TotalBoat TotalBoat Topside Primer (White, Quart)

Never again... Wanted to prep and paint the two halves of my center console helm. Read reviews and watched videos. That on top of my being fairly experienced with marine fiberglass and paint work. Opened the prime and mixed thoroughly. As per the instructions I reached for a brush to work right out of the can... Big big big mistake. This stuff I assume can only be rolled and that with a minimum of 10% thinning. It would have been nice had the instructions even hinted that these two steps are required. The result was horrible with deep brushstrokes. I should have quit after first 4 brush strokes but assumed it would flatten upon drying. Ha! Next dait looked like crap! Though 48 hours later I could sand it smooth. Ha again. The stuff was not nearly dry. Like mud. Unbelievable. Called the tech line to hear that it must be thinned and rolled. Imagine that. Was told the first coats need to be ultrathin to the point of transparency. Wow wish that had been in the directions. A week later I just spent the last 8 hours grinding it all off. And don't try anything short of 40 grit. Even that clogs in minutes. 15 discs later I am done with the only positive being that sanding does not produce dust. It comes off like grains of sand. First time I ever spent that length of time with a sander and did not have to dust off pants after. Weird stuff... Anyway such was my experience. I share it here in the hope that thinning and rolling transparent coats will produce a better outcome. But I leave that to someone else to discover. As for me I got my money back from Amazon no questions asked.

This stuff is great boat primer but wow is it thick...Thinning is a must and if your going to spray it like I did...get the Totalboat spray thinner...Spray it on lightly.

I set out to repaint my 2002 Boston Whaler so I prepped it as stated. WOW instant regret!! Difficult to apply is an understatement! Even after thinning it out as stated it seemed to dry instantly! Yet when sanding it to apply the first coat of paint it took almost 2 weeks. In those 2 weeks I attempted to sand and it kept clogging it up. In comparison I didn’t use this primer on another section of the boat and the first coat dried good enough in 48 hours where it wasn’t clogging up the sandpaper. You be the judge.

Generally, I am a fan of Total Boat products. I find them to be very high quality and a great value compared to some of the other "name" brands. I have bought enough of them recently to own stock in the company. That said, I am not at all a fan of this primer. Thankfully, I applied it to my transom as a "test case" before applying to my entire topsides. I thinned 5% , and applied with a 1/8 inch mohair roller between 2 and 3 mils wet film thickness (measured with gage) as directed. At 75 degrees F, it flashed so fast it could not be tipped even working in small sections. It dried fully within a couple hours as advertised. I then attempted sanding starting after about a 4 hour cure, and then every day thereafter for the next 5 days. It is DEFINITELY NOT SANDABLE as stated, even after 5 days cure. It loads up dry #220 grit almost immediately. I had limited success hand sanding and DA sanding with #220 wet, but that was an extremely slow process and I gave up trying to sand it down to a orange peel free finish. The primer is MUCH, MUCH, MUCH harder to sand than properly cured Wet Edge topside paint. It does not produce a "fine white powder" as does the cured Wet Edge, or for that matter, any other "sandable" primer, including Total Boat epoxy barrier coat. Upon consultation with Jamestown Distributors, they confirmed that the primer is an unnecessary step if using Wet Edge over aged, dewaxed, cleaned, and scuff sanded (#220) gelcoat. I also noticed that the topside primer "re-softens" almost immediately if wiped with rag dampened with spray thinner 101 to remove sanding dust prior to painting topcoats. I also noticed that Wet Edge applied over this primer takes MUCH longer to cure than does Wet Edge applied to any surface other than this primer. I may wind up using the primer under the topcoat for the "diamond non-skid" portions of my deck, as it would actually be a benefit to create a little texture on those areas. But for areas that you want to be smooth as glass, this primer is a net negative step. I am planning to just apply extra coats of Wet Edge and sand more thoroughly after the first couple coats to hopefully get rid of the orange peel caused by the primer coat. Please save yourself cost and frustration, and skip this primer if applying Wet Edge over properly prepared gelcoat.

Went on easily with 1/4 in. nap roller. Affected more by the surface temperature than the air temperature.