Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

HEY All,
Can someone tell me about this roll and tip method of painting,I missed that thead somewhere and cant find it in search? Thanks

I think I can...roll and tip, with a good paint can produce excellent results. First off...surface prep is everthing. Your paint will only look as good as the surface you put it on. Fix the holes, fair the surface out with a random orbital sander or good pad sander for flat surfaces, a flexible long board works well on outside curves. I go to about a 120 grit sandpaper.

For my boat, I use Pettit Easypoxy..but Interlux Topsides and others are good. Marine paint seems like a good choice, but it is a little spendy. To get a really, really nice surface, prime two or three coats with a compatible primer to your paint, and wet sand between coats. I like to wet sand for two reasons, it keeps dust down and doesn't load up the sandpaper. Your primed surface should be as smooth as a baby's bottom, without any noticeable dips.

Before you begin the color coat, clean the shop and if you are working on a concrete garage floor....wet the surface of the concrete to keep dust down and kill static. BTW...that works good with varnish and polys too. Much less dust floating around!! Cleaning the garage is better done the night before...regardless...before painting, be sure to clean and tack cloth the primed surface to remove dust and any remaining sanding residue.

To tip and roll, you need a suitable roller and a good brush. I use a brush, but I've heard others use those disposable foam brushes. I also use those small rollers because you are only working about a 2x2 ft. square area at a time. Working quickly, roll out your first area. You will see some bubbles and roughness. Then take the brush and lightly drag it over the wet paint. Done right, there may be some brush marks, but the leveling agents in the paint will take those out. Do not overwork the tipping.

The key is to keep a wet edge. Immediately go to the next area and repeat until you are done. Don't try to go over an area that has already begun to dry with the brush...you'll probably make things worse.

That's how I do it...anyone else have suggestions or something different??

Excellent post - almost everyone I've talked to has said regardless of how good a painter you are or think you are, the key is a properly prepared surface. I'm reseaching now to find out what primers/paints are compatiable with CPES, Epoxy Fill It and Bondo, Interlux wont comment if there's is or not..only that their paint is compatible with their fillers, etc.. ... What I found as a surprise in talking with Interlux is they recommend the roll and tip method over spraying and here I thought spraying would give the best results...learn something new everyday...and coverage was double with roll and tip. Seems there's been a lot of post lately about paints, finishes, etc... is that a sign there's gonna be a lot of new TD's showing up in the very near future, everyone has their "winter" project almost complete...

Here's a good place with lots of info about roll and tip method of painting:
http://www.asolidfoundation.com/dd_shell_2.shtml
Joanne of Desert Dawg has a really great website and has lots of great pictures.
I've been looking at using Interlux over the CPES, as I really liked the sound of the Interlux primer, in being able to sand it really smooth.
Martha

Interlux just replied to me about coating my TD w/ CPES, waiting 3 days then using Epoxy Fill It, wait 3 days and sand the filler and then recoat w/ CPES, wait another 3 days...then apply Interlux Primer and Paint...here is what Interlux said in their email to me:

OK, none of this looks too crazy, but I have no testing information to
go on, so I would hedge my bet and prime it with 404/414 Epoxy
Prime-Kote first. Clean all that real well with soap and water, then
sand with 100-grit and prime. Keep in mind that this application is
going to be something of an experiment on your part. You may want to
let the first coat of primer sit for awhile before applying paint to
make sure it stays adhered.

I've used interlux over fiberglass on my kayaks... no problem.. just sand it, prime it and paint... and roll and tip produced a very nice finish. I tend to go with a short nap 9" roller cut in half (using a handle with a short roller on it.).. it is easier to work with on curves and dips.

There was an earier thread talking about this and this a quote from the Rot Doctor in a reply to Arne about this subject.
http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=8770&highlight=cpes+interlux

Arne,

The trailer builders we know of have just rolled Uniflex on the Uniflex
and left the surface stippled. It can be applied with a brush, or
brushed out, although as with most heavy coatings it would have to be
cut a little, in the case of Uniflex with xylene. If cut with xylene,
then generally three coats are applied to get the proper film thickness.

Your plan using the Interlux paint will work just fine, although surface
durability will not be as long as with the Uniflex. I would use a
hi-build primer over the CPES'd surface, not for protection but to help
you achieve that very smooth final surface for the paint. Boat owners
will often apply the primer, sand smooth, apply the primer again and
sand smooth, and then apply several coats of the high-gloss paint. It
should work just fine.

