Why I like acrylic LPU paints !!

[Maine Sail]

I helped a friend buff his 17 year old, fire engine red Imron on his Ericson 35-3 and it came out amazing! You can't do this with Awlgrip or polyester LPU paints but you can with Awlcraft 2000 or Imron acrylic LPU paints!

The pictures below were taken before wax but after compounding & polishing!

[Figment]

That is some serious shine!
With respect, I think this also says a lot about the polishing systems that are available today.

An aquaintance recently went through the steps of the 3m Finesse-it system on his dark blue awlgrip hull, and it's almost like a (VERY sorely needed, I assure you) new paint job. The more severe docking scars are still evident from 10', of course, but still a most impressive transformation.

[DELETED]

DELETED

[Maine Sail]

paints is exactly that! Once you buff it you're a slave to it. As Awlgrip cures it forms a hard outer protective skin roughly 1 mil thick and if you buff through it you've lost most of the benefits of having Awlgrip. The reason I like acrylics is because the hard shell is the entire 2.5 - 3.0 mils of the paints thickness and you're not buffing away an integral part of the paints intended system. Having owned two Awlgrip boats I can say I try and avoid them if and when possible. Now if it's Awlcraft or Imron that I'll buy because I can bring back the shine and it's much easier to work with.

[dasein668]

I'd hardly call that a reason to steer clear of LPU boats. If I need to compound, buff, and polish the paint, it's really not that much more work to put fresh paint on. Barring a major accident, or some other catastrophe, Awlgrip will look good for many, many years. Even if I have to paint every ten years, so what? There's no work to be done in the interim besides an occasional gentle wash. I've done the compound/buff/polish thing and I have to say that it's a lot of work.

That's not to say that Awlgrip is perfect, nor that it's "better" than an acrylic. But it's not so terrible that I'd avoid buying a boat over it, that's for sure.

[Tim]

Just a note: I find posts that start in the "subject" line to be difficult to read, since the subjects don't stand out.

I think it's easier for all if the entire post is in the body, and not in the subject section.