Coat-It problems

[weekend warrior]

Ok heres the deal, my dad and I got a new Fishcraft DB last march. We sanded the bottom some and then applied the Coat-It and it's now cracking and breaking off like crazy. So what did we do wrong?
Do we need to ruff up the bottom more or apply some type of treatment that will cause the Coat-it to adhese better to the bottom.
Also is there a prefered amount of coats? We just used 1 can, but I have heard of people using 2 for better coverage.
I just want to get it right this time to save myself the work and the hassle.

Thanks for any info you guys can give me.
Later Geoff

[Wet Willie]

When I Did mine, I used a coarse grit sand paper to really scuff it up. I then wiped it off with goof off to cut any oils or residue left over.Then applied the coat-it. I havn't had any problems.

[Timber]

according to the directions you are suppose to etch it with some type of mild acid but I can't remember the type.

[Quasimodo the fish killer]

I have done about 8 or 10 boats thru the years with gluvit it should be about the same stuff.

I learned thru trial and error that you want to keep the stuff thin. I know it seems the thicker the better but it isnt. a thin coat will flex some and a thick layer will delaminate from the bottom of your boat.

ruff the boat up with coarse grit paper pay special attention to the areas that uusually drag then clean it with laquer thinner untill a clean rag will not pick up any black residue from the bottom of the boat.

its also best to completely remove any of the old gluvit or coat it you dont want a double layer og the epoxy.

I have a 17 ft wide bottom I used one qrt of gluvit to cover it in a thin layer. I wouldnt use any more then a qrt to do a 16 ft boat.

go to a paint store and get a 6 inch roller and a frame make sure to get a roller pad that the hairs wont pull out of so the shortest nap possible is best. I use mohair rollers myself.

make sure to do the boat in sections i useally dribbler it here and therew then use a stiff brush to move it around better then go to work with the roller

I got 3 years of hard abuse out of the my boat before I had to redo the glove it. I slide my boat down a lot of road shoulders and ober lots of hard rock thats the best way I have found to do it and make it last.

you just need to keep in mind that once you mix it you have to keep going until the cans empty or the boats done.

I am sure that coat it will work in the same manner as gluvit I cant say about the amounts to cover a boat I have heard it takes 2 times as much coat it to cover.

hope this helps you out

Quasi.

.

[Water Ready]

Weekend Warrior-Quasi is right on! [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img] If the old stuff is coming off, get it all off. Use an angle grinder with a wire wheel an scuff off the old and use 60 grit and scuff the bottom. Gluvit is the best and has proven itself with years, and is only getting better.
Wash the bottom with acetone or tolulene and if you really want it to stick go get some acid etch primer from NAPA.
Most gluvit cans are two part and make a half gallon. I would use it all if it is 16x48 or bigger. Roll it on and it should look like textured sheetrock when your done.
I've done many of these and if you have questions, please e-mail, or call. Good Luck

[cully]

again, my two cents. Coat it worked much better for me then the gluvit did. The gluvit coame off in chunks after a period of about 8months. Since I've scrapped and sanded off that mess and added the new applications of coat- it that i did this summer the bottom is still flawless. I'm staying with my method of 3 coats also. Just lightly sanding between coats before adding the next. The only thing is I don't see having to do it for another year or two. Well see after a summer of running low water riffels.

[oversize]

I used coat it on my boat last fall. I used an angle grinder and took off ALL of the old gluv it. Mine is perfect to this day. No cracking at all. I ended up using 2 1/2 gallons on my boat. Hope this helps

[RogueFisher]

It sounds to me like you may not have had the boat warm enough when you applied the Coat-it.
I think it says on the can that ideal conditions are 65 degrees.

I worked at a boat shop and we did dozens of driftboats with Coat-it. In the summer we chose a warm day. In the winter we turned the boat upside down and put heaters underneath to heat the boat up. In the winter the boats sometimes took several days to cure.

:grin:

[weekend warrior]

RF thats sounds like it could've been the case. We did it in april, I think, in the shop. By no means was it warm in their though. It took a good couple of days to get it to set up. We are going to put heaters under it this time though and get the shop a little warmer before we give it a shot this time.
Thanks for all the info everyone it's all real helpful and appreciated.

[ 01-26-2004, 06:24 PM: Message edited by: weekend warrior ]