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O.k. That makes sens. Just busting the bubbles. I’m giving it a shot today. The paint looks better with a 1/8 knap roller than it does a foam roller.

Well, the flat horizontal surfaces of the decck came out looking like glass. The vertical surfaces came out looking like rough orange peel. Any ideas how to do that right?

What paint are you using? On the vertical surfaces roll horizontally and tip vertically about two horizontal feet at a time making sure to keep the "wet edge" wet as you finish one section and start another. It is normally much better to put two to three thin coats on as opposed to one thick coat. It sounds as if you are applying the paint too thick on the sides. Thin it some more and it will flow out. Glad that the deck looks good as it should. If you got the Total Boat paint from Jamestown, call them and tell them what is happening. As I stated earlier I much prefer the paints from Akzo Nobel, Interlux and Awlgrip. Bob.

I think rolling too thick is the problem, but I did thin it out to 2oz per 10z instead of 1:10. I've got some spare fiberglass pieces I can stand up vertical and try it out today. And yes, I have the total boat paint. This stuff is hard, though. Sanding with 400grit or higher doesn't even do anything. Guess I need to go much lower, smooth it out and do a very light layer. It rained really hard the past two days (cured for 5 days with no rain), so it's actually very dirty looking. i did small patches like recommended and lightly ran the brush over the surface as recommended to get the bubbles out, it looked very smooth, then dried like you see it in the 2nd pic.

Sounds as if you are on the right track. I assume that you are wet sanding, and it you are sanding between coats after the no sanding time period has passed, then wet sand with 320, wash with soap and water, and wipe down dry then wipe with appropriate reducer to totally clean the surface. Definitely practice on the vertical panels. Make sure that you are using brushing reducer not spray reducer also. Good luck. Bob.

I did sand between coats. 220 dry isn't even making a mark on this stuff. Yikes. I'm going to hit it with a more abrasive paper and then go back over with a higher grit wt sand before I do the next coat. Was going to start sanding the morning, but the weather doesn't want to cooperate here in NE FL. I'll also have to try paint next weekend if the weather is nice.

220 is too aggressive. A thin coat of paint will not fill the scratches. With 220 then 320 you are just removing paint. What you want to do is to just scuff the surface so the next coat has more to grip. Just use 320 wet with soapy water and always sand wet!

Will do. thanks

So, I think I got this roll and tip paint technique going better. You can see where I stopped (not as shiny) but I do need a 2nd coat. Gotta wait until later this evening or early morning to mix another batch of paint so it doesn't start to dry too quick. I did a test batch on the blue part of the hull and it laid out smooth for once, so I will be repainting the bottom part, too. The paint on it looked great, but I couldn't mix it flexible enough to keep from chipping.

Well, I got some of the Total boat topside pain in the color I wanted and rolled on the first coat. Not bad at all, but i did mix 10:4 paint-to-thinner instead of a 10:1 mix because of the heat. roll on with a foam roller (lightly with little to no pressure) horizontally then smooth out with another foam roller vertically that wasn't dipped in the paint.

Sanded before:


First coat rolled on: