MikeP's Paper Towels

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MarkScott

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2014
Messages
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Look'n for MikeP's Paper Towel process for finish'n wood boats. I've read posting praising ;D the process, but can't find how / what is needed for doing it :'(. Might not have gone back far enough.. ??? I'd love to find out how this is done since I have 2 WOF Solutions almost ready to be finished. Any help would be truly appreciated.... :) :D ;D
 
I know a fellow boater that owns a body shop, he told me once that Rustoleum Industrial works good but it has to be Industrial. I haven't tried either one.

I suck at painting and never been happy with a paint job from a spray can. If you can remember the picture of my .12 is was finished with epoxy. I used pigment added to the epoxy for color, I used black and red. Here is a process that I used if anybody wants to try it. Mix good epoxy with lots of pigment, brush it on with a foam brush or paper towel ( I like the paper towel there cheap and you don't have to clean them). I do one side at a time so it will flow out flat. Lay it on smooth, wet sand it with 600 on a flat piece of wood or something, use 400 if you need to remove alot. but don't sand through just the high spots and keep doing this until it's flat. Usually 3 times will do but you can keep going until it's perfect. Careful on the edges they are the hardest to keep color on. As you get close to perfect on your last coat you finish sanding with 1200 or 2000. The finish will still be dull. To get the gloss rub epoxy on with a paper towel and let it sit a minute and then with a clean paper towel buff it like you would shoe polish. Don't touch it and let it dry, it will give you a nice glossy finish when its dry. I use the same process to finish CF when I have to sand on it. I just don't add color.

The benifits of this process are, it's cheap, I can do it my self, no over spray, it comes out perfect, each time you add a coat and block sand it you can keep the riding surfaces on the bottom sharp.

It sounds like alot of work but I have finished a couple of boats using Dupont Emron sprayed on at a body shop, by the time you spray and wet sand the good primer twice and after the Emron is shot, there is still rounded edges on the bottom of the hull that need to be wet sanded to sharpen them. Still alot of sanding. It coast almost a $100 in paint supplies.

-MikeP
 
Hammer where do you get the pigment for the epoxy? any internet vendors in the Continental US?

Eric Perez
 
Hey Eric. You're gonna have to ask mike. I just CTRL+C this paragraph from another thread.
 
Ok, yep, I read those items above.. Still confused ;D ;D.. Saw a posting where this process is to use much less epoxy than just laying it down.. Guess I don't understand how putting epoxy down with a paper towel thins out the process. Stupid question #2, can any epoxy to be used? Or just the West Systems?? Hobby stores around here are clueless.. I was about to use Great Planes Finishing 45min epoxy to cover these boats.. If I should only use the West Systems, where can I pick some up at?

Thanks a bunch... :D :D

Mark

Ok, saw the posting above after writing this... CSTSALES.com has the stuff... THX........
 
If I should only use the West Systems, where can I pick some up at?

Thanks a bunch... :D :D

Mark

Ok, saw the posting above after writing this... CSTSALES.com has the stuff... THX........
I buy mine locally at West Marine.
 
West systems is avaliable at almost any boat supply place(full scale boats). Lately I have seen Z poxy at most hobby shops. I have used Z poxy finishing resin and it works good. West systems rocks!

If you are sealing and finishing a wood hull to be natural you can brush on epoxy let it soak in a bit and rub all you can off with the paper towel. If you don't wipe it off you will just have to sand it off. After it's dry you can scrape some of the exess and the corners with a razor blade. Fine sand it and and do it again. After the first coat you will need very little epoxy, you will just be wasting it because you will be rubbing it all off. I just quickly brush about 50% of the hull and rub it in evenly with a towel that is a little soaked. Get in good light and look for heavy epoxy and streaks.

-MikeP
 
All,

Thanks for the quick info.. ;D Hopefully it will all work out.. Better, one of these Solution's is the better half's.. If not, I may just end up sleep'n with the dogs... :-
 
west systems epoxy does work good using the paper towel method, although it's expensive... about US$40 for a quart of #105 resin and hardener. I use #205 hardener, the fastest one, and it still takes about a day to harden each coat. Some people recommend the #206 slow hardener , but the #205 has worked fine for me. It's crystal clear.

??Has anyone tried using HOK paints directly on west systems epoxy as a primer? HOK's 2-part epoxy primers are another $45...
 
How do you compare cost of something good to something bad? West Sysems is just something I have to have now. It's like buying a rudder, you just have to have one.

I have found some ways not to waste it. The pumps mix up alot of glue if you use the syringes you can mix up smaller amounts.

If you buy 1 quart with 1 fast hardner and 1 slow hardner, the pumps and syringes you will be set. This should be enough glue for many boats, the cost per boat is now is 10-15 bucks.

Plan your building and gluing so you can wrap your project in an electric blanket before you go to bed and you will be able to continue in the morning. Slow hardner in cold temps. 65 or less may never cure. Use fast hardner when it's in the 60's. Use slow hardner when mixing larger amounts. I try to always use the electric blanket. Some day I am going to build a foil lined box with a couple of light bulbs in it.

-MikeP
 
I agree Mike, it's the best epoxy I've found... just wish you could buy smaller quantities is all! ;)
 
I did a test on my wife's WOF Solution with the yellow pigment added in.. Boy, did that wood soak it up ;D But then again, it was the soft ply I put on the tunnel bottom. The mix was moved around by using a bondo spreader. For mixing, I used two 1 oz cups and mixed in a tin foil cup. After about 18 hours dry time, there were only a few spots still 'slightly' tacky. For hardner, I purchased the 206 & 209.. Which one I used, can't say at this moment. I've yet to get back to the boat as the "honey dew's" have come back to haunt me! Next stop at the LHS, I hope to remember to pick up some syringes. In all, I used only 1 oz of mix during my "test" and it covered the whole tunnel bottom and one spoon. Don't think that's bad considering the size of a WOF Solution. I'll report more as to how it works for me since I need to get both boats done before the trip back to G.R. next month.
 
Mike,

What's up with the tape around the syinges? ??? I can only assume that it's the point in which the correct mix ratio would be..
 
Hey Guys,

I still don't understand the electric blanket wrap! How do you do this without the glue sticking to tha blanket! ???

Don :)
 
Dear ???

To keep the blanket from sticking I make it into a small tent with some cardboard. A box that printer paper comes in works good, I lay the box on it's sides at each end of the hull like caps and a stick across the top.

Would you like a picture?

-MikeP
 
Thanks Mike,

I guess whenever you said "wrap" in a blanket it just didn't make since to me. Now it does! : :)

I'm in the middle of your system right now and it seems to be going OK so far.

Don
 
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