Prolly been asked before but I’m getting ready to do my first glass job (RR Epoxy) and I wanted to know which painting method is aesthetically better. Is is best to paint on foam or after sanded hot coat? Is there less chance of delam and crystallization if I paint over the hot coat? I’m using acrylic paint single color. I still can’t decide whether to paint the whole board or just the top half.
TIA!
~ghost
Depends really on subject manner.
It’s always the safest bet to leave the foam unpainted…however there are usually no problems associateds with painting a blank, at least when done properly.
Seems that you are’nt really doing anything intricate. You’d have better luce doing something like that on the hotcoat. But with what you are envisioning, just a simple one color, I would say to paint the foam. Large areas of color on the hotcoat will end up looking very plasticy, and in the end make your boarrd look like a pop-out surftech if the hole board or one side is painted. What happens is, that painting on the hotcoat covers over the dimples that the glass makes when laminated. Not seeing that is what makes it look fake and plasticy.
Be sure to thin the paints and spray several light coats as opposed to one thick one. Make sure you test the paint on a scrap of foam first to be sure you have compatibility.
Drew
ghost
There is also the option of doing both - paint on foam AND on hotcoat. I had a crystalization problem with a dark blue under the lam (acrylic on foam) and Herb Spitzer recommended painting over it on the hot coat. Though it was a little more labor intensive, the color really “pops out” - as in intense - without looking like a pop-out. Just remember, tape the stringer if painting on foam, thin acrylic paint with Future and let the paint dry well before glassing or glossing.
I’m sure some of the experienced RR epoxy folks could offer more insight on how it handles paint vs. poly which is what I’m referring to. Pete