Painting and Refinishing for Marine Industry

For nearly 30 years, boat owners in the Greater Cleveland, Ohio, area have turned to Parker Marine (Sheffield, Ohio USA) for skill and craftsmanship in boat refurbishment and repair.

The company provides a wide range of services, including upgrades to hull structure, electrical work, plumbing, engine and transmission repair, and sailboat rigging. But some of the most tedious and timeconsuming work comes in the form of bodywork and finishing.

“Painting and refinishing is a tedious process that can take weeks to complete if it’s not done well,” explains Dick Parker, owner of Parker Marine. “There are intervals of sanding, spraying and resanding with different grains in order to get the finish perfect. It can get very labor intensive.” Always looking for a better way to do things, Parker turned to his contacts at Nordson Corporation, for a different painting solution.

Nordson is a pioneer in the spraying of waterborne and solvent-based paints, and one of the industry’s leading suppliers of spraying technology. For Parker Marine, Nordson recommended its newest line of manual liquid spray guns – Trilogy™ non-electrostatic guns.Trilogy guns incorporate the latest in design technology, providing excellent spray quality, the durability to withstand harsh manufacturing environments and ease of handling and maintenance. In addition, the guns are available in many configurations to accommodate jobs of all types and sizes.

Parker acquired two Trilogy spray guns for his company. The first is a gravityfed gun, which he uses for touch-up jobs.

The second is a pressure-fed gun, which he used for a very specific gelcoat repair job on a 42-foot sport yacht that suffered severe body damage during a storm. The yacht had several scrapes and holes down the starboard side, resulting from being banged around by docks that were ripped from their moors during a 2014 storm.

“This boat was beautifully rich in color,” says Parker. “The finish was dark blue and iridescent purple. Dark colors are a true challenge – flaws in the finish show up pretty clearly on dark exteriors, far more so than on a lighter color exteriors. “This was a newer boat and my customer expected us to get it right, so the pressure was on,” he continues. “We noticed a difference right away in using the Trilogy spray gun. The painting quality was far superior to our old spray gun and it had a much better feel than our old gun had.

The spray pattern was noticeably improved, allowing the gelcoat to lay on the substrate very smoothly.” The gelcoat was fed from a pressure pot to the Trilogy spray gun, making it easier to cover the large area without having to stop spraying and mixing additional material. This ensured a consistent color, which contributed to a consistent, smooth finish.

In addition to the pressure-fed Trilogy spray gun, Parker is also using a gravity-fed version for touch-up jobs, which are extremely common at his 30,000 square-foot facility.

The Trilogy gravity-fed gun is ideal for smaller jobs. It is easy to handle and maneuver because of its optimum center of gravity and swiveling air connection. Because of the innovative design, gun maintenance is simple. Its cost-to-performance ratio makes the Trilogy gravity-fed an excellent choice for everyday repairs.

"This has become our go-to gun for a variety of projects," explains Parker. "We use it almost daily because it is perfect for touch-up work, easy to use and provides a great finish."

For more information on Trilogy™ non-electrostatic spray systems, talk with your Nordson representative or visit our website at www.nordson.com/liquid. To learn more about services offered by Parker Marine, call 440.949.6151 or visit www.parkermarineinc.com.