AWLGRIP Paint Experience

Hello fellow TF owners from San Diego, CA. For those who have been following our latest fun project under "electric boats" you know we are at the point in the build process to select our paint type and color. Following the recommendation of our designer / builder we selected AWLGRIP paint that will be applied over the glass that covers the wood. Today we received the factory color chart with over 130 colors to choose from and while we have our colors selected, we are curious about the sheen or shine shown on the samples. Does AWLGRIP really shine as depicted in their hard copy (not computer) color chart after application? If so, we would be very pleased and if not, we would like to understand to what degree. If there is anyone on TF who recently used AWLGRIP on their boat, we would like to understand what type of results they experience? Fun stuff.

John T.

Yes it shines but the amount of shine depends on the environment conditions and the painters skills.

When I do a spot repair on 23 year old Awlgrip I have to wet sand it with 2000 grit to dull it a bit. So yes, it is that bright.

Can confirm Delfin’s spectacular paint job

Looked at her in the slip lady week, she is a true beauty

Last week

I had my boat decks, house and flybridge done in Stark White and it always amazes me when I wash it, it always comes out very bright and shiny. Very pleased with the paint. The painters mainly rolled it on and did an amazing job.

Some tidbits I picked up from having my top sides painted a couple of years ago: Awlgrip is often used as the common term for more than one type of paint (kind of like Kleenex). Azko Nobel makes Awlgrip and it's probably the more common of their paints & has been used for years. While it's a really tough finish, a disadvantage is that it is hard to blend in a repair. I've had it explained to me as being similar to 2 stage clear coats on cars - the base coat is color, the top coat the clear gloss. Awlgrip is applied as one layer and in curing the clear floats up on top. The cured multi layer effect makes belnding in a patch difficult.
Anoher paint from them is Awlcraft. This was desribed as solids all the way thru the layers when cured. That makes it easier to fix a boo boo and blend it in.
I'd used Awlgrip on much of the boat before the topside were done. I choose Awlcraft for the topsides - for ease of repair. Not enough years experience yet with the awlcraft for me to know if this theory holds up or not.
A Nice thing: pretty much the same colors are avail in both awlgrip and awlcraft. I can't see any color difference between the awlgrip and awlcraft sections
Here's a link to a relevant Steve D'Antinio article:
Steve D'A article

A friend helped me (did the spraying) with a repair of my Awlcraft painted hull. In returnbI helped him (prep) paint his boats faded hull stripe. He chose the same Awlcraft system as mine but added Awlcraft clear over his burgundy stripe. Result was very nice and looks great after 7+ years.
No technical knowledge but guessing the clear top coat may avoid any issues with future polishing / compounding to eliminate any surface scratches. Awlgrip & Awlcraft do not recommend any machine correction.

Go to pages 5 through 8 in the below thread for Awlgrip pictures. Put sunglasses on first.


Ted

Thanks to everyone who responded with their experiences and photos. Will be sure to post pictures after the boat has been painted.

John

N4061 said:

Hello fellow TF owners from San Diego, CA. For those who have been following our latest fun project under "electric boats" you know we are at the point in the build process to select our paint type and color. Following the recommendation of our designer / builder we selected AWLGRIP paint that will be applied over the glass that covers the wood. Today we received the factory color chart with over 130 colors to choose from and while we have our colors selected, we are curious about the sheen or shine shown on the samples. Does AWLGRIP really shine as depicted in their hard copy (not computer) color chart after application? If so, we would be very pleased and if not, we would like to understand to what degree. If there is anyone on TF who recently used AWLGRIP on their boat, we would like to understand what type of results they experience? Fun stuff.

John T.

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When we rebuilt our Sandy damaged M34 we had the topsides professionally sprayed with Awlgrip. From the rail up, decks, cabin sides &top, bridge & cockpit I rolled & tipped with Awlgrip. Steep learning curve on the vertical surfaces but excellent shine. The highest praise came from another MS owner we were tied up next to who couldn't believe the roll & tip areas were not sprayed.

I would highly suggest using Alexseal instead of Awlgrip. Not sure what the scope of your project is but if you are putting it on yourself it is way easier to get a really nice finish. Especially if you are in a place where you can't spray it and have to roll. It is also way easier to do repairs. You can brush or roll over the repair area, then wet sand and polish and make perfect repairs. The "boat works today" YouTube channel has great videos on how to use it.


Just finished painting these sections of my boat a few days ago, just in time as I ran out of nice weather.

I've been reading about the Alexseal and it appears to be much easier for the non-professional. #1 if you mess up or need to repair you can sand it, blend and buff it with existing paint. Not so with Awlgrip. However, once it's painted with Awlgrip you never have to wax or polish the boat. Pretty sure they tell you not to. Not sure that's the case with any other paints. Keep it washed and you have a pretty shiny boat for 10 years plus. Waxing and polishing every 6 months can be a PITA and time consuming especially as the boat gets larger. Expensive if you pay someone and they need to know what they're doing.

TBill36 said:

I've been reading about the Alexseal and it appears to be much easier for the non-professional. #1 if you mess up or need to repair you can sand it, blend and buff it with existing paint. Not so with Awlgrip. However, once it's painted with Awlgrip you never have to wax or polish the boat. Pretty sure they tell you not to. Not sure that's the case with any other paints. Keep it washed and you have a pretty shiny boat for 10 years plus. Waxing and polishing every 6 months can be a PITA and time consuming especially as the boat gets larger. Expensive if you pay someone and they need to know what they're doing.

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My understanding is that Alexseal is supposed to be very similar to Awlgrip in terms of maintenance and longevity. I have been using it in various areas on my boat and it all looks great so far, but it's only been a couple years, and we have low UV levels up here in the PNW. It definitely seems very hard and scratch resistant once it cures.

I doubt that anyone would notice much of a difference in longevity between Alexseal and Awlgrip except the Alexseal is waaay easier to apply and repair. They even have an additive that allows you to just roll it on and not have to tip after rolling.

Comodave said:

I doubt that anyone would notice much of a difference in longevity between Alexseal and Awlgrip except the Alexseal is waaay easier to apply and repair. They even have an additive that allows you to just roll it on and not have to tip after rolling.

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That additive is a total game changer. You can't believe how much nicer it goes on than tipped Awlgrip. It makes it 10x easier to get a nice thin, even coat on that doesn't sag. And if you do get a sag, or a bug flies in it, or whatever, you can just wet sand it out.

The difference is big enough that I got rid of a couple thousand dollars worth of perfectly good Awlgrip that my boat came with, and spent a similar amount buying new Alexseal in its place. Best money I ever spent.

I spoke to one of the reps for Alexseal at last year's boat show and brought up the no-wax feature of Awlgrip. He got into technical stuff over my head pretty quickly but said you could buff the Alexseal every 3 years or so if you need to and not have to wax. That's a plus for me, cause once Awlgip starts to lose it's shine there's not much you can do about it. As far as shine and durability, I walked away thinking it was comparable to Awlgrip. I'd love to hear some long term testimonials.

Also for the intended DIY that wants to brush and tip, the amount of reducer seems dependent on painting conditions. The hotter, the more reducer. Awlgrip brushing reducer says 10-30%. It takes trial and error to get it right and it likes to run which can be a disaster. You can start out the day at one percentage and need to increase as the day gets hotter. The pros can get it in 2 or 3 coats. Plan on 4+. Once you try to put more paint on to get better coverage, it runs.

I've never done Alexseal, but probably what I'll use next painting from all the reports.