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Advice Req: Flowcoat

Printed From: The Fishing Website
Category: General Forums
Forum Name: The Boat Shed
Forum Description: Discuss all things boating.
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=111277
Printed Date: 26 Jun 2026 at 4:39am


Topic: Advice Req: Flowcoat
Posted By: Lickindip
Subject: Advice Req: Flowcoat
Date Posted: 23 Jul 2015 at 10:10am
hopefully going to apply some flowcoat to the inside of my boat in the weekend
 
I have sanded down in sides as well so it will be all covered, wont be doing in front of the seat as that will be carpeted
question:
because the weather is cold I want to have the MEKP at the upper 2% level to make sure it goes off
i'm assuming if I try to do it all at once and am to slow I will get a nice lump of hard paint in a container before getting a chance to apply all of it
is the best way to mix up say 200g, start in one corner, and then keep mixing 200g after I run out and overlap slightly? new brush and new container of flowcoat each time?
 
Cheers
Lewis


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I just read an article about the dangers of drinking too much; it scared the sh*t out of me, so today I decided I'm never f*cking reading again!



Replies:
Posted By: Steps
Date Posted: 23 Jul 2015 at 5:14pm
because the weather is cold I want to have the MEKP at the upper 2% level to make sure it goes off

'short cuts' dont work.. they end up coming back and biting u in the bum
uping the Cat helps if temps are marginal....And that is atmospheric AND surface temp.
Best advice, wait till the surface AND atmospheric temps are in spec.. If it doesnt react as meant to then u have one expensive , crappy mess to clean up and start over....
Weather as from this week on get warmer... this happens to be the coldest week of the yr.. why even risk it for the sake of a few weeks?
If u have a heated shed, sure go ahead...


Posted By: MikeAqua
Date Posted: 23 Jul 2015 at 6:04pm
I used flow coat on an outdoor stool/chilly-bin, that I made from epoxy coated ply.

I worked in 250g batches with 1% and ensured minimal time between batches so I was always starting the next batch from a 'wet' edge.  Summer in Nelson.

Turned out OK.  By the time I put on the fleck (enamel house paint), it almost looked professional.  Fleck hides a multitude of imperfections, by breaking up the surface.




Posted By: Lickindip
Date Posted: 28 Jul 2015 at 10:18am
right time to be told "I told ya so"
used thinners to clean the surface ... went down the road brought brushes etc
waited for a bit and then mixed up 200ml @ 1.5-1.7% for the anchor well and under the anchor lid ... wasn't enough so did another 100ml as well
got an alright coat on but wasn't as smooth as I would have liked
got a bit of warmth into it
after a while
noticed a few shrinkage cracks in the corners ... gave it a bit of a rub and paint basically peeled off ... had a bit of a waxy slime on the back
it did this in quite a few places so got a plastic ruler and chizzel and scraped it all off
 
issues:
surface prep - not good enough
mixing probably a bit lacking
 
time to sand sand sand and get a good surface to ahead to


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I just read an article about the dangers of drinking too much; it scared the sh*t out of me, so today I decided I'm never f*cking reading again!


Posted By: Don18025
Date Posted: 28 Jul 2015 at 7:35pm
It concerns me to have a wet carpet on uncoated sanded down floor boards in front of your seats Licker...." wont be doing in front of the seat as that will be carpeted."
That is the likely source of future trouble, even more so if stored outside. 
It it was my boat I would have a good impervious coating on the floor under that carpet. That carpet is bound to get wet.


Posted By: MikeAqua
Date Posted: 28 Jul 2015 at 8:21pm
For prep I scuffed the epoxy with 50 grit and wiped down with solvent. 

The flow coat itself took ages to cure.  I was told the slower the cure, the smoother the finish will be. 

I rolled it on with a small solvent-proof microfibre roller, with a nylon stocking over it.  This is a technique I saw on an guy's stitch and glue boat build thread.

Mine didn't end up perfectly smooth.  More like orange peel.


Posted By: Betty Boop
Date Posted: 28 Jul 2015 at 8:27pm
All sound advice......if required give me a ring.Wink
(Retired Nuplex Resin Tech Advisor)

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Last week I joined an Anti-Social support group........They won't talk to me!

Papamoa
fi-Glass Viscount


Posted By: Lickindip
Date Posted: 29 Jul 2015 at 7:58am
Originally posted by Don18025 Don18025 wrote:

It concerns me to have a wet carpet on uncoated sanded down floor boards in front of your seats Licker...." wont be doing in front of the seat as that will be carpeted."
That is the likely source of future trouble, even more so if stored outside. 
It it was my boat I would have a good impervious coating on the floor under that carpet. That carpet is bound to get wet.
 
as you can kind of see from this old photo... I have left the original paint in front of the seats and only sanded it back behind ... no bare glass etc in front of the seat ... so hopefully not a problem


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I just read an article about the dangers of drinking too much; it scared the sh*t out of me, so today I decided I'm never f*cking reading again!


Posted By: Lickindip
Date Posted: 29 Jul 2015 at 8:01am
I have given the anchor box a 180 grit sand the last few nights to remove all issues
 
is solvent a good thing to use prior to applying flowcoat?
as above with roller etc ... what is the best method to get a half decent finish?
i'm not to worried about orange peeling etc, just don't like big streak's


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I just read an article about the dangers of drinking too much; it scared the sh*t out of me, so today I decided I'm never f*cking reading again!


Posted By: MikeAqua
Date Posted: 29 Jul 2015 at 6:25pm
After sanding you need to wipe down with something to remove the dust you couldn't vacuum off.  I used solvent for this.. From memory it was acetone.

Cracking suggests (based on the little I know) curing too fast and or applied too thick. You may find poor adhesion as well.

I would try less catalyst and roll it on thinner.  Less catalyst also allows enough time to apply fleck if you want too.


Posted By: Lickindip
Date Posted: 30 Jul 2015 at 10:07am
all good pointers there MikeAqua ... will be mixing better and will try a thinner coat with a roller
 
I was given advice to "just pour it on" which I think lead to some issues aswell


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I just read an article about the dangers of drinking too much; it scared the sh*t out of me, so today I decided I'm never f*cking reading again!


Posted By: Betty Boop
Date Posted: 30 Jul 2015 at 10:27am
Pouring it on is an option however spreading it evenly to the prescribed thickness 2mm is a technique. ..call me if required. ...cheers

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Last week I joined an Anti-Social support group........They won't talk to me!

Papamoa
fi-Glass Viscount


Posted By: MikeAqua
Date Posted: 30 Jul 2015 at 11:06am
In one of my test runs I was trying to line a small tray.  I poured it on thick with 2% catalyst.  It got warm and set fast.  I succeeded only in making a fragile cast of the side of the tray, which detached when the flow coat had cured and cooled.  I presume it shrank as it cooled, but to be honest I have no idea what happened.

I found it really useful to put the battery powered scales from the kitchen inside a big ziplock bag and use them to weigh out resin and catalyst.  More accurate than going by volume.



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