Is it worth the hassle 2pack paint topside

[Rhylsailer99]

I've got the top half of my boat now down to original gel coat and all keyed ready for painting. I'm worried about using a 2 pack paint as I have little experience of painting . How long would a single pack paint last before it needs repainting and any reccomendations.

 

[seadog30]

Hi

I painted my 30 foot hull with one pot International Toplac nearly 10 years ago, people still think that it was a spray finish !

The secret was lots of coats (25% thinners) applied with a roller and tipped off with a pad or foam brush.

Two pot requires very good weather or a a big shed and can be ruined if you have an overnight dew or frost.

The other advantage of one pot is that when you have bumps or scrapes you can touch it up.

Good luck

 

[pvb]

Two-pack paint requires decent environmental conditions and, ideally, spray application. A decent one-pot paint would be more forgiving if you don't have a lot of experience.

Incidentally, some two-pack paints can be successfully touched up.

 

[Keith 66]

Toplac or a similar one pot such as Epifanes monourethane are the way to go, relatively easy to apply & hard wearing.
Two pack polyurethane (or acrylic) paints have serious health issues due to isocyanate hardeners & unless you have first class respirators preferably air fed you simply should not be using the stuff.

 

[salar]

I used two pack Jotun on my boat (but not the hull) seven years ago and it is still good as new. Two pack will be a lot more resilient but is a pig to get a good finish compared to single pack paints.

 

[William_H]

I think 2 pack is tougher resisting damage but ultimately I would say paint job on hull lasts as long as you don't damage it (which is inevitable) so touch up is important. I have painted my hull with 2pack by brush. Not good but not bad and easily touched up each winter. Never looks brilliant but never looks shabby. ol'will

 

[Kelpie]

Toplac or a similar one pot such as Epifanes monourethane are the way to go, relatively easy to apply & hard wearing.
Two pack polyurethane (or acrylic) paints have serious health issues due to isocyanate hardeners & unless you have first class respirators preferably air fed you simply should not be using the stuff.

Do all 2 pack products contain isocyanates?

 

[dleroc]

Interesting replies as I have been thinking about this for months, mainly because a 15l drum of primer and curing agent came with the boat when I bought it last September. I've decided on the single topcoat for the reasons mention above about the right weather etc and not having used a 2 pack before. I started the exercise on the top part of the rudder with Hempel Brilliant Gloss with 10% thinners. Application by roller and then tipping off with a broad brush has produced very satisfying results so far.

 

[dankilb]

Two pack polyurethane (or acrylic) paints have serious health issues due to isocyanate hardeners & unless you have first class respirators preferably air fed you simply should not be using the stuff.

Do all 2 pack products contain isocyanates?

I don’t know about the chemistry...

But I was going to say, you can definitely get a suitable (A2P3) respirator with change for £20.

Of course, if you’re going to make a living of it, get air fed and paint in a booth. But I’ve done plenty of 2k safely with an up-to-spec respirator outside or in a garage/workshop.

Toplac always gets good write ups on here though, so not saying it’s worth the hassle, but no need to be too alarmist over 2k (with an A2 respirator).

[Edit: Having read @Keith 66's link below, it sounds like a full-face resp - minimum - is needed if any risk of those isocyanates present as they even get in through the eyes ?]

 

[ip485]

All I would say in terms of longevity and finesse of finish 2 pack is a million miles apart. For example my pole is carbon. I painted it once with 1 pack varnish, lasted a few years, 2 pack still going strong after 8 years.

Of course if conditions dont allow the job to be done properly you have no alternative, but after all this effort you will reap the benefit of 2 pack for years to come.

 

[Minchsailor]

I would be very wary of using 2 pack in the typical English spring weather. It is VERY sensitive to temperature and humidity. OK if you are inside a heated shed, but outside if it goes wrong you are left with a big, big problem (I've been there.......).

Stick to a good single pack.

 

[Rhylsailer99]

I don’t know about the chemistry...

But I was going to say, you can definitely get a suitable (A2P3) respirator with change for £20.

Of course, if you’re going to make a living of it, get air fed and paint in a booth. But I’ve done plenty of 2k safely with an up-to-spec respirator outside or in a garage/workshop.

