Perhaps some of you have used Interprotect 2000E barrier coat and can answer a couple of questions.? The literature itself seems self-contradictory, and also doesn't jibe with what I'm experiencing.
As part of an extensive gelcoat blister repair, I'm using Interprotect 2000E (over Epiglass), on top of which I'd like to finish up with Fiberglass Bottomkote ACT antifouling. A lot is made of overcoating the Interprotect with antifouling when it is slightly tacky (using the "thumbprint" test), but I'm finding that each coat is already touch dry by the end of the roughly 1/2 hour it takes to apply a coat to my M15.? Curiously, the next coat of Interprotect can go on in 3-5 hours (depending on ambient temperature), or as much as 2 weeks later, without sanding. Interlux's own FAQ list tells of the dire consequences of applying antifouling paint after the "tacky" stage of the underlying Interprotect coat.? (The consequences are, the antifouling won't stick for long.)? And yet even if I immediately began applying the antifouling coat after applying the final coat of Interprotect, it wouldn't be a wet-into-wet (or wet-into-tacky) situation.? It would be "too late," to use Interlux's words.? The Interprotect simply dries too quickly.? (I'm working in temperatures ranging from 70 to 90 degrees -- undeniably, the drying time is greatly shortened as the day heats up.) Yet Interlux's own charts specify that the minimum overcoating time -- putting Fiberglass Bottomkote ACT over Interprotect -- is 5 hours at 73 degrees and 3 hours at 95 degrees.??So immediately following up with the first?ACT coat would flout these minimums -- and yet?either of these is hours past the "thumbprint" stage. Finally, let's assume that it IS "too late" to overcoat wet-into-tacky.? The only references to "what next?" that I can find are advisories that you have to remove everything and start over.? Is it not possible to let the Interprotect cure, then sand it with 80-grit (judiciously -- obviously you don't want to thin down the Interprotect barrier coat), and apply an antifouling bottom?coat? Any insights or advices would be greatly appreciated. _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
