Grit in paint

[Greenthumbed]

Hi all,
I am nearing the completion of a restoration of a ‘72 Chestnut Prospector. I just applied the third coat of paint yesterday evening. On all three coats I have had grit in the finish. I can’t figure out what is causing it.
The paint I am using is:
Home hardware brand Rustoleum.
I am applying it with a foam roller and tipping with foam brush. I changed rollers, brush and paint tray for brand new stuff for this last coat.
After sanding I vacuum the hull and wipe down with a tack cloth.
Now my shop is dusty for sure so on this last coat I painted outside. Same result.
The grit is not everywhere, but is heavy in places.
I am planning on a forth this weekend and would like this problem solved before then.
Has anyone had issues like this and found a solution?
Thanks,
Chad

 

[Andre Cloutier]

after sanding i wipe with thinner and a rag before tacking, for what its worth. Might be bad rollers or bad paint, use process of elimination. cheap brushes always need washing and spinning after manufacture. foam should be clean but if the foam rollers are coming apart thats likely it.

 

[David Satter]

Yes, Use a paint strainer and a good brush. Clean that brush well, Rince and spin a couple of times. Sometimes I even vacuum the brush. If you're using a foam brush use a good one. Knock down all that grit with 220 before your next coat.

 

[Greenthumbed]

Thanks fellas
I’ll try it again with strained paint, better tools and crossed fingers!

 

[Michael Grace]

Paint straining is an excellent practice, and you should do it. However, given that you're having these "grit" inclusions in certain regions of the canoe and not others, you might simply need to clean the canoe better before painting. It is easy to miss spots with the vacuum and tack cloth. You might even be missing spots where the outwales or keel (if it has one) meet the canvas, and dragging dust-contaminated paint out from there. A very low-angle light is your friend - it will allow you to see patches of dusty might miss otherwise.

 

[Greenthumbed]

So, here’s an update on this story.
It turns out that the gallon of paint I purchase was defective. It had so much grit in it it would not even go through a paint strainer. The strainer would clog after only a few seconds.
I went back to the paint shop and they gave me another can. They had no answers for me as to what was in the paint.
I put another coat on last night of the ‘new’ paint and it went on smooth. I haven’t check this morning, but I think we are passed this problem.
Thanks again for the advice. I think I know a bit more about painting a canoe after this episode.

 

[Andre Cloutier]

Must say i dont understand the purchase of cheap paint after a lengthy and dedicated restoration. There is no denying the superiority of marine enamels and monourethanes; i consider the additional cost incremental and a quality finish is assured. But, to each their own as they say.
Last 2 boats i used Petit Easypoxy, and it most definitely gives Epifanes a run for their money, properly thinned and with some owatrol.

 

[Greenthumbed]

Well… the price did not factor in as the number is one priority. A fair bit of time and research was done before I made my decision. This paint was specifically recommended to me by a reputable canoe restorer. I was looking for a colour match to the original Prospector colour and the recipe was designed using this as the base. Availability in a small mountain town of premium marine paint is nil so that was another limiting factor.
I have made many mistakes along the way during this project. Some of these were only realized long after. With experience comes wisdom, as they say.
Thanks for your advice on paint brands. I’ll keep them in mind for my next project.
Chad

 

[Dan Miller]

Andre is the curmudgeonliest of all us curmudgeons. That means, he has good things to say, but take it from where it comes. Speaking of which, Andre, Lynn has missed several years worth of deliveries of Muskoka Dry. Just sayin'.

 

[Andre Cloutier]

Not sure i fully understand this but in keeping with the current zeitgeist there will be no muskoka dry since “orange man bad” and ours is worse. put another way, exchange is brutal. maybe next year. missed motorcanoes but the gadabout will get me past spitfire lake next year

 

[Dan Lindberg]

Not sure where your at but (at least here in the States) there are plenty of places to get mail order MARINE paint.

As for your guy, I'm not sure that Rustolium and "reputable" canoe restorer go together.

