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I have ordered some orange boat paint from epifane (20 bucks for 750ml) and will attempt this technique on my rear trunk lid to begin with. That company is the only one I could find that makes orange in a one-part eurathane.





Tee hee... you could have taken the Brightside Fire Red and the Safety Yellow... combined them and created you own custom mix orange You could have experimented with your mix of red and yellow and come up with just about any variation of orange that might be flattering on your car.

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My plan is to hit the old paint with a degreaser, wetsand with 320, then 400, then first coat of epifane with just a splash of thinner (mineral spirits according to the company), roll and tip, then sand with 600 once dry, then another coat very slightly thinned epifane, sand with 800, then 1000, then a final full strength coat of orange. In between each step I will wipe the lid with mineral spirits to clean it off.






The only caution I would throw at your plan is the 'wiping between steps with mineral spirits. You should have said " I will wipe between sandings using WHATEVER THINNER is recommended by that paint manufacturer.

I mention that because 'if' your paint uses Ketone or Acetone as the thinner... and you use mineral spirit as the 'wipe down' fluid... there is always a chance of a reaction between your paint and the mineral spirit. Something between an orange peel and wrinkling ( elephant skin) ...

So by using 'whatever' fluid is recommended for thinning by your paint manufacturer you will cut down on the 'chance' that there 'might' be a compatibility problem.

For example, Brightside uses Ketone ( which they package and sale as their product number 333 Brushing and Thinning fluid. Although it 'appears' that I could thin Brightside with mineral spirits... I have stuck with the thinner actually mentioned by Brightside.

One nice sand paper that does a wonderous job at ripping down the original botched up paint is the 220 grit 3X sand paper. You can get it at Home Depot and the packaging says that it last 3 times longer than normal sand paper. It cost a bit more.. but it really is worth the few extra bucks. The second you open the package you will feel the difference between the 3x paper and regular stuff. The 3X feels almost like it is linel paper ( sort of like the paper they use for money )...

The only other thing I would like you to consider is the use of a PRIMER at the start of your work. You might want to use a white primer if you want a bright and light orange color... or maybe use a darker colored primer to end up with a darker orange when all the coatins have been added. I am so impressed by how well the Interlux Precote primer worked on my test piece and I can say that the few bucks you may spend on putting down a good uniform color via a primer may end up saving you work, time and paint in the long run. Consider it... cuz I don't think you will regret it.

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I am a little concerned with the working time of the paint, which is why I plan on thinning it just only slightly. That should extend the working time, shouldnt it? I figure I need 15 minutes from rolling to tipping, and I dont want the paint to get too tacky in that time frame. Im working in Berkeley where the humidy is very low and the temp should be 65-75.





I can't speak for the brand of paint that you have chosen and I don't know much about its ability to level, gloss or how long you have to work with it while doing the rolling and tipping.

In theory though... thinning the paint 'should' give you more time to work on the paint before it starts to become tacky. Cooler temperatures are also a big plus at giving you more 'working time' on the paint before it starts getting tacky.

High humidity is another factor that fits into this... in that the higher the humidity... the less gloss the paint has when it dries. I don't quite know why humidity has an effect on the final gloss... but this has been confirmed in numerous conversations and messages on the boater forum..

Last edited by Marq; 07/15/06 12:09 AM.