Doc
--
The Rot Doctor
http://www.rotdoctor.com
E-mail: [email protected]

I don't know if Arne used CPES and Interlux together or not, but it sounds okay to me, not that I know anything about these things. I'm sure if there was a problem Arne would have said so.
Martha

Hey guys,
I was thinking about using kilz2 primer from wally world and this poly
enamel paint.Anybody else used this stuff?

Interesting.... the only "major" differences I can see beween the two paints are:
Interlux: Coverage is 500 sq.ft. per gallon and lots of colors, $35 a quart.
Rot Doc: Coverage is 100 sq. ft. per gallon and only 4 colors, $90 a gallon.

They are both two part paints... but then again, I'm no paint expert... Thanks a bunch for posting that reply from Arne..instills a little more confidence - I haven't applied the CPES yet, but was wondering about compatibility.

Ya know...I haven't used CPES before, so I don't know much about it. But I was looking at the CPES website and a couple things struck me for those who use it. From thier website....

CLEAR PENETRATING EPOXY SEALER™ • CURE TIME CHART
Pot Life At Temperature Warm Weather Formula Cold Weather Formula
86°F/30°C 4 hours Not Recommended
68°F/20°C 8 hours 2 hours
50°F/10°C 16 hours 4 hours
32°F/0°C Not Recommended 8 hours

Full Cure Time Required
86°F/30°C 2 days Not Recommended
68°F/20°C 4 days 2 days
50°F/10°C 8 days 2 days
32°F/0°C Not Recommended 4 days

WARNING: This product is inherently unsafe. It cannot be made safe. That's why it works so well. It can be applied in the open air safely (although we always use and recommend latex gloves) but if used indoors a respirator capable of filtering organic solvent fumes is essential.

The reason I brought this up was that, even though epoxy doesn't smell strong, it does have some inherent problems that can cause "epoxy sensitivity." It manifests itself as dermititus (sp? skin rashes and itching) if you are exposed over a period of time, and can cause breathing difficulties particularly by breathing the dust prior to it being fully cured. This is a very real danger (my nose breaks out immediately just being in a room with certain epoxies when they are being applied) and I would hate to see any of my friends have problems.

But safe...with whatever epoxy you use, let the epoxy fully cure before sanding because it ultimately becomes inert. Use rubber gloves to eliminate exposure to the skin...follow the manufacturer's safety recommendations...Best wishes, Juneaudave

Believe me, with cpes, there is no doubt it is trying to kill you... it is loaded with volatiles, which 'flash' when spread out over a fairly large area.... by flash, I do not mean splatter, but when highly volatile liquids are spread out, there is a lot of surface area that suddenly can release vapors to the air, so any smell is intensified immediately, as is the parts per million that get into the air.

Not having a spray booth, I have done it outside the 3 times I've used it.

Regarding cpes and paint.. it is, after all, just a thin epoxy.... I did some damage to one corner of my tear, which ripped up the wood (which had been cpes'ed)... I repaired the damage with bondo, and painted it with white house paint/primer...... looks great. It actually looks better than the uniflex 255, being a smoother finish... uniflex 255 tends to leave a dimpled finish.

Juneaudave wrote:....wet the surface of the concrete to keep dust down and kill static.

...anyone else have suggestions or something different??

Guys always rate the importance of wetting the floor, but they never rate the importance of cleaning the workpiece. Tack rags are fine for the lightest dust that has just settled on the job in the last hour, but to clean the workpiece properly nothing beats a shop vac (except a house vac......) and if you're using it on the job, you might as well do the floor too. A tack rag afterwards is still good insurance, but it will come up pretty clean.

Macho guys sometimes blow the job with compressed air, which is an excellent way of spreading any dust all over everything......

Andrew

Hi Martha!

I'm really glad that my website has been a help. I hope I didn't make it sound like the primer would "fix" any flaws in the surface you are going to paint. It will fill in some light sanding scratches but not much else. You really have to make sure the underlying surface is near-perfect. You can't see it in the pictures, but looking at the actual trailer shows lots of imperfections that I didn't take time to clean up.

I guess my whole point it, the Interlux is great paint. It has good gloss and coverage, but like all paints it needs really good preparation prior to painting.

Joanne

martha24 wrote:Here's a good place with lots of info about roll and tip method of painting:
http://www.asolidfoundation.com/dd_shell_2.shtml
Joanne of Desert Dawg has a really great website and has lots of great pictures.
I've been looking at using Interlux over the CPES, as I really liked the sound of the Interlux primer, in being able to sand it really smooth.
Martha