everything steelflex

mdue151 · Post by **mdue151** » 23 Mar 2012, 22:07

I have a 12 foot riveted v hull...what steel flex would I need and how much?

Tigerhunter · Post by **Tigerhunter** » 26 Mar 2012, 22:30

I just did my steelflex yesterday and I feel it turned out well. I plan on doing a some sort of write up/ walkthrough because I took pics as I was doing it bbut we will see if I get to it.

My biggest piece of advice.....use squeegees to spread it around on your boat, it works 1000 times better then pushing it with a foam roller. Get different sizes (widths) so you can get in the tight spots, I used my ice scraper that had a squeegee on one side.

Once it was spread around I used a large ~10" foam roller (high quality) mainly to get an even texture and redistribute if it began to sag at all.

Also I ended up with a neat color....I think (the boat is still inside so we will see when it hits real light). I ordered the olive drab and the gray because I was undecided, neither of them were the shade I was looking for so I mixed them. Roughly 5/8 of the olive drab and about 3/8 of the grey turned out pretty good.

Pics to come sooner or later...

MRichardson · Post by **MRichardson** » 28 Mar 2012, 14:36

mdue151 wrote:I have a 12 foot riveted v hull...what steel flex would I need and how much?

1 gallon is more than enough for the exterior. 1 gallon come in 2 ½-gallon containers (1 for each part).

The regular stuff is by far the most preferred (on here, anyway).

groundshock · Post by **groundshock** » 10 Apr 2012, 22:48

How does this stuff hold up to scratches/scrapes/running aground? I launch out of a couple rivers that have no docks, and you have to beach it to land.

Was thinking that paint may not be the best idea in this situation.

Post by **Brine** » 11 Apr 2012, 15:12

groundshock wrote:How does this stuff hold up to scratches/scrapes/running aground? I launch out of a couple rivers that have no docks, and you have to beach it to land.

Was thinking that paint may not be the best idea in this situation.

Not good.

zeedogg · Post by **zeedogg** » 16 Apr 2012, 17:03

Does steelflex go over the top of resins, epoxys, etc? if i buy a boat covered with a jb weld material on -EVERY- freakin rivet, can I put my steelflex over this and be fine?

should i sand it strip it off, then steelflex?

any ideas and opinions welcome. Thanks. PS - could a guy epoxy the inside of a boat *(rivets)* for added 'just in case' protection, or is this a redundant step

Nismoron · Post by **Nismoron** » 22 Apr 2012, 12:40

groundshock wrote:How does this stuff hold up to scratches/scrapes/running aground? I launch out of a couple rivers that have no docks, and you have to beach it to land.

Was thinking that paint may not be the best idea in this situation.

Same problem that I have. I beach at launch all the time. So, what say you guys? how does this stuff hold up to sand an rock abrasions? I ad originally guys planned to touch up the hull often... Until I saw this thread today. I had never heard of this stuff.

Dockside85 · Post by **Dockside85** » 29 Apr 2012, 21:25

One more Steelflex question for any one that knows. I ordered it and I have 1 gallon in the two half gallon containers and the pigment. To save a step in the mixing process, can you simply add all the pigment into the neutral base beforehand so you only have to mix the neutral base and the clear hardener? Or would that throw off the 1:1 mixing ratio?

Bugpac · Post by **Bugpac** » 29 Apr 2012, 21:27

Read the directions, I think your suppose to mix the pigment into the base if i recall. Plus this keeps color uniform, you dont wanna mix pigment every batch, you,ll never get it the exact same. To answer the question tho, You still only have 1 part base, and 1 part hardner. The pigment doesn't factor in to the equation, as it doesn't do anything to affect the chemical reaction cure.

zeedogg · Post by **zeedogg** » 30 Apr 2012, 16:22

Dockside85 wrote:One more Steelflex question for any one that knows. I ordered it and I have 1 gallon in the two half gallon containers and the pigment. To save a step in the mixing process, can you simply add all the pigment into the neutral base beforehand so you only have to mix the neutral base and the clear hardener? Or would that throw off the 1:1 mixing ratio?

medicman619 · Post by **medicman619** » 30 Apr 2012, 22:05

After waiting weeks for the temp to get above 75, it looks like I will be applying my Steel Flex this Weds.

I have read all 23 pages of this post and have only one question. Is there any special gloves that I need to apply this stuff? I work in a hospital and can get regular medical exam gloves. Will those work?

Dockside85 · Post by **Dockside85** » 30 Apr 2012, 23:22

zeedogg wrote:
Dockside85 wrote:One more Steelflex question for any one that knows. I ordered it and I have 1 gallon in the two half gallon containers and the pigment. To save a step in the mixing process, can you simply add all the pigment into the neutral base beforehand so you only have to mix the neutral base and the clear hardener? Or would that throw off the 1:1 mixing ratio?

Got it! I called Fascoe today and talked to Jerry. I guess what was throwing me off was that if I mixed all of the 4 oz of pigment into the half gallon of the neutral base that when I mixed 1 cup of the base and pigment with 1 cup of the clear hardener that it's actually a bit less than 1 cup of the true base because the pigment is mixed in it. I tend to overthink things and confused myself!

Thanks everyone! You all are a wealth of information!

Post by **Brine** » 01 May 2012, 08:33

medicman619 wrote:After waiting weeks for the temp to get above 75, it looks like I will be applying my Steel Flex this Weds. I have read all 23 pages of this post and have only one question. Is there any special gloves that I need to apply this stuff? I work in a hospital and can get regular medical exam gloves. Will those work?

Yes

medicman619 · Post by **medicman619** » 05 May 2012, 23:39

Here are some pictures of my Steel Flex application. Had one serious sag near the bow after the second coat went on. I did the two person application. I found if you want a thinner coat, it is best not to pour the steel flex and try to push it around. We had problems controlling the thickness when poured. It's best if you can dip your brushes and then apply it. Also, we felt that the foam brushes did not work as well as inexpensive paint brushes. It was much easier to move the epoxy around than the foam brushes and rollers. Only draw back was the occasional loose bristle in the paint. The temp was 82+ degrees and seemed to be a good working temperature. We only had one batch that seemed to set up too quick. The paint on the boat is Krylon Camo Flat Olive Drab, and the Steel Flex is Olive Drab as well, using all of the pigment. The color match is better than it looks in the pics. It won't be perfect because one is gloss and the other is flat. Hope this helps someone!

Firescooby · Post by **Firescooby** » 06 May 2012, 00:52

medicman619 wrote:Here are some pictures of my Steel Flex application. Had one serious sag near the bow after the second coat went on. I did the two person application. I found if you want a thinner coat, it is best not to pour the steel flex and try to push it around. We had problems controlling the thickness when poured. It's best if you can dip your brushes and then apply it. Also, we felt that the foam brushes did not work as well as inexpensive paint brushes. It was much easier to move the epoxy around than the foam brushes and rollers. Only draw back was the occasional loose bristle in the paint. The temp was 82+ degrees and seemed to be a good working temperature. We only had one batch that seemed to set up too quick. The paint on the boat is Krylon Camo Flat Olive Drab, and the Steel Flex is Olive Drab as well, using all of the pigment. The color match is better than it looks in the pics. It won't be perfect because one is gloss and the other is flat. Hope this helps someone!

That looks REALLY nice!!!

Question: How many coats, how much did you have, and did you have any left?

Trying to figure out if I'm gonna have enough to go up on the sides some.