Touching up paint chips in Awl Grip

[Travelmate]

Had our Aphrodite 42 painted with Awl Grip about 3 years ago. Have sustained some monor chips and scrapes that comes with living aboard and travelling.
I have some of the same 2 pack paint (current stock) that is identical to our paint job.
What is the best method of preparation and paint application. What type of buffing mix eg 3M to finish the job.
Painting is not my area of expertise so all hints will be most helpful /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[Bejasus]

we have repainted with Awlcraft after removing the previous Awlgrip finish. The following is an extract from another discussion on another website regarding Awlgrip, and not from personal experience. Apparently the information comes directly from Awlgrip..

AWLGRIP(r) TOUCH-UP PROCEDURE

Note: The procedure which follows is for very small scratches or dings.

On large repairs it is often much more efficient to re-paint a complete
section than it is to touch up a small area, this work should be left to
professionals.

For small scratches and dings, use the appropriate 2 parts of color base
mixed with 1 part AWL-CAT(r)#3 Brushing Converter (H3002), and a fine
artist's brush to re-establish the color and seal the substrate.

For small repairs you probably will not need reducer for the topcoat or
any primer.

Gouges that go deep into, or through, the gelcoat should be primed
before applying topcoat.

Seriously cracked or crazed fiberglass should be professionally
repaired.

Keep a clean rag nearby soaked with M.E.K. or Acetone. If you put on
too much paint, wipe it off with the rag while it is still wet and start
again.

Please note that these touch up spots will be visible. The new paint
will have more gloss than the old and you may notice a color difference.

We do not recommend buffing the surface to "blend" the touch up area and
the old finish. This includes the use of Finness-It(r) and similar
products.

The benefit to touching up these small scratches is you are sealing the
surface, helping to prevent water or other contaminants from
under-cutting the paint film.

You may also want to try using Awlcare (Protective Polymer Sealer). It
goes on much like a liquid wax, but contains no abrasives and is
non-yellowing and non-building.

 

[Blueboatman]

Here is a suggestion- it worked for me but I would suggest practising on a discreet bit first (eg under the boot topping?)
Clean out the scratch using a needle,or edge-on piece of fine sandpaper, then apply masking tape along each side of the scratch and then apply your new, perfectly accurately mixed paint and try to level it off a bit before it cures..

Now the clever bit. Once it has cured, take a woodworkers cabinet scrape or a sharp(!) chisel held edge- on to the hull, and literally scrape away any new paint that is standing proud of the surrounding surface.. Because the hull is basically convex you will be able to work the new paint without attacking the surrounding, sound surface.
By all means try polishing the repair with a very delicate touch using a Dremel tool if you must but I would be very wary of using acetone or MEKP or polish/cutting compounds as you will just draw attention to an ever larger area..
Worked for me but I have only the experience of respraying one hull, spars, deck, yawn yawn and then touching up around the transom..