Thoughts on Aquagard paint

[JoshOnt]

I am planning to be painting my hull some time in the next 6 months and found aquagard to be decently priced and somewhat mixed reviews. The one I found that I would like to use is aquagard-gloss it is water based. I figure I will do 2-3 coats of paint. Anyone have experience with this brand or know of another good quality one that is not outrageously priced in Canada.

 

[alldodge]

I am planning to be painting my hull some time in the next 6 months and found aquagard to be decently priced and somewhat mixed reviews. The one I found that I would like to use is aquagard-gloss it is water based. I figure I will do 2-3 coats of paint. Anyone have experience with this brand or know of another good quality one that is not outrageously priced in Canada.

If you plan on using the paint to guard against water intrusion thru your gel coat then IMO no. Aqua guard is not a barrier paint. Now if your going to put it over the top of barrier paint, then go for it. I don't use it because I want a more ablative paint

 

[jbcurt00]

I think josh wants to use this on his new to him blue metal flake boat, dont recall what boat, but its blue and the metal flake gel is shot

 

[JoshOnt]

I think josh wants to use this on his new to him blue metal flake boat, dont recall what boat, but its blue and the metal flake gel is shot

You are correct, and its a Thundercraft V142 although information seems to be limited on it. I plan to try and sand out the paint till it is smooth then paint over top of that.

 

[littlerayray]

Just remember to fix the spots where the glass is exposed first

 

[Woodonglass]

What's your plan to apply it?? What color are you looking for. You can use Tremclad from your local WalMart store and use this method...Paint Your Boat with Tractor Paint...Say What!!!

Since you have a Metal Flake boat you're gunna have to sand it all off in order to repaint it.

 

[JoshOnt]

Just remember to fix the spots where the glass is exposed first

Yeah I know that, figuring out the costs right now so I have an idea if I need to save some more for the project or not. I have a long way to go before painting although I have a giftcard for canadian tire so I figured maybe paint from there would work so I was checking.

 

[JoshOnt]

What's your plan to apply it?? What color are you looking for. You can use Tremclad from your local WalMart store and use this method...Paint Your Boat with Tractor Paint...Say What!!!

Since you have a Metal Flake boat you're gunna have to sand it all off in order to repaint it.

Plan to apply I have not figured out yet as I somehow have to either flip the boat or come up with another solution. I do plan to roll it on as spraying it would cost too much and is not even an option to consider. As for the sanding yeah figure once it is flat I will be good weather that is removing all of the current paint or leaving some left on.

While the Tremclad is about $50 a gallon compared to $100 a gallon for marine paint it seems I will have to use a lot of primer for that where I had no intention of using primer with the marine paint so the paint costs come about equal it would seem. As for the reducer and hardener, what is the point of adding that? Should it not be just prime, and paint? Seems like adding extra cost for little or no gain.

Colour will likely be white or red.

 

[jbcurt00]

Lots of gain for little expense

Reducer allows the paint to flow out better and not have as many bubbles and brush strokes if not using an air sprayer to apply it. If you are using a sprayer, its basically required so it wont come out of the nozzle/tip in clumps and globs.

Hardener does just that: makes the paint much more resistant to scratches and increases gloss level

Are you sure boat has paint now? Its probably gelcoat. Which if you can feel the flakes already, and based on the pix you posted elsewhere, you can feel them, you need to do quite a bit of sanding and prep to elimimate all the horrible scratches and flaking.

Is there clear coat (paint) over the metal flake gelcoat?

In any case, final product depends heavily on prep, esp w paint over damaged/poor condition gelcoat.

I suspect you should expect to prime twice, sanding after each, then prime twice w/ in the primer's recoat window. Then sand and apply final paint, at least twice.

White over that blue metal flake wont be a 1 coat and done of any paint i can think of. Red is often a very tough paint to get even coverage.

 

[Woodonglass]

I'd recommend you research more about painting.

 

[JoshOnt]

Lots of gain for little expense

Reducer allows the paint to flow out better and not have as many bubbles and brush strokes if not using an air sprayer to apply it. If you are using a sprayer, its basically required so it wont come out of the nozzle/tip in clumps and globs.

Hardener does just that: makes the paint much more resistant to scratches and increases gloss level

Are you sure boat has paint now? Its probably gelcoat. Which if you can feel the flakes already, and based on the pix you posted elsewhere, you can feel them, you need to do quite a bit of sanding and prep to elimimate all the horrible scratches and flaking.

Is there clear coat (paint) over the metal flake gelcoat?

In any case, final product depends heavily on prep, esp w paint over damaged/poor condition gelcoat.

I suspect you should expect to prime twice, sanding after each, then prime twice w/ in the primer's recoat window. Then sand and apply final paint, at least twice.

White over that blue metal flake wont be a 1 coat and done of any paint i can think of. Red is often a very tough paint to get even coverage.

Okay didn't know much about reducer or hardener for painting so figured they were likely not needed. Will go with them though I guess if I take that painting method.

As for that many coats of primer and paint, if I go with what you said the boat will sit for 2 years haha no hope in hell of affording that much primer. I was thinking either 1 primer and 1 paint or 2 paint past that and it becomes cost prohibitive to even consider it. As for the colours I am limited to white, red, navy blue and black as that is all I can find in marine paint unless I go with WoG method in which case I seriously would have no clue what to paint it since it is all the same to me (colour blind completely). So I pretty much am choosing white, some colour that does not matter or black, guess I will have someone else decide since I can't really say.

