Tips for a Good Finish
As Aquacote Topcoat is water based it is temperature sensitive and in temperatures over 30 degrees C sets too quickly to apply successfully without using a few tricks. We have developed some tips sheets to assist with achieving a good finish. A few years ago we assisted a customer at Mungindi (out the back of Moree, NSW) achieve a satisfactory finish in summer by working in the middle of the night, having the floor of his workshop wet, hosing down the hull before painting to assist with cooling things down and creating humidity which is normally not heard of in Mungindi. We recommend if new to using AQUACOTE, spend a couple of minutes reading out tips sheet. Then if having problems hop on the phone and talk to ensure you achieve good results. We find best results are achieved by using "low flock" rollers and premium quality foam brushes.
A couple of important tips are:
- Do not play with it. Roll on or brush thin coats.
- Do not roll on and tip off as specified for solvent based coatings.
- When the last coat is applied. Shut the door and do not look at it for 4 days as it takes that long to fully cure.
- If wanting a mirror finish - it buffs up like a car duco after it is fully cured.
The items below are a tiller & Teak seat for my yacht. Both are sealed with Bote-Cote Non-Yellowing Epoxy Resin then sanded to 240 grit sand paper then coated with three coats of Clear AQUACOTE. These will now provide many years of service in full sun without the worry of failure or re-coating, unless the surface is damaged.
Aquacote coatings require thinning and clean up with water only, and they can be applied safely to damp surfaces. They combine with Bote-Cote epoxy systems to present a complete fairing and protective coating system suitable for surfaces of timber and plywood, fiberglass, metals, and any other porous or semi-porous surfaces requiring long term protection from marine and exterior environments.
Aquacote Adhesion Issues
The image featured to the right tells it all. This is an adhesion issue. All the white areas are where the upper coating has separated from the underlying coating.
Usual suspects are;
-
Surface contamination which includes many of the following
a. White or grey sandpaper
b. Some other sanding technique which contaminates the surface (e.g. hard use of a abrasive pad, leading to heating etc.)
c. Gloss not removed prior to over coating.
Note: Fully cured coating relies on mechanical adhesion, only limited adhesion to a glossy surface.
d. Surface not washed with detergent and water then water prior to over coating.
e. The under lying layer is in compatible. (ALL oil based coatings
etc.)
f. Some incompatible material has been used to "improve" adhesion (e.g.
Prepsol or other tie coats which may work with oil based stuff, but not with
Aquacote.)
g. Dirty rags (or hands) have been used to "clean" the surface.
h. Some random surface contaminant. (We have had a case where a job was being done next to a flowering tree, and the pollen was settling on the job, acting as a release agent.) i. Surface deteriorated from sun exposure and not sanded prior to over coating leaving a weakly bonded surface. -
Material contamination.
Thinning the material whether it needs it or not, often with something incompatible. -
Incompatible underlying material.
We know Bote-Cote and Aquacote Undercoat are compatible, but the rest ??
Full Tips Sheet
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