Spray vs Roll-and-Tip - Need Hull Paint Job Help!

[cabokurt]

Can anyone offer me advice about the pros and con's of roll and tip painting my hull on a 50' Beneteau sloop.
I am in southest florida in search of a paint job on the cheap.
Thanks,...Kurt

[clausont]

I tried both on my Cal 2-29. I was far happier with the spray result than I was with the roll and tip result, But that being said, I had never tried either before with the Interlux two part paint. I believe that my brush was too coarse even though I tried to find the best brushed locally (that isn't saying much around here!). I ended up with brush marks when I tried to tip no matter how gently and carefully I tried. But you couldn't see the marks from ten feet away. On the other hand, there is no chance of overspray with the roll and tip method.
We are in Oregon with a pretty low humidity if that affects anything. It was also pretty hot out when I was painting.

[MJWEENZ]

Have you tried wet sanding and a good compounding? I have had excellent results on my 1982 LN41. If you search the forums there is a lot of information on the process.

Mike
s/v Fair Wind

[clockwork orange]

We paint boats, generally we use Awlcraft 2000 on spray jobs as most customers have no imagination as far as colors go.On my personal boats i use Automobile paints for a number of reasons such as an almost unlimited pallete of colors available,nice paints that are designed to be repairable,readily available in every town,most of the better car paints are Acrylic Urethanes just like the Awlcraft 2000 except they have been doing it longer.
We do roll and tip ,mostly on wood boats and one steel trawler yacht we look after as it is quite appropriateusually we use one part paints such as Brightside or Toplac although we have done Awlgrip job on a 55ft wood boat which i personally dont think was appropriate.
Ok, i like the roll and tip method and intend to try it with a car paint some time,maybe on my dinghy,i have tried it on a test panel with some Nason Fullthane that was left over from a spray job and it went on nice.
We had a Cherubini 44 in the shop a few years ago for new teak decks and it was very interesting as one side was sprayed with Awlgrip and the other side which had been repaired had from dock rash and,due to Awlgrip not being repairable,the whole side had been repainted using the roll and tip method(it was done at another marina which was not allowed to spray)My understanding is that this was their first Awgrip roll and tip job,now i knew the story but didnt know which side was done so when i looked it over i walked along the stbd side looking closely and thought i detected some brush marks near the bow so was pretty sure this was the roll and tipped side,when i walked around to the port side i was able to confirm this as the sprayed side was a bit dry and orange peely,Yes the roll and tipped side was a lot better,they did a great job of it.I want to do more of them but most customers want the spray job so i will probably need to do it on my own boats.A big plus is how all the paint ends up on the boat instead of in the air so the paint cost is a lot less.
Steve.

[cabokurt]

Thank you all for the tips,....cost of roll and tip is attractive,..but finding the right guy with the tech...experience is the issue.
Kurt

[Solitude]

I watched my brother roll and tip his boat and it turned out great. He used Brightside light blue.

I mention the color because lighter colors tend not to show the mistakes or brush marks as much. It all went very quick. He had no experience prior to it.

S

[anotherT34C]

I've done both. Sprayed my father's boat (I worked in an autobody shop while in college) and recently roll and tipped my own. I prefer the roll and tip.

The spray came out better for sure, but the roll and tip application took about 1 hour (+ 20 hrs prep) for two people on a 34' hull. I didn't have to cover the deck with a tarp, and the paint (Interlux Brightside) and materials only cost a few hundred dollars. I expect in ~5 years to have to lightly sand and repaint, but it was so easy I really don't mind.

Brush strokes are visible within 5-10 feet, but when the boat is in the water, you CANNOT see them. It looks just like a sprayed hull. Remember, you are much closer to the hull when the boat is on jackstands than when she is afloat. Paint shrinks as it drys, so your paintjob will look much better 2 weeks after, than the day after.

It's also nice to know you can fix any bumps and scrapes with a few brushstrokes!

[Anzo]

Rolled and tipped my boat last Summer, for the 2nd time, since the 1st attempt was, well, a 1st attempt. Got greedy with how much paint I could apply in terms of surface area at one time before tipping and ended up with drying out paint leading to major ridges that were no fun at all to sand down once I got around to re-doing it. It's a bit arduous to do it by one's self on a 35 footer, but it looks great and I've gotten complements. I put 1st coat down, sanded lightly, acetone, 2nd coat, repeat...did 3 coats, as most roll and tip jobs look rolled and tipped and I wanted an extra coat so I could wet sand and compound, and that it the real difference.

[markpj23]

Roll and Tip is much easier to get right than I'd have expected. I used Awlgrip and that stuff lays down so well it's amazing. As others have said, roll on a smallish area then tip. Don't try too large an area else the paint starts to get tacky and then you're in trouble.

Make sure to follow the mixing instructions as you must mix the paint with brushing reducer. Prep work is important, but overall this is not rocket science.

I say DIY then brag to all your dockmates

[jerryprocter]

Definitely spray if you have the gun and compressor that puts out appropriate cfm's. It's much faster in that you can prime the day before, come back the following day, shoot your topcoat (assuming you're using a buffable 2 part), then the next day color sand and buff. Otherwise you're looking at a week's worth of time rolling and tipping, versus a weekend.

Just a heads up, but whichever method you use, look at the MSD of the reducer used. Many times you can just buy the reducer at a huge savings and not the "proprietary" reducer.

[Chief Engineer]

I have roll and tipped a couple of boats.

Awlcraft 2000

Preparation Preparation Preparation.

Did I say Preparation?

Keep in mind that once you start....you can't stop.....if you let the "wed edge dry....you will have a line. Best to do it with one person rolling....one tipping witha very high quality brush....don't skimp here....the brush will last you years.

[TAREUA]

I've done the R&T on two boats including topsides. It came out great both times. I used a two part the first time and a one part the next time. The two part was much easier to use, though in both cases I found the primer trickier than the top coats. One boat was a narrow 30 footer and the other was a beamy 40 footer and about 4 times the area to paint. 50 feet of boat will definately need a good partner.

[amarinesurveyor]

I agree with TAREAU, rolling and tipping is pretty easy to do, I've done it a number of times on various boats and the results are very good, but the primer is more difficult to get a smooth application without sanding. The 2 part paints are much easier to get good results than one part paints.
Here's the interesting thing I learned; there was an article in Professional Boatbuilder a while back on the paint job that Feadship (the mega-yacht builder) does. They only roll and tip with a 2 part paint, because they get a smoother finish and is a more uniform thickness and better coverage. Hey, if it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me!
Brian

[pete c]

I am getting ready to roll and tip on some rustoleum marine primer and topcoat for fiberglass on my Toyota Sunrader which is basically a fiberglass boat on wheels. I was pondering whether or not I should break down and buy a sprayer, but, this thread has me convinced that I should stick with roll and tip.

I do have one question. Everything I have read so far says use a throw away foam brush. Here I read that a high quality brush llike Purdy is the way to go. So which is it? I have a good quality 2 inch brush. Will that work? Should I maybe buy a wider one?

[Shoalcove]

I used a good quality brush but found it hard to get really clean with 2-part paint. I had a couple on the go and the paint set up quickly on the brush. I ended up chucking them but it only represented a small part of the entire job. I used white Perfection and was well satisfied with how it came out FWIW.