This paint was specifically recommended to me by a reputable canoe restorer.

 

[MGC]

I'm with the torch on this one. I won't skimp on paint and Dan put to paper the thought that immediately crossed my mind. It was uncanny.
I'm curious to see the resulting paint. I thought my blend of Epifanes was pretty close to the original color on my Prospector. https://forums.wcha.org/threads/chestnut-grey-green-paint-again-again-again.18830/
The oval office will soon turn its focus from saving the world and absorbing the great white North to making sure that Muskoka Dry is made from cane sugar. Or maybe Verners is next on the list? It's been lacking zip for quite a while. Personally I'd advocate for putting more gentian in Moxie, cane sugar as a bonus.

 

[Andre Cloutier]

Its not the cane sugar what makes it good and distinct, its the oleoresin. I miss Moxie, been some years. Time for a road trip.

 

[MGC]

Next time you are in the neighborhood let me know. I have a decent supply I am willing to share a few. I'm delivering two cases to Idaho next month.

 

[Greenthumbed]

Hi Mike
I did read through that thread you linked to when I was doing research on colour matching. Thanks for that.
Here’s a picture of a scrap of the original canvas/colour against the new Rustoleum match. It looks pretty darn close to my eye. As far as “how the paint will stand up” I guess time will tell.
By the way, the name of the restorer that I mentioned is in that link.
Chad

 

[MGC]

That looks pretty good. There were several recipes contained in that old thread. Several of them were (for US shoppers) dead ends due to the specific sourcing. That was what lead me to blending Epifanes, that and I really like their varnish and paint.
Could you possibly post the actual blend you used, either here or with the other post so that someone else trying to arrive at that color has a good proven starting point?
Mike

 

[Greenthumbed]

Hey Mike
Here’s a picture of the recipe for my Home Hardware Beautitone Rustcoat Chestnut Prospector Grey/Green colour match. I hope this will help someone else that is looking for this colour.

 

[Greenthumbed]

This discussion begs me to ask the question:
What make the premium marine paints so much more preferred over the alkyd/enamel paint light the Home Hardware Rustcoat that I used. Now, I know that I had an issue with the first gallon that I purchased with the grit, but I feel like that was maybe a once off problem and I think we could see that in other brands as well https://forums.wcha.org/threads/help-final-paint-looks-like-poop.5670/ . What I would like to know is what is the actual difference?

 

[MGC]

Thanks for posting that. Is the paint you used Rust-Oleum brand or home hardware? The Rust-Oleum I have access to is premixed in cans. I cannot get anyone to make that blend. Or, is the mix home hardware paint? Either way, here in NY, that recipe was a dead end for me.
WRT the paint. Not being a chemist, I cannot answer the technical aspect of your question, but I can answer a practical aspect. I have painted dozens of canoes using either Epifanes, Petit or Kirby . The Epifanes and Petit have proven to to be very durable and were easy to apply. I have a Morris I use for canoe trips that I painted over 40 years ago that still looks really good. It's been dropped, dragged over beaver dams, car topped for thousands of miles....it's an a damned good paint job.
My experience using Rust-Oleum has been that it is fussy to apply and that it dries softly and slowly. Home Hardware? It's not available to me so I can not comment other than to note, it's unavailability is what drove me to my blend of paints. I have one more Chestnut I want to paint. I will use the Epifanes on it.

 

[Greenthumbed]

Mike
The brand in question is Home hardware’s Beautitone Rust Coat. I was incorrectly calling it Rustoleum. My apologies. I have edited the post above to reflect the name change.
As far as you not being able to get this paint in the States, I must say that is a first for me hearing something available in Canada is not available in the USA. It is usually the other way around.
Anyways, I hope this paint job lasts 40 years, but I will settle for 5 or 10. For now I would just like to be finished with the paint and install the gunwale before they have completely lost their shape. Would love to see this old girl in the water.
Chad