Flowcoat

[Quandary]

Was going to freshen the bilges with a coat of flowcoat today, temp. is 10-12C, will it go off?
It will be a mess to clean up if it doesn't but I recall that polyester is not as temperature sensitive as epoxy?

 

[savageseadog]

Polyester will always set in the end but it's how long takes

 

[[70521]]

Was going to freshen the bilges with a coat of flowcoat today, temp. is 10-12C, will it go off?
It will be a mess to clean up if it doesn't but I recall that polyester is not as temperature sensitive as epoxy?

What does it say on the tin?

Can you add any heat?

 

[Motor_Sailor]

Yes.

10 - 12 isn't really cold - even epoxy will work at that.

The catalyst quantity guide should show how much to use for a given pot life at those temperatures.

The only thing to watch when doing any sort of surface treatment at this time of year, is that the substate takes longer to warm up than the air and there is a risk of condensation on the surface. That's your real danger so it's worth 'hair drying' ahead of you with a hot air gun as you work along.

 

[Quandary]

Yes.

10 - 12 isn't really cold - even epoxy will work at that.

The catalyst quantity guide should show how much to use for a given pot life at those temperatures.

The only thing to watch when doing any sort of surface treatment at this time of year, is that the substate takes longer to warm up than the air and there is a risk of condensation on the surface. That's your real danger so it's worth 'hair drying' ahead of you with a hot air gun as you work along.

Good advice, my 'hot air gun' is a discarded hair dryer with a bust thermostat but last time I used it I kept it on for too long but I am sure I can cobble something up. Will go down with an electric blow heater now and do the job after lunch, meanwhile I will bring the flowcoat in to the kitchen.

 

[scottie]

Good advice, my 'hot air gun' is a discarded hair dryer with a bust thermostat but last time I used it I kept it on for too long but I am sure I can cobble something up. Will go down with an electric blow heater now and do the job after lunch, meanwhile I will bring the flowcoat in to the kitchen.

Mind boggling moment but then realised you meant broken!

 

[Quandary]

Busted might have been better Scots? or banjaxed in Norn Irish.

However job done, mixed 150 ml of old flowcoat with 4.5 ml of new catalyst, just enough to coat the keel depressions and the plates and nuts, just going off as I finished, went so well I will try to do another coat tomorrow. There was a wee problem in that I had neglected to provide disposable gloves and acetone so there were a couple of white fingermarks on the varnish but tidied now.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Marine Reflections]

You probably will factor this in and I don't need to say it, but remember it's flowcoat that's gone down and not gelcoat.
Multiple coats will require you to remove any of the wax on the surface to cure another coat, or the first will reject it.

And we want pictures.

 

[Heckler]

You probably will factor this in and I don't need to say it, but remember it's flowcoat that's gone down and not gelcoat.
Multiple coats will require you to remove any of the wax on the surface to cure another coat, or the first will reject it.

And we want pictures.

Si!

 

[Quandary]

You probably will factor this in and I don't need to say it, but remember it's flowcoat that's gone down and not gelcoat.
Multiple coats will require you to remove any of the wax on the surface to cure another coat, or the first will reject it.

And we want pictures.

No chance of pictures from me these days
Thanks for the timely warning, I did know about wax but was choosing to ignore it, the flowcoat has taken well on the floor of the keel sump where the studs plates etc had been abraded and that area primed put where I brushed the area out on to the smooth old flowcoat it is soft, this despite having wiped the area with acetone before starting. However it will be easy to scrape away and it is only where I was trying to blend old over new. It will not be possible to abrade the sump floor or the studs effectively to re-coat but the stuff is thick enough and hard so one coat will do, my main purpose was to remove the surface rust from the steel bits and these have three coats of various metal primers plus a thick covering of flowcoat. No doubt in time the rust may come back and crack the coating again but for now everything is very white so the bilge water should be clear rather than brown next year.

 

[sailorman]

No chance of pictures from me these days
Thanks for the timely warning, I did know about wax but was choosing to ignore it, the flowcoat has taken well on the floor of the keel sump where the studs plates etc had been abraded and that area primed put where I brushed the area out on to the smooth old flowcoat it is soft, this despite having wiped the area with acetone before starting. However it will be easy to scrape away and it is only where I was trying to blend old over new. It will not be possible to abrade the sump floor or the studs effectively to re-coat but the stuff is thick enough and hard so one coat will do, my main purpose was to remove the surface rust from the steel bits and these have three coats of various metal primers plus a thick covering of flowcoat. No doubt in time the rust may come back and crack the coating again but for now everything is very white so the bilge water should be clear rather than brown next year.

Was the out come better than bilge paint

 

[savageseadog]

Was the out come better than bilge paint

I would have used bilge paint or better still, floor paint.

 

[Quandary]

Was the out come better than bilge paint

Much better, thick white glossy coating, easy to wipe, good build up on the metal. It is what all the inside hull surfaces were coated with by Moody. I do have a pot of bilge paint but the hidden surfaces are smoother this way.
My Finngulf was similarly coated but it also had all voids, lockers, hidden bulkheads locker lids etc flowcoated, remarkably durable chip resistant finish giving bright smooth clean interiors to lockers and void spaces. Good for the inside of anchor lockers too.