Awlgripping Aluminum

General Discussion
1

I’m about to repaint my aluminum boom vang with Awlgrip and was wondering if anyone had any tips for me?

– Geoff

2

You are going to have to treat alum with a prep acid wash first then a good epoxy based sinc chromeate primer then your allgrip paint. I beleive allgrip is a LP paint. When fitting fasteners back in alum I dipped them in a lanolin jell no problems with blistering around revets in over 2 yrs on gulf of mexico. Good luck Numbknots

3

I’ve got some Alumiprep (acid etcher) and Alodine left over from repainting my outboard. I had planned on using them.

What’s a “LP paint”? linear polyetholene?

– Geoff

4

I successfully used Hammerite non-ferro primer on my aluminum mast collars and deck hatches. The collars on my F33/35 were bare and heavily corroded. The primer is water based and dries without drips or brush marks. It sticks really well to aluminum; it’s been there for years now, even on the collars that I could not get free of corrosion very well. I did not use etch or acid primers.

5

I have the Awlgrip which was leftover from painting the mast and boom, so I’ll be using that.

– Geoff

6

Here’s an excellent writeup on the Awlgripping aluminum masts:

http://www.pinmar.com/awlgrip/aplicengl/7e.htm

Michael: Perhaps the acid etch would have been useful in the the situation where you couldn’t get the corrosion off. However, since the paint is working well, it sounds like that’s a moot point.

– Geoff

7

I’ve got the boomvang etched, undercoated and primed with #545 primer and was about to top coat it with Awlcraft. However, I just discovered that my Awl-cat #2 spraying converter is hardened up and all that I have is the #3 Brush Converter. According to what I’ve read, Awl-Craft is a spray only material, and I get a much better coat by spraying, so I really want to spray. However, a pint of the converter is $50+, so I’m not keen on spending that and there’s no place around here to get the spray converter.

So, does anyone know what the difference is between the spraying converter and the brushing converter? What happens if spray using the brushing converter?

– Geoff

8

Just to close this question, I’ll post some information that I got at http://forums.sbo.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=107405, which is a very good site for general information (other than an overly protective person who was worried about the effects of my spraying on wildlife):

To actually answer your question, you can spray with the brushing converter, but the problem will be that it stays open longer so in trying to get the build up you will wind up with more runs, or you will need to spray a coat, sand, add another coat, etc. until you get good coverage.



As Chuck said the brushing thinner is to keep the paint liquid longer so the brush strokes self level. With a spray thinner you don’t need a long open time because you don’t have brush strokes that need self leveling.

I would avoid the application of thick coats and would also test it on a piece of vertical glass to get the thickness/spray right. Is it optimal? No. Will it work? Yes…

I sprayed this morning and I’m happy to report that the finish came out just fine (other than my knocking one end off the stand and getting grass on it). Also, as far as I can tell no wildlife was endangered! :unamused:

– Geoff