December 6, 2015
I had intentions of sanding the hull and getting a second coat of the topsides paint on Alva Anne, but the anticipated quick paint job turned into over six hours of work....
I began with small 5"x5" squares of 150-grit paper, folding into workable sizes, and sanded the tape line to about 3 inches into the field. Working the tight spots always takes the most time.
After the tape line was sanded, and the tight angles, I switched to the random orbital finish sander outfitted with 120-grit pads and sanded the balance of the freeboard.
I finished up the sanding and cleaned up the tools and supplies from around the boat, after which I vacuumed the hull surface. I then mixed a smaller batch of the Interlux Perfection Oyster White. While I awaited the 20-minute induction period - the time for the part A and the part B to chemically bond - I wiped the hull down with solvent to remove any of the residual sanding dust.
For the painting I used a 4" foam roller and started at the transom.
From the transom, I moved onto the aft starboard quarter surface and then worked my way around the boat...
...finishing at the aft port quarter. The paint, in a couple places, had a flat appearance as if the paint was contaminated with water. I was a bit paranoid, in this coat, to not mix more paint than I needed, and so I painted with a certain frugality of paint application. AKA, I just got a little stingy with the paint. It's ALWAYS a learning experience, so I will adjust my part A and part B amounts and I will adjust my application method...third and final coat will be brilliant!
The other chore for the day was to prepare the companionway hatch and cockpit locker lids for paint. I started by sanding the get-coat surfaces with 80-grit pads.
I then sanded the undersides with 60-grit pads to prepare for some epoxy work.
The cockpit locker lids needed some support and rigidity. I decided to recycle some short lengths of the boats original rub rail. I cut lengths to stagger their placement on the underside of the locker lids. I cut appropriate lengths of 4" wide 1708 biaxial tape to secure the "stringers" onto the locker lids.
For the installation of "stringers," I first wiped the surfaces with solvent to remove any contaminates. I then applied a thin coating of neat epoxy, as well as the underside of the short length of wood. After all surfaces were coated with neat epoxy, I mixed a batch of epoxy thickened with colloidal silica and applied to the underside of each stringer. I placed the stringers into position of the underside of the locker lids, gently setting into the epoxy base.
I then created a fillet on each side of each stringer section to allow a smooth transition once the fiberglass is laid on. After the fillets were in place, I placed my fiberglass section onto a sheet dog plastic, and one at a time I wet out with epoxy and placed on the wood stringer. With the fiberglass in place, I ensured a good bond by pressing into the epoxy fillet and making sure trapped air was removed from underneath the fiberglass tape. Next step for the locker lids and companionway hatch will be to prep for a coat of Interlux Primekote.
Total Time: 6.25 Hrs.
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