Quandary
Well-Known Member
Some feedback on my experience in cold weather this year.
Following an earlier thread I decided to remove the antifouling from my hull, it had started to flake when new stuff was rolled over it. The top five years worth came off easily with a Bahco pull scraper but the bottom coat over the thin coat of epoxy primer was hard to shift, (possibly because it was a different product and had never been immersed), this was exacerbated by trying to use stripper (Strippit) which only made the paint tacky, after a couple of weeks it set again and then I got a good mask on and dry sanded, this removed quite a bit of the original builders epoxy base as well. I therefore decide to re build up from scratch.
I bought five litres of Jotun Penguard HB epoxy and five litres of Jotun Vinyguard antifouling primer plus recommended thinners for each. On older boats I had applied 4 or 5 coats, usually 20 litres of Hempel or Awlgrip but decided that the newer type of resin did not need this thickness. The choice of Jotun was a good one, as was the supplier, SML Paints and Coatings in Cirencester. Price was competitive, about half that of competing products and 1/3 that of Awlgrip, (my previous favourite) and SML supplied a low temp. additive for the epoxy which allows application down to 2 degrees C; essential here this year, where we have had a very long very dry but consistently cold winter and spring. I presume that as a Norwegian Company Jotun are more attuned to the problems of low temperature application. The carriage charged by SML was reasonable too, half the cost for 7 different products totalling 15 litres than for a 2.5l bucket of Strippit from a similar distance. Each product was accompanied by print outs of application instructions and technical info. everything you needed to know. I can not recommend SML enough, (www.smlpaintsandcoatings.co.uk). good competitively priced products including all you could need such as additives, thinners and solvent resistant rollers, fast service in strong packaging and clear instructions plus an invitation to call them with any queries.
Launch is due mid April with little hope of improved temperatures in the outlook until then, so we have just gone ahead in daily temps. of around 5C with a biting wind chill, 2.5l does a roller coat on the hull and rudder so only 2 coats of epoxy, (the lead keel was stripped and epoxied a couple of seasons back) I added 40ml. of low temp additive per coat and it is touch dry in about 4-5 hrs. and overcoatable next day. We applied using 4" rollers, originally intending to tip off each coat with a foam brush but in the low temps. and dry strong breeze the unthinned epoxy proved too heavy and was dragging so we delayed tipping off until the Vinyguard coats. The epoxy goes on thick but without any tendency to run, there is a high solids content (54%). Another advantage of Jotun Penguard HB epoxy is that there is no max. overcoating time if the weather turns bad. I have resisted the urge to thin the epoxy to allow tipping off the roller texture, preferring to do it with the Vinyguard which is not temperature sensitive and which I am happier about thinning slightly if weather conditions demand it.
Hope this info. might be some use to anyone tackling the same task outdoors in winter.
Following an earlier thread I decided to remove the antifouling from my hull, it had started to flake when new stuff was rolled over it. The top five years worth came off easily with a Bahco pull scraper but the bottom coat over the thin coat of epoxy primer was hard to shift, (possibly because it was a different product and had never been immersed), this was exacerbated by trying to use stripper (Strippit) which only made the paint tacky, after a couple of weeks it set again and then I got a good mask on and dry sanded, this removed quite a bit of the original builders epoxy base as well. I therefore decide to re build up from scratch.
I bought five litres of Jotun Penguard HB epoxy and five litres of Jotun Vinyguard antifouling primer plus recommended thinners for each. On older boats I had applied 4 or 5 coats, usually 20 litres of Hempel or Awlgrip but decided that the newer type of resin did not need this thickness. The choice of Jotun was a good one, as was the supplier, SML Paints and Coatings in Cirencester. Price was competitive, about half that of competing products and 1/3 that of Awlgrip, (my previous favourite) and SML supplied a low temp. additive for the epoxy which allows application down to 2 degrees C; essential here this year, where we have had a very long very dry but consistently cold winter and spring. I presume that as a Norwegian Company Jotun are more attuned to the problems of low temperature application. The carriage charged by SML was reasonable too, half the cost for 7 different products totalling 15 litres than for a 2.5l bucket of Strippit from a similar distance. Each product was accompanied by print outs of application instructions and technical info. everything you needed to know. I can not recommend SML enough, (www.smlpaintsandcoatings.co.uk). good competitively priced products including all you could need such as additives, thinners and solvent resistant rollers, fast service in strong packaging and clear instructions plus an invitation to call them with any queries.
Launch is due mid April with little hope of improved temperatures in the outlook until then, so we have just gone ahead in daily temps. of around 5C with a biting wind chill, 2.5l does a roller coat on the hull and rudder so only 2 coats of epoxy, (the lead keel was stripped and epoxied a couple of seasons back) I added 40ml. of low temp additive per coat and it is touch dry in about 4-5 hrs. and overcoatable next day. We applied using 4" rollers, originally intending to tip off each coat with a foam brush but in the low temps. and dry strong breeze the unthinned epoxy proved too heavy and was dragging so we delayed tipping off until the Vinyguard coats. The epoxy goes on thick but without any tendency to run, there is a high solids content (54%). Another advantage of Jotun Penguard HB epoxy is that there is no max. overcoating time if the weather turns bad. I have resisted the urge to thin the epoxy to allow tipping off the roller texture, preferring to do it with the Vinyguard which is not temperature sensitive and which I am happier about thinning slightly if weather conditions demand it.
Hope this info. might be some use to anyone tackling the same task outdoors in winter.
we shall see.regards simon
