the heater out a little bit.

Am probably going to rope the old man into helping, so would it be best to get him to do the mixing whilst I am applying so that I can keep a constant supply and application going whilst keeping the wet edges or could this be a little overkill and get him working on the other side at the same time?

Gary
 
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