To Roll and Tip or Just to Roll?

[Plymouth Sailor]

Fellow sailors, two years ago I prepare myself to paint the top sides of my sailboat. I used Jamestown Distributors Wet Edge topside one part polyurethane. I had my tipping brush and foam roller ready. I started to roll it on and then was torn between tipping it out or just rolling as the results using just the roller were fantastic. I'm about to paint again and I'm interested in any anecdotal experience with the same results. Any experience appreciated!

 

[Barnacle Bill]

Best to follow the paint manufacture's recommendations, but usually you have one person roll the paint on and have another person tipping behind and then you continue through the entire project (no coffee breaks) so that you get a "wet" edge throughout the entire hull. Best to put several thin coats on rather than one thick coat too. If you stop in the middle of the project and go back later to finish it up, you will see where you left off and where you started again, so do the "wet edge" thing. Also, paint on a day when the wind isn't blowing dirt if you are outside and don't paint late in the day if outside as any late afternoon or evening moisture will dull the shine. And, of course, the best outcome is done with the preparation. If you are painting over a previous paint job and it is in relatively good condition, sand it so that there are no shiny spots. You don't have to sand it all off if in good shape, or unless you are covering it with a more aggressive paint (like Awlgrip over an Alkyd). Then you need to put an epoxy primer to barrier coat the old paint from the newer aggressive paint. Good luck.

 

[mcrow33]

When I had my Friend Ship Sloop. I had to paint the topside every year. I used Interlux Topside, and after rough sanding. I would wipe it down with mineral spirits, and tip and roll. I would roll the area I could reach and then tip it up to about 2-3 inches of the rolled edge. Then I would move the ladder and start again. It always came out looking great from 10 feet away.

 

[BobbyFunn]

The best plan of attack is to tape off a couple sections and try diiferent techniques in each one. Pull the tape and pick the one you like best.

The results depend massively on the leveling qualities of the paint. Then on the orientation of the surface. Your skill and tools do the rest.

Perfection is uniform chaos in the standard deviation of your choosing.

Anecdotally, i prefer to roll to get a uniform orange peel. The human eye ignores equal choas as the environment. But a wierd shadow (brush stroke) in your environment and your eye cant look away.

I hate brush strokes and usually end up oversanding down to primer trying to get rid them.

 

[dlochner]

Also, paint on a day when the wind isn't blowing dirt if you are outside and don't paint late in the day if outside as any late afternoon or evening moisture will dull the shine.

Wet down the area around the boat, this will help keep the dust down.

The best plan of attack is to tape off a couple sections and try diiferent techniques in each one. Pull the tape and pick the one you like best.

Another option is to get some window glass, paint the glass the with and without tipping.

 

[Parsons]

Based on the title, I thought you were talking about dinghy racing!

 

[Joe]

I've found tipping with a foam brush works well applying with a high density small foam roller. The tip process is to remove air bubbles. The paint should level on its own. Air temp and drying time are crucial when applying the paint. You can add a retardant if the paint's drying to fast.

 

[thinwater]

Fellow sailors, two years ago I prepare myself to paint the top sides of my sailboat. I used Jamestown Distributors Wet Edge topside one part polyurethane. I had my tipping brush and foam roller ready. I started to roll it on and then was torn between tipping it out or just rolling as the results using just the roller were fantastic. I'm about to paint again and I'm interested in any anecdotal experience with the same results. Any experience appreciated!

Yes, Just rolling can work just as well as roll and tip if you get a fine roller and adjust the paint viscosity to the temperature just so. I've done several boats each way. The just-roll method can make a lot of sense when it is drying fast, but the solvent addition is critical.

(I was dragging the engine just to slow the boat down, to give the photographer standing on the dock more time.)