No there is not clear coat over the metal flake best I can tell and I don't think it is gel coat since I am pretty sure the bottom is not. Final product for me is more of a is it functional than does it look nice. I rather get to use the boat than have a good looking one that is not ready yet.

 

[JoshOnt]

I'd recommend you research more about painting.

Okay so look up what about it? Seems pretty simple to sand, roll and let dry. From the research I have done most of it is on paying someone else to do it. What information is out there seems great until I move on to the next site which says something different. The only things in common are that you need to prep it well, and pick a good quality paint (which is why I asked about a paint) then apply it properly and even that seems to vary. So doing research has left me with more questions than when I started.

 

[jbcurt00]

Take a look at Woodonglass Flamingo build AND the paint link he posted.

Many have followed that basically step by step guide and gotten great results.

Because of the colors you picked and the metal flake is why i suspect you'll need to do that much primer and multiple final coats.

Again, even though you dont agree, I still tink you've. Got clear gelcoat not paint on the top and no, the lower hull wouldnt have clear gelcoat, it'd be whatever color it is gel.

The failing clear coat gel over the metal flake may have let a previous owner think clear coat oaint over it would improve things. Might for a bit, but not usually for very long.

 

[ondarvr]

Although gel coat is a very good substrate for paint, and most of the time primer doesn't need to be used, when painting over metal flake primer is more important.
The flakes are a different texture and material and react differently to the enviroment (heat, humidity, etc) than the surrounding gel coat, at times this lets the flake show itself through the paint, primer helps to hide this better. Unless you plan to leave the boat in the water for extended periods of time you can use just about any paint, the more you pay, typically the better it will hold up, that is unless it actually says marine on the can, then it may work no better, only cost more.

 

[JoshOnt]

Take a look at Woodonglass Flamingo build AND the paint link he posted.

Many have followed that basically step by step guide and gotten great results.

Because of the colors you picked and the metal flake is why i suspect you'll need to do that much primer and multiple final coats.

Again, even though you dont agree, I still tink you've. Got clear gelcoat not paint on the top and no, the lower hull wouldnt have clear gelcoat, it'd be whatever color it is gel.

The failing clear coat gel over the metal flake may have let a previous owner think clear coat oaint over it would improve things. Might for a bit, but not usually for very long.

Okay would 1 coat of paint work functionally after I sand off the metal flake? Budget for the whole boat is $1-2k likely I will stop at $1500 ($1150 US) so every little bit counts so if I could go with only 1 quart instead of having to buy a gallon (difference between 2 quarts and a gallon is less than $10 here on average), that would be really good and allow me to put more towards other function things. You may have notice a theme, functional, I am not a person to care about looks at all. If it is function then I might consider looks but other than that I rather have something that works today than have something that looks nice in 3 years.

I did have a look at WoG's build and paint link. His information seems to agree with about 1/3 of the info I found online. Which is actually the most common information I found.

 

[JoshOnt]

Although gel coat is a very good substrate for paint, and most of the time primer doesn't need to be used, when painting over metal flake primer is more important.
The flakes are a different texture and material and react differently to the enviroment (heat, humidity, etc) than the surrounding gel coat, at times this lets the flake show itself through the paint, primer helps to hide this better. Unless you plan to leave the boat in the water for extended periods of time you can use just about any paint, the more you pay, typically the better it will hold up, that is unless it actually says marine on the can, then it may work no better, only cost more.

So would it just show through (which I am okay with) or would it crack and peel?

 

[ondarvr]

Each flake can show up as a high spot, or low spot on the surface, it just depends on the conditions. This movement of the paint can stress it to where it may crack or peel, it all depends on the exact paint plus other things. You wouldn't typically see the flake, as in being able to tell it's a flake, it would show up as just as a defect in the surface.

 

[JoshOnt]

Each flake can show up as a high spot, or low spot on the surface, it just depends on the conditions. This movement of the paint can stress it to where it may crack or peel, it all depends on the exact paint plus other things. You wouldn't typically see the flake, as in being able to tell it's a flake, it would show up as just as a defect in the surface.

That is fine with me if it does not crack or peel too quickly. I am just looking for something that works since I do not care how it looks for the most part. I am a student getting ready to go do 6 years of university so top quality is not something that is realist for me for now, maybe in 10 years. For now I want something to allow me on the lake to enjoy myself and relax from school and work. Not something to look at, as I see it, if I am lucky I will only see it from the back most of the time.

 

[DeepBlue2010]

That is fine with me if it does not crack or peel too quickly. I am just looking for something that works since I do not care how it looks for the most part. I am a student getting ready to go do 6 years of university so top quality is not something that is realist for me for now, maybe in 10 years. For now I want something to allow me on the lake to enjoy myself and relax from school and work. Not something to look at, as I see it, if I am lucky I will only see it from the back most of the time.

I am sure with this boat you will get lucky plenty over the next 6 years

 

[ondarvr]

If that's the case you don't need to do anything, no painting is needed. If I didn't care what it looked like I'd spend the money elsewhere, nothing wrong with that. For a low cost paint job follow WOG's example, it will hold up OK and be rather easy to do. And don't use primer.