Awl Grip vs ppg vs gel coat

[Reel Smoker]

What do you all prefer to work with and what do think is the best.Thanks RS.

[FELLOW-SHIP]

Ha Reel Smoke
I’m not sure what PPG is but as for Awl Grip or Gel Coat I did my boat with Sterling Paint which is like Awl Grip just a little better for guys that don’t Spray paint. Anyway for Me they both have their merits. I Painted the entire inside and the outside of the boat to the water line but all for the bottom of the hull I had a guy role gel coat on it. Gel coat is cheaper and can come out looking pretty good if you like sanding and then compounding and then waxing a lot. With paint you paint it and it’s done if is starts looking bad in 7-10 years you just paint it again it costs more but probably looks better and takes less effort in the long run. That is why most pros paint faster and cheaper (no sanding, compounding and waxing). I will say there are a few guys on the board that gel coated the entire boat and they came out looking very nice.
FellowShip [img]images/icons/cool.gif[/img]

[Finster]

It really depends on how brave or what your comfortable with. Two part poly is an out standing long lasting finish but can be very harmful. Single part poly is more user friendly not as long lasting. Gelcoat is user friendly, cost effective, and has an easily repairable finish, though labor entensive to apply and maintain.
Though you can "role and tip" a two part poly safely as FS mentioned, I've never done it but I hear it's hit r miss.

You should contact Ebeach, he's the gelcoat master.

[RingLeader]

I'm deffinitely not an authority on this, but I'll give you what I know.

PPG Concept is much more forgiving than Awlgrip. PPG is more like Imron. Alot of fine custom builders use PPG Concept. Gel coat is very difficult to get a good job since you are dealing with a thickness build-up issue and a material that doesn't flow out well.

Paint sprays out very thin, say 1-2 mils per coat and you put about 3 or 4 coats to give a total thickness of about 5-6 mils after all the sanding between coats. Gelcoat needs a good 10-15 mils or so of thickness to hold up well. Building that kind of thickness over a large area leaves alot of room for error/low spots. Not to mention alot of finish work after the application of the material.

Ther are some good additives you can use with gelcoat now that will aid in getting a better flow of the gelcoat when sprayed. Duratec hi gloss and patch reducer both work well in getting a smooth layer of gelcoat.

[JohnS]

RS,
If you can shoot Awlgrip, and be safe, it lasts a good long time. Sprayed it a few times, had no problems with it. Pissed off the neighbors a bit when I was shooting it but sometimes you just gotta do what ya gotta do. I know, should have sprayed it in a booth but some of us just don't have the money to go buy one of those things. Then, when you are done with it, where the heck do you put it? Seriously, I have sprayed PPG too but, I have not done it on a boat. Just some cars in my younger years. Nice stuff, flows out well, but I am not too sure on the durability on a boat. I have heard good things on the Sterling paints but have no experience with them. Gelcoat and I do not get along well. Tried it once and to me, it was more work than it was worth. Shot the Awlgrip and was done, hence my vote on that.

[joey]

RS , I have had a couple boats that I have awl gripped,both sprayed and rolled and tipped.The sprayed was a better job for me,not to mention though that I have seen some real artist with a roller and badger brush.But,you may consider Spencer's boatyard here in KW,they just sprayed my morgan 2 months ago and did a wonderfull job,including materials for 1600.00 I know thats not peanuts,but for an awlgrip job it's dirt cheap.Stop by the Coconut Mallory Resort and Marina off of Roosevelt and take a look at the boat if you like,it's the "Jenna Mae". Joey