Painting and DEcorating connundrum

[squawpaint]

Good Morning All. Am new. Am a Decorator. Professional. Self Employed. Have a problem. Am painting a boat! The owner has used Tulip Wood for the access door into the barge, - he primed it using Pre-Cat (which I have no idea about), so that's No. 1 question, "what is Pre-Cat"? He then AllyPrimed the whole lot, I then oil unercoated over the top and then 1 x coat exterior oil eggshell thus far. Yesterday I saw the paint had "exploded" - not bubbled, actual almost rips that when you put your finger underneath, the paint just peels off in shards, - so to my mind, whatever he has primed with has just sat on the surface and not penetrated the timber at all, so any subsequent coats are doing just that too, sitting on the surface and not adheving. Have not worked with Tulip wood before and am wondering what on earth ?? Anyone know anything about Tulip?? AND taking into account it is a barge, so weather weather weather, and now it is December ! Not a good time at all for anything outside, - but I am keen to learn so I can put this right for him, even taking into account I may have to strip the whole lot and start again, or recommend a different timber altogether. Would be so grateful for any info. Have been googling all morning, but can only find Generic stuff on Tulip wood and nothing specific. My name is Nichola. Grateful for any ideas or links I may look into. Have a lovely day. Many thanks

[OchAye]

Hi Nichola

Not of much use, but google's suggestions for "pre-cat" include "lacquer" "epoxy" and similar and stands for "pre-catalysed" See this example of someone having problems with a kitchen.

It feels as if the owner has been following American techniques, are you UK based?

PS. I am a DIYer.

[squawpaint]

Thank you so much. Yes, am UK based. Have printed off and will have a good read. Thank you for your time and input :0)))) learning curve lol. I had a feeling - I know I need to completely strip and start again, but just wanted to find out more about tulip wood. - and given this is a barge, living on water, and December in England is rubbish for exterior painting! I have a gut feeling the pre-cat is the problem .

[OchAye]

Some comment I picked on-line without really reading the stuff, referred to tulip wood as being rather soft. Where it flakes you should be able to tell if you are down to raw wood or the primer as there is a possibility the aluminium primer may not have liked sticking on the actual primer used.

It is the wrong time of year and you should be cutting your losses and running away. Even if you don't have much rain there is plenty of humidity and dew overnight that they will keep the wood too wet to paint.

[squawpaint]

Laughing! Indeed! Running fast t'other direction was my inclination, but it is family - and they are up against it - nuff said. I have said that Spring we will give everything a good going over, it is at least better than it was and has been coated to death on the hull etc, so I think and have said, anything now must wait. I just wanted to research stuff properly to understand what in hell had happened. Because I know nowt about Tulip (which yes, is soft, like pine, but fluffy) - and on seeing what had happened, I knew something was terribly wrong, but all the pre-cat and ally had been done before I got there, - it is going to get stripped right back - if I can't persuade him to use another timber altogether!. Many thanks for your writing.