# Awlgrip or Awlcraft 2000? which is best?



## Talisman66 (Jul 18, 2007)

Looking to topcoat soon. Researching Awlgrip products, it comes down to Awlgrip polyester Urethane or Awlcraft 2000 Acrylic Urethane. Which is best for durability, scratch resistance, touchup spot painting, workability, smoothest finish either by roller, brush or spray. Easiest to wetsand and buff out? Couldn't I use PPG tried and true Acrylic Urethane Delstar? Is Awlgrip really that good? Can Epoxy resin clears be put over Awlgrip products? Any inputs or experiences, thanks


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

There's a good thread on this here:
http://www.sailnet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34124&highlight=awlcraft

Read Halekai's posts. I love my Awlgrip but he is right about touching up and maintenance. ...and yes you can put clear coat over Awlgrip colors.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

I would go with the acrylic polyureathane paints, as they're easier to maintain and repair IMHO.


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## mikehoyt (Nov 27, 2000)

Can someone explain to me the difference between these two coatings?

Mike
Full Tilt 2


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

They're both two-part linear polyureathane coatings. However, the main difference is one is an Acrylic-based polyureathane, and this paint is a bit more forgiving in terms of being able to re-touch it if scratched or damaged. The other is a polyester-based polyureathane, and it is much more difficult to re-touch or repair damaged areas. Also, the acrylic-based on can be buffed, waxed and compounded like an automotive finish generally can, the polyester one can not.


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## Maine Sail (Jan 6, 2003)

*I laymans terms..*

OK this is the best way to describe the difference between Awl Grip and Awl Craft 2000 or Imron.

AwlGrip - When Awlgrip (or any other polyester LPU) cures the clear solids tend to separate out from the pigment and form a very tough but thin clear coat like layer over the pigment layer. Picture putting oil & water into and jar and shaking it. The two seem to blend together for a while but eventually the oil rises to the surface. This is not exactly what Awlgrip does but it's the easiest way to describe it's curing process I know of. The "outer shell" or "clearcoat" layer is very, very tough with Awlgrip but also very, very thin. Once you have abraded or worn through this very thin layer the Awlgrip is dead, ruined and kaput and will require constant maintenance such as wax to hide the abrasions.

We've all seen the boat in the boat yard where the winter cover chaffed through the "outer shell" or the fender marks that have worn through as well leaving dull patches of exposed pigment which does not buff out well at all. This is because the fenders or winter cover have worn through the "outer skin" of the Awlgrip thus ruining a 10k paint job!

I've owned two boats with Awlgrip and I will NEVER own one again!

Awlcraft 2000 - With Alwcraft 2000 or Imron or any other acrylic LPU the pigment and hardness are the *full thickness* of the coating with no "hard shell" or "outer skin" to worry about. With proper buffing techniques an Awlcraft or Imron paint job will outlast an Awlgrip job by quite some time.

The picture below is a boat I buffed this past spring that was originally painted in 1989 with Imron. The boat did not display any real fading except for some light ghosting around an old name that we removed to put the new name on. After buffing it was nearly impossible to discern any ghosting.

I have NEVER seen an Awlgrip (polyester LPU) paint job look anywhere near this good at 18 years old. That's because it physically can't be done due to the lack of buff ability or repair ability of the product!

Boat yards love Awlgrip because they have a captive audience every 8 to 10 years at 8k to 12K per paint job...

By the way I just painted my boat last winter and used Awlcraft 2000!


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## freddy4888 (Nov 16, 2006)

My god, I've never seen a hull look so good, what are you doing next spring, can you come to Tochester, Md and do my hull


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Freddy-

I believe that Halekai only buffed and waxed that boat, rather than painted it. I could be wrong...


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## Maine Sail (Jan 6, 2003)

*Yes..*

Yes the red boat was a buff and wax of an 18 year old Imron paint job....


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## Cmayflower (Dec 20, 2016)

*Re: Yes..*



Maine Sail said:


> Yes the red boat was a buff and wax of an 18 year old Imron paint job....


How would you repair Awlcraft 2000 paint damage to an area of about an A5 paper size. It is on a steel boat and the damage is right back to bare metal, so will need rust treatment/primer before paint, never tackled this before, the original paint job is just 5 months old, but we are not able to spray the repair, it will need to be by brush. Any advice appreciated.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Update to this comparison, since it's been resurrected.

When we painted a few years back, we switched to Alexseal, which is the newest formula from the inventor of Awlgrip (who sold and had to wait for his non-compete to run out). It reported to have the durability of the LP Awlgrip, but was colored entirely throughout, so it was repairable.

Unfortunately, I had to test that claim last year. We were hit by another boat, while asleep on a mooring. The yard was indeed able to fully and undetectably repair the damage. Best of both worlds, it seems. I'm a fan.


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## gonecrusin (Aug 23, 2016)

Awlcraft 2000 is a wonderful paint to work with. Easy to spray, easy to sand, easy to buff and spraying it with griptex is a dream. Repairs are a snap, don't be afraid to block it flat with a fairing compound, spray it with 545, wet sand and then spray with 2000. Any imperfections can be sanded and buffed out.


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## Cmayflower (Dec 20, 2016)

gonecrusin said:


> Awlcraft 2000 is a wonderful paint to work with. Easy to spray, easy to sand, easy to buff and spraying it with griptex is a dream. Repairs are a snap, don't be afraid to block it flat with a fairing compound, spray it with 545, wet sand and then spray with 2000. Any imperfections can be sanded and buffed out.


Great, thank you for that gonecrusin, our only concern is not being able to spray the 2000, so hopefully the 2000 won't be too back with either small roller or brush.


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## gonecrusin (Aug 23, 2016)

Cmayflower said:


> Great, thank you for that gonecrusin, our only concern is not being able to spray the 2000, so hopefully the 2000 won't be too back with either small roller or brush.


If you can't spray it you might consider using Alexseal, as mentioned by others here, it can be rolled I believe. If you are just going to paint a small area you could buy an inexpensive compressor and gun at Harbor Freight. I use a cheapo gun from HF for mold releases like PVA. I just fill it and forget it and don't bother to clean the gun. The cleaner costs more then the gun is worth, I just keep it full so it doesn't dry out.

How big and area will you paint?


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## Cmayflower (Dec 20, 2016)

hmm for such a small area (210mm x 150mm) I think we'll chance the roller/brush.


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## gonecrusin (Aug 23, 2016)

Cmayflower said:


> hmm for such a small area (210mm x 150mm) I think we'll chance the roller/brush.


Sometimes I have to remind myself, at the end of the day it's just paint. if it doesn't work out, sand it off and do it again.


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## MooGroc (Sep 22, 2009)

A guy in our yard painted his 36 mono with Alexseal using tip and brush and it came out fantastic.


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