Toplac always gets good write ups on here though, so not saying it’s worth the hassle, but no need to be too alarmist over 2k (with an A2 respirator).

I wear an army gsr rated cbrn filters good for nerve gas and radiation so I'm sure it will be safe.

 

[Rhylsailer99]

Thanks for the replies I think I will go with a one pack paint as waiting for guaranteed dry weather is a nightmare.

 

[jwfrary]

Epivanes two pack, and with a brush and tip you use a reducing thinner to enable the paint to flatten. Works like a charm. I did an enterprise everyone things it was that colour from new! It’s 1980’s vintage.

Recommend marine industrial for getting it. They can tint the primer which gives your coating a great luster

 

[Keith 66]

Re safety. You might get away with a carbon filtered respirator, You might not.
An old boy i knew died a year ago, He had been incapacitated for some years with severe copd & asthma following just one large job painting 2 pack where he had been exposed without adequate protection. The big insurance payout he got was no consolation & to see & hear him struggling to get air into his ruined lungs was awful.
This thread on the Mig welding forum has good info, 2K Safety - Leason learnt,

I have sprayed quite a few yachts & boats in my time & gotten away with it so far. Not any more, it is simply not worth it.

 

[dankilb]

Re safety. You might get away with a carbon filtered respirator, You might not.
An old boy i knew died a year ago, He had been incapacitated for some years with severe copd & asthma following just one large job painting 2 pack where he had been exposed without adequate protection. The big insurance payout he got was no consolation & to see & hear him struggling to get air into his ruined lungs was awful.
This thread on the Mig welding forum has good info, 2K Safety - Leason learnt,

I have sprayed quite a few yachts & boats in my time & gotten away with it so far. Not any more, it is simply not worth it.

Yes, in all seriousness, OP should check that the army filters are up-to-spec for the solvents (again, whatever the 'A2P2/P3' equivalent is). Guess that may potentially mean picking up a specific type of filter for an army mask? Sure they are available...

 

[geem]

I would be very wary of using 2 pack in the typical English spring weather. It is VERY sensitive to temperature and humidity. OK if you are inside a heated shed, but outside if it goes wrong you are left with a big, big problem (I've been there.......).

Stick to a good single pack.

The risks of rolling two pack are minimal if you are using a good mask and gloves and you have good ventilation. Spraying is a different matter.
We have been using two pack on some of our internal furniture items with great results. Different two packs from different manufacturers behave differently. We have been using two pack car paint. Some paints need thinners and some dont. Some need tipping and some dont. We havent had any issues painting at 10degC. Experiment on something to get the technique right before you commit to the job.

 

[dankilb]

The risks of rolling two pack are minimal if you are using a good mask and gloves and you have good ventilation. Spraying is a different matter.
We have been using two pack on some of our internal furniture items with great results. Different two packs from different manufacturers behave differently. We have been using two pack car paint. Some paints need thinners and some dont. Some need tipping and some dont. We havent had any issues painting at 10degC. Experiment on something to get the technique right before you commit to the job.

Can I just quickly ask which paint you've been using for the interior?!

I've mentioned this in a few recent posts on interior paint threads, but I'm looking to paint over various surfaces (some GRP some ply) and want something fully waterproof (e.g. in the heads), but also resistant to wear/oil etc. (in the saloon).

I'm a big fan of rolling 2-pack and flatting off between coats etc. So far most responses to my posts have - undersandbly! - said 'go for regular interior house paint'. But I'm looking for something of equivalent aesthetic and wear qualities as the original (interior) gelcoat, for instance, and I know that Sandolin etc. won't stand up to that.

TIA and sorry for the thread hijack!

 

[Topcat47]

I'd avoid two packs like the plague. My boat's been done twice (by "professionals") with Awlgrip and it needs done again, big blisters under the paint and huge bubbles lifting off the substrate. If it were a single pack, I"d be quite happy to sand back and re-coat myself, As it is it's going to be along hard job too get it all off so I can start again with a single-pack.

 

[pvb]

I'd avoid two packs like the plague. My boat's been done twice (by "professionals") with Awlgrip and it needs done again, big blisters under the paint and huge bubbles lifting off the substrate.

That sounds like poor preparation - nothing to do with the 2-pack paint.