Getting epoxy off Awlgrip

I have a few runs of epoxy that has run down to side of the hull that was recently professionally spray painted in Awlgrip. (I know , I know not my finest hour). Has anyone had any success in removing epoxy off Awlgrip without polishing? It is hard to patch the original Awlgrip I am told.

Can you sharpen a putty knife and try to shave it off? May not get it all off but maybe better than it is now. I just painted my boat so I feel your pain. Awlgrip is not repairable from what I gather. Good luck. My painter said he has a tool similar to a small plane that he can shave runs of paint with. Have not seen it so I am not sure what it looks like exactly.

When this happened to us we ended up waiting a couple of years until the UV made it easier to lift of with a razor blade. Helped to shave it down as far as possible.

Tator

How bad is it? Just one spot or several spots?

Was the hull waxed? Might pop off with a razor. Or as suggested above, wait and the sun will take care of it :lol:

Comodave said:

How bad is it? Just one spot or several spots?

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There are 4 runs ranging from 6” to 18”. I got off what I could in July when it happened, and hoped the UV would break it down. So far no luck. Guess I will wait a bit longer.

I had an epoxy drip on Imron. It took 10 years to just turn yellow. I also would try to shave it very thin.

You can scrape it off with either a razor blade held at 90* to the surface, or even better use a cabinet scraper. A set in various shapes is not expensive.

You can scrape most of it off. Put masking tape around it to protect the paint and then us a very sharp scraper to scrape the epoxy off to the level of the tape. After that you can carefully sand it down more.


Contrary to what others have said, you can patch awlgrip. One of our local yards does it all the time. The issue is that on an older surface (greater than a year or so) the patch will show after another year or so. Dark colors are worse than light colors in this respect. The painter will sand the area to be patched out, fill and prime imperfections and then spray on topcoat with a detail sprayer. After the paint cures the patch will be buffed into the surrounding paint. You can buff awlgrip, it is just hard to do because the paint is so hard. I have seen repairs that were completely invisible on a flag blue hull. However, after a couple of years the patch will show up because of the aging of the paint. As I mentioned, how much a patch shows depends on the age of the original paint and the color. With your relatively new white hull patches will be invisible for much longer than on a dark color. That said, patches in your dark whale strake paint will show sooner than on the white hull.

Thanks for the input. Will get at it

Good info. I have a newly Awlgripped topside that I haven't "oopsed" - yet. This is going in the file.

Chill the epoxy with Co2 bubble gum remover and scrape it with a putty knife sharpened square

No help for the posted problem, however for future reference, keep RainX handy. When we had fiberglass work done post-collision, I noticed a whole lot of RainX spray bottles around the shop. I learned that it's used to prevent overspray from sticking. It works! Just mist the surfaces you want to protect, not much sticks to it and it can be removed with solvents if needed.

This is a video one of our talented local painters made to deal with paint runs. Maybe you can use the same technique to address your issues??

https://youtu.be/mn6nPky0HGs

Find you a heat gun and wave it over the runs. Then take a small plastic putty knife, which does not attach the finish like a metal one and attempt to scrap under it. Epoxy gets soft when heated. The key is don't just hold it directly onto the area. for too long at a time. You can always use some duct tape on the edges too. While this will leave some gummy areas, just use some mineral spirits to finish removing the residue.

Hendo78 said:

This is a video one of our talented local painters made to deal with paint runs. Maybe you can use the same technique to address your issues??

https://youtu.be/mn6nPky0HGs

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I really like this idea! Thank you for sharing.

Scratchnsaw said:

Find you a heat gun and wave it over the runs. Then take a small plastic putty knife, which does not attach the finish like a metal one and attempt to scrap under it. Epoxy gets soft when heated. The key is don't just hold it directly onto the area. for too long at a time. You can always use some duct tape on the edges too. While this will leave some gummy areas, just use some mineral spirits to finish removing the residue.

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Thanks, I’ll try this on an area that doesn’t show.

Maerin said:

No help for the posted problem, however for future reference, keep RainX handy. When we had fiberglass work done post-collision, I noticed a whole lot of RainX spray bottles around the shop. I learned that it's used to prevent overspray from sticking. It works! Just mist the surfaces you want to protect, not much sticks to it and it can be removed with solvents if needed.

