MARINE PAINT
While we typically think of marine paint as what goes on a ship, pleasure craft or barge a large share of marine paint and coatings protects infrastructure in marine environments as well. Marine paint and coatings protect and beautify infrastructure in marine areas as well as improve safety for those who manage Marine and Coastal sites.
Top Secret Coatings Marine and industrial coatings are a great choice to fulfill these needs as they provide excellent protection and corrosion resistance, are environmentally friendly, exhibit low-odor, provide the ability for brilliant color and are easy to apply. Typical acceptable substrates for our marine coatings include: steel, galvanized steel, aluminum, concrete or masonry, plastic, and wood.
Although not typically suggested first, waterborne acrylic maintenance coatings (see TS 300 DTM) have been successfully utilized for over twenty years in these environments and are suitable for buildings, bridges spanning inter-coastal waterways, as well as light houses. This product has also been successfully used on ship interiors, as well as exteriors of stationary vessels. Some notable locations where water-borne marine paint has been applied include The Hunting Island Historic Lighthouse, the Battleship New Jersey and the Neuse River Bridge.
Preparation is the most important part of any painting project. First you will want to repair all damage, scratches, voids and cracks. Once that has been accomplished sand or scuff the entire surface to improve adhesion. Then you will want to pre-clean in preparation for marine paint or primer. We recommend using TS 695 Rynolite as an etching cleaner prior to the application of primer.
Primer is always required on aluminum and fiberglass boats. The recommended primer is TS 664 Aluminum & Fiberglass Primer. This is an excellent, government spec, high-build sandable "etching" primer that is available in White for light colors and Red Oxide for dark colors. Once the primer has been applied and allowed to dry 24 hours, sand lightly to remove imperfections in preparation for the top coat. We recommend finish sanding with 200 or higher grit sandpaper. Then you will want to clean the primer coat. Allow to dry thoroughly before proceeding with your top coat application.
Apply the top coat using a brush, non shedding roller cover or spray. We recommend spray applications for best results. Up to two or three thin coats are acceptable as desired. Your max dry film thickness is only 2-3 mils. For best results you should recoat within 24-48 hours. There is no need to sand between applications. The top coat should be fully cured before repairing any runs or sags. Allow top coat film to cure thoroughly before entering full service duty.
NOTE: While we recommend TS 160 Accelerator/Hardener in all marine applications its use is optional. It's use increases hardness, chemical resistance and speeds cure times, however, it can reduce flexibility and may slightly lower the gloss.
TS 150 Gloss Reducer is optional. This product will reduce gloss to a Semi-Gloss finish and reduce flexibility. It is not to be used in combination with TS 160 Accelerator/Hardener.
Trailered boats should not be transported until the film has been allowed to cure to prevent roller damage. An easy hardness test is the fingernail test. When the film passes this test you know it's hard enough to move and enter full service duty. Without the addition of TS 160 Accelerator/Hardener this could be two to three weeks depending on film thickness, temperature and humidity.
Floors: TS 160 Accelerator/Hardener is recommended in this application. Marine floor surfaces should not be considered ready for full service duty until allowed to cure. Even with the use of TS 160 A/H it may take as long as one week to ten days before the total cure has been achieved.
