So problem solved. I went up to 25% thinner. Roughly %15% xylene and 10% acetone with hardener. Also added more air pressure up to 30ish at the gun, from 20psi.
The difference between 15 & 25% is night and day. I used 250 ml + thinner and hardener, and got both sides and a bit to spare. I would guess the black sections I painted are from 50-60% of the hull side. I used 350 ml at 15% xylene plus hardener.
2 things crossed my mind regarding the manufacture directions. 1, you’ll use more paint and more income for them. 2 the paint will be more durable at the expense of mirror finish, which I’d guess isn’t very important to the majority of people using rustoleum.
Also since the white went on with nearly no orange peel and the black did, the only difference is age of the cans. White gets used much more on boats, and my white cans are like 6 months old. That can of black I exchanged was 4.5 years old and it was crazy thick. It was like that cornstarch slime kids are into now. Glack or something.
anyways the black I just sprayed is 2.5 years old and since the paint gets thicker with time, older paint needs more thinner. Or better yet only buy fresh paint.
Rustoleums date codes start with a letter, all mine are H, which specifies plant location. Next is year, then month, then day and the last digit determines which of 3 daily batches it is from.
H71 for example is January 2017
shelf life is 3 years
so I used some 100 grit in a power sander and flattened the paint (again), 220 grit after, then shot the 25% mix. Might have been 27%, and according to WOG, 30% is max. I think hardener makes a difference with reducing / thinning. Regarding cure time and cure method.
It looks much better. Not perfect, but better. Even without wet sanding / buffing it will look good. I put the second coat on the gunnel pieces I replaced (long ones) and I might rivet it in later when it’s had 8 hrs or more to dry.
I’m desperate to get the consoles and splashwell in so I can instal the seat bases. Things should move quick after that. I’m going camping in ten days and the boats coming, complete or not. The only thing I’m not sure about is the bow seat cushions. I’m just going to put a rectangular cushion, normal seat sized, and those can wait like the finer details like storage compartments and such.
Thanks for pointing out my paint issues WM. I likely wouldn’t have considered trying to correct it, since I’ve been so deadline focused. Task, completion, next
