FYW, I just painted the bilge in my wife's X2 and posted my thoughts in post #11 here:
http://www.x-h2o.com/index.php?thre...de-tray-with-no-template.196641/#post-2039527
Prep is everything. I sandblasted the interior of the X2 bilge and then vacuumed out the sand. And repeated about three times. Where at least a pink respirator when sandblasting to avoid silicosis if using sand of any kind.
FYI, this is from your suggested paint's Data Sheet:
"All epoxies will chalk and fade when un-topcoated in exterior environments. Apply appropriate topcoat
if aesthetics are required."
Awesome! I’ve so far spent a couple days of sanding and prep work, hats off to anyone who cares this much about their ski! After all the projects I’ve done and machines I’ve built, digging foam out of a salt water logged ski then grinding and sanding its interior and exterior is easily one of the hardest and most painstaking things I’ve ever had to do. Just so tedious. All I can think about while working is how much fun this is going to be when it’s finished... ahh one day.
Anyways, I have been using a pink respirator for everything so far and I’m hoping it’s enough. I have to admit my lungs do feel a bit tickly after being around this swirling glass dust. I’m not sure how much better of a respirator I could find. As for the paint my goal is to have any color other than White, Grey or Red. I can’t find any “bilge paint” in colors other than those. I would honestly rather have a raw inside, than to paint it one of those colors. I’m very intrigued by the Tile-Clad HS, I understand some resins aren’t compatible and also some will not work with SMC. But after reading about the properties of the paint, I can’t see why it wouldn’t bond to the epoxy resin and biax that I’m using for the reinforcement. I have the phone number to our local rep and I’m going to contact him for further information. I’ve been reading on other boating sites of people using this paint for the bilge and it working just as well as bilge paint itself. I understand that some of you don’t care about “color schemes” and “matching colors” and I can completely respect that. I on the other hand really love to see creative and artistic renditions of whatever it is you choose to build, be it cars, trucks, motorcycles, jet skis, anything. I’m a big fan of just as much thought and care being taken for the aesthetic, as well as the mechanical integrity of any given machine. I’m really considering trying this paint to give an honest opinion if anyone in the future wants to paint the inside of their hull a specific color, which can be done with the Tile-Clad HS paint.
For prep work, what else can I do other than sand with 80-120 grit and a multi-tool, handwork and a dremel...? I’m hesitant to sandblast the inside. But there is a local blasting shop a few miles up the road... would that be worth looking into?
