First thing this morning I started out by washing the hull again. Then I ran a tack cloth over it. And in the process discovered more bumps and rough spots that got hand sanded and then the tack cloth again. Then it was time to paint!
I've done some more research and decided to try a new technique to see if I can skip the tipping process. The theory is to roll the paint on as thin as possible, but still get coverage. This worked really well. Rolling, rolling, rolling, spreads the paint out and because it drys so quickly (ten to fifteen minutes) I really had to get with the program. I started on the transom to see how it would go and moved around to the port side.
Because I've a natural break in the side with the spray rail I started at the bow, above the spray rail and working in sections worked my way back. I'd roll a section, roll the top and face of the spray rail, and then roll the section again. When I got to the stern I started forward, first using a brush to paint the ninety degree angle between the spray rail and the hull, then the underside of the spray rail then a section.
I did the same on the starboard side and then moved up and painted the shelves and sides on the port side, then the starboard side.
The whole thing went really quickly and the boat has gone from looking like this...
To this...
Wow! What a difference! The primer when wet has the color of chocolate, but dries to a dull brown color and because it's so thin, it does so relatively quickly. Now that dryness is deceptive because while it's dry, it's not hard, so you've still got to be careful about it.
When I went back and looked more closely at the shelves I was surprised to find tons of tiny pinholes in the epoxy! That's bad news because paint won't fill them. So I did a little online research and found a really neat solution, spackling paste! You spread it on and push down hard, then scrape it off and it does a fine job filling the holes. So I took a break to go run some errands, get some of the magic paste and get some late lunch.
Once back at the shed I got to work with the paste. It worked really well and the contrast of the white paste and brown primer made it really easy to see. I used a sanding sponge to smooth it off and another tack cloth to clean it up.
I decided to take a chance on adding a second coat of primer way sooner than I should have, but figured the two coats were so thin I wasn't likely to have problems. Here's the port side shelf after the second coat.
You can still see depressions, but the pinholes are gone. If I find more I'm going to simply fill them with paste and keep right on painting.
I was able to prime everything but the forward deck as I still hadn't finished the bow pulpit so I worked on that. I hand sanded it, wiped it with a tack cloth, coated the bottom and forward deck area with epoxy, made peanut butter for the bottom and fillets and fiberglassed it into place.
That sucker's not going anywhere!
Tomorrow will be really exciting as I'm going to get some paint on the hull. It'll be neat to see the final color going down. I'll also sand that bow pulpit area and get some primer up there. I may have help tomorrow and if so, more paint can go in the cuddy and there's epoxy and fiberglass work to do. Lot's of non-sawdust making activities for the next few days!
8 Hours