Owatrol?

Owatrol oil was introduced at least a decade ago as an additive to your paint (particularly the topcoat) it allows the paint to be applied more smoothly and with a better finish.

There was some talk of use as a coat over GRP ro help bring back a chalky finish, but I havent heard about any trials or results.
 
Brilliant stuff - turns the amateur boat dauber into someone who gives the impression of knowing what he is doing. No runs, drips, sags or brush marks and does not thin the paint.

Dunno about 10% - that's a maximum - add what you need to get the paint to behave.

NB - I know one of Britain's last remaining professional yacht painters painting wooden boats. He uses it.
 
I used Owatrol when it first came out on an early model sailfish 18 - the light grey topsides had faded and would no longer polish up. Mixed results I have to say, on application it came up brilliantly, like magic, but this lasted for only about a season & a half then left a severely chalky finish which repeated applications wouldn't much improve. Still, looked nice for a time ! Despite losing a keel (this is the one which goes up & down on a screw thread & is still in Coniston ..) these are really nice boats and fun to sail.
Going back a long time now so the modern product may well be a lot better (or of course I put it on wrong, which is likely - applied with a brush then wiped off with a cloth I recall) so worth a try maybe.
 
Owatrol oil is also used to inhibit the corrosion of the armoured vehicles which have been recovered from the sea off the Normandy beaches,several examples of how good this treatment is can be seen in the D-Day museum just north of Port en Bessin.
 
I used it on my first boat which had a slightly chalky gel coat. I rubbed it on over small areas at a time then wiped/polished it off before it dried. It came up with quite a nice shine but did need repeating every couple of years. I also used it on my aluminium mast as a protective coating and it seemed to stop the small corrosive spots that were appearing through the anodising from becoming any worse. It also gave the mast a nice sheen.

I rank it 3rd in my list of useful liquids after WD40 (no 1) and Danish oil.
 
Wonderful stuff. I add it to paints and varnish. It stops the paint forming a skin, and the paint spreads without brush marks or runs. Flaws in the surface can be touched up after varnishing, and if working around a boat, it will join the fresh varnish with that put down an hour before. If condensation occures, the surface will resist absortion of moisture, and clear as soon as the sun reapears. The surface remains active for several weeks, so the next coat will bond without rubbing down.

Before painting old surfaces, I add a small amount to white spirit, and paint this on. This leaves a thin coating that should dry quickly, and thus activate the old paint surface.

I added 10% to undercoat when painting an old building, and where the undercoat was not overcoated, it lasted as long as that which had a top coat applied.

It is excellent for dull paint on the car. Thin, smear on and polish.

The manufactures make several other interesting products, such as an additive for emolsion paint to prevent brush marks, so that two coats give the same coverage as three.

Philip
 
I know of a yacht painter who has used owatrol, only over the last 5 yrs, and he acheives very good results.
My grp vessel has been treated twice before with owatrol and initial results are good...but fades within a year. My local boatyard repaired some damage and polished the hull this winter season...and I did not recognize my boat.. it looked like new! They wax polished it after and recommended that I do every year...gelcoat only has a certain life.
e-mail me and I will be sure to reccomend them.
Nr. Chichester.
Owner of Dark Blue Crabber 22.
 
If this is the stuff I'm thinking of I used it years ago on a faded GRP hull as a wipe on surface restorer....looked absolutely brilliant for a couple of months then went progressively duller and ended up worse than the original..certainly would not use it again in this 'mode'

However it appears that its also being used as a 'flow' improver for paint ..I have to say I would be very careful about compromising the manufacturers original mix.. Im sure they know more than I! BTW International do market their own thinners which is more than just 'brushcleaner' and has a flow inhancer ( for want of a better term) I've used it with their trad varnish.

Nick
 
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