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A great observation. Thanks!

I've had the best, if still iffy, luck sharpening a paint scraper super sharp and gently scraping the epoxy. Once you get the epoxy really thin use some acetone on a rag and your thumbnail and just start working at it. Patience is the key, trying to scrap off too much can cause the epoxy to pull the paint off. You don't want to do anything that gets under the epoxy and tries to pull it off the paint, you're liable to pull the paint off instead.
All these people say that you can patch Awlgrip and you can sand and buff it. Well the manufacturer says you can't sand and buff, without being able to do that you can't patch and blend in. Sanding and buffing will look good for a while but it compromises the paint and it won't be as durable.
That guy sanding the truck door is sanding auto clear coat, a totally different animal, though not a bad idea.

Correct, AwlGrip is a bear to try to repair and it has unsatisfactory long term results. AwlCraft 2000 however is repairable by a good painter with very good long term results. I’m the Service/Sales Mgr at a large Annapolis yard.

Svalon4020 said:

Correct, AwlGrip is a bear to try to repair and it has unsatisfactory long term results. AwlCraft 2000 however is repairable by a good painter with very good long term results. I’m the Service/Sales Mgr at a large Annapolis yard.

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I must be doing something right, or something wrong, because I have been repairing dings on Awlgrip on my boat for a dozen years with zero issues.

Try a plastic razor blade to scrape with.

Svalon4020 said:

Correct, AwlGrip is a bear to try to repair and it has unsatisfactory long term results. AwlCraft 2000 however is repairable by a good painter with very good long term results. I’m the Service/Sales Mgr at a large Annapolis yard.

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Can Awlgrip be patched using Awlcraft 200? With the ability to feather this down Awlcraft some I was wondering if the repair would be less visible?

You can put Awlcraft over Awlgrip but the problem is that you'd still have to sand and buff the Awlgrip to blend in the Awlcraft repair, so it doesn't save you anything. Also there is no telling if the color between the 2 paints would be exactly the same, though with whites it's not as critical.

Sangraal said:

Can Awlgrip be patched using Awlcraft 200? With the ability to feather this down Awlcraft some I was wondering if the repair would be less visible?

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Sangraal said:

Can Awlgrip be patched using Awlcraft 200? With the ability to feather this down Awlcraft some I was wondering if the repair would be less visible?

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I have no idea what the basis is for asserting that Awlgrip is materially harder to patch or blend than Awlcraft nor that Awlgrip repairs don't hold up, but to your question, I've found the colors don't always match up very well between the two. To patch Awlgrip, Dremel the problem area, patch with 3M vinyl ester fairing compound or epoxy mixed with fairing micro bubbles, sand flat-flat-flat, use an airbrush to apply the primers and top coat WITHOUT masking tape, wet sand with 800 grit to knock off the buildup around the edges, then 1500, then 2000, then buff. With colors, you'll never get quite the right color due to oxidation of the surrounding area. With grays or whites you can't see the repair unless you really, really want to. If I have a 1" square area to repair the total time investment for a near perfect job is around 15 minutes, with an investment of a bunch more time cleaning the air brush or going to the boat on successive days to apply the next coat of paint. So doing a bunch of them at the same time makes a lot of sense.

Delfin said:

I have no idea what the basis is for asserting that Awlgrip is materially harder to patch or blend than Awlcraft nor that Awlgrip repairs don't hold up, but to your question, I've found the colors don't always match up very well between the two. To patch Awlgrip, Dremel the problem area, patch with 3M vinyl ester fairing compound or epoxy mixed with fairing micro bubbles, sand flat-flat-flat, use an airbrush to apply the primers and top coat WITHOUT masking tape, wet sand with 800 grit to knock off the buildup around the edges, then 1500, then 2000, then buff. With colors, you'll never get quite the right color due to oxidation of the surrounding area. With grays or whites you can't see the repair unless you really, really want to. If I have a 1" square area to repair the total time investment for a near perfect job is around 15 minutes, with an investment of a bunch more time cleaning the air brush or going to the boat on successive days to apply the next coat of paint. So doing a bunch of them at the same time makes a lot of sense.

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I’ll talk with the yard, thanks!