computeroman2 said:For the hull, don't use auto paint or anything, it has to be gelcoat. You can get protested for having paint like that. However, the gelcoat is expensive and it takes ALOT of it to cover the whole hull.
And no, repainting the hull WITH GELCOAT is legal.
Chris123 said:I understand with crystal clarity the intent of the rule and support it wholeheartedly. Taking a new hull, fairing it, longboarding it, and putting a mirror-smooth rock-hard magic polymer finish on it is clearly illegal. Patching up dings in your gelcoat is clearly OK.
It's the "in between" where the rule falls down. Take my case. I don't have any reason to believe that VC127 is intrinsically any better than gelcoat. It might be a little harder, but gelcoat is pretty hard, too. I used it because it was way cheaper and easier than gelcoat or 2-part PU. But if I had put VC-127 on a newer boat and entered into serious races I could imagine someone raising a protest.
I dunno, you're a measurer, and you also know a ton about resins 'n stuff. How would you rule on repainting a boat with:
a) Gelcoat
b) House paint
c) Awlgrip
d) VC-127
e) Unobtainum-enhanced polymer modified with finely ground mermaid scales.
Chris123 said:There's still the pesky question of what it means to make a boat "better" than new, since "better" and "faster" are not necessarily the same.
For example, through-bolting your fittings (replacing the original rivets on the spars with bolts and nuts, or replacing the screws that attach fittings to the deck with bolts and backing washers and nuts) does not make the boat faster, but it does make it better than the original. Is it legal? Some people say "yes", some say "no".
Chris123 said:There's still the pesky question of what it means to make a boat "better" than new, since "better" and "faster" are not necessarily the same.
For example, through-bolting your fittings (replacing the original rivets on the spars with bolts and nuts, or replacing the screws that attach fittings to the deck with bolts and backing washers and nuts) does not make the boat faster, but it does make it better than the original. Is it legal? Some people say "yes", some say "no".
DaveK said:Ok Compuman..... I'll be nice and not act like I'm on Sailing Anarchy.
I'm a custom Harley painter. I know very little about the gelcoat process and would love to watch Fred do it sometime. But, I know lots about uros. I paint in whats called a 2 stage process. Base coat (color non activated) and then clear coat (activated). Clear bonds chemically with base coat. Sand, polish and then your done. My base coats are maybe .25 to .5 mils thick. Very very thin. There are paints with metallic flake in them but, they still spray to a very thin layer. Clear coat is 2 - 4 mils thick per coat. All paints, gelcoat or whatever when sprayed, will produce an orange peel surface. The better the painter, the less its there. The only time you can eleminate orange peel is when your paint is running on to the floor and now you have other problems. Not sure about what flakes are in clear or gelcoat for that matter. If were talking about molecular level size then, that's too small to worry about. Fred sprays in what I call a single stage process. His pigment, clear and activator are all spit out together. I say spit cause, its got to be too thick to spray. Fred's process is more durable. If that paint gets scratched, it still looks good. My scratch would only hold up as long as the base coat doesn't get touched. I believe also that, gelcoat is a much thicker process. Not sure about densities though.
Really doesn't matter whats its painted with. Its how its treated in the final process of painting. After I paint a bike and the last coat of clear goes on, I am so far from done its not funny. I sand every part out with 600, 1000, 1500, 2000 and then finally 3000 grit sandpaper. Then I cut each one with 2 different types of compound and then finally polish. This part alone takes 16 hours. By this point, its a mirror finish and it better be, if your gonna please a Harley biker
DaveK
computeroman2 said:George, what's the biggest regatta you've ever been in? just curious.
oh, and George, i obviously wasn't referring to myself. What do you take me for, a half-wit idiot?
I wrote that after reading a couple of posts that had no truth base whatsoever and weren't helpful at all, not to mention i was in a bad mood.
DaveK said:Ok... I got it. How big is your army vs. ours...lol
DaveK
computeroman2 It doesn't have to do with how you apply it said:You may have been OK until you got to this part.
What a bunch of total malarky. Paint flakes? Flake size?
I am not going to launch into a detailed explanation about pigments and polymers and the composition of coatings....
But...
None of what you wrote in that paragraph has anything to do with reality.
It makes me wonder about the veracity of the rest of your post.
Other stuff:
If you want to paint pretty stuff all over your Laser, have a ball. Just do not make the surface more smooth and fair than the original boat.
I wil address the through bolt issue in the measurer's forum.
fred
Hi gouv,gouvernail said:Paints for Lasers:
...
VC Performance Epoxy with Teflon: easy to apply, takes about $100 to cover a laser hull. Super scratch resistant. Does not do well in sun. ...becomes powdery on surface and fractures in bazillions of small cracks. can be sanded to perfection but Perfection may ,make the boat ineligible for racing
...
macwas16 said:Since I started my hobby/buisness One Design Retsoration where I restore Lasers
[...]
I'd be glad and willing to help.
gouvernail said:Speed through te water?? If you sand and polish the various paints to the same grit level???the speed through the water will be EXACTLY the same.
governail said:Full speed is the shiniest surface you can make that has watrer sheet over its surface rather than gather in little balls.