Upper Hull | Applying Gloss!

The big day came when I applied the first coat of white Epifanes 3248 gloss to the upper hull.

I employed the tools and techniques learned from practice on the companionway slide and drop boards.

The paint is thinned with 10% Epifanes Brush Thinner and applied with a Rota foam sleeve roller, and tipped out with an ANZA Elite Pro 100mm tipping out brush.

Here they are.

The brush is washed with thinners before use and kept with its own tray of thinned paint for tipping out.

I wash the brush with thinners when mixing a fresh batch of paint to keep it soft and supple.

This approach worked well in the trials and again when painting the upper hull.

Here is the first coat on the forward deck well and cabin roof, viewed from starboard.

This is what the cockpit looked like.

I did this over two days; one for the cockpit and one for the topsides. It took about nine hours in all.

There are some residual brush marks but they are not excessive, and I did not once lose the wet edge.

And the finish is flat and very shiny.

So overall I am pretty pleased with the outcome. I will leave the paint to harden for a couple of days before I sand it for the second coat.

I can hardly believe that we really are approaching the end of the repaint, and the boat is looking good!

Non-Slip Finish | Test Piece

The cockpit deck and the cabin roof would clearly need some sort of non-slip finish, because they will be very slippery when wet and potentially dangerous.

I had previously tried the original TeaMac non-slip paint on a test piece. The paint contains some sort of aggregate. It looks and feels like rough sand when cured.

This is it.

Not only was it unsightly, it would be unpleasant to sit or stand on.

So I tried rubber granules from Soft Sand, applied to the original gloss paint.

This is what it looked like.

This was an improvement on the grey paint, but I now thought it was rather coarse and didn't look professional enough.

So I asked Paul at BoatPaint UK what he would use, and he said that Awlgrip Griptex is the best non-slip product that they supply, so I purchased a quart can.

This is it.

It is applied by shaker onto wet gloss paint and allowed to dry. Then any loose compound is removed and another light coat of gloss is applied to seal the finish.

So I made a test piece, like this.

Here is the finished article.

The compound is very fine and has produced a flat, matt surface that looks good and is pleasant to the touch, so that is what I will use when fitting out is complete.

How amazing to be thinking this far ahead!

Transom Skirt | Cleaning Up Edges

I had been worried that the white primer on the transom skirt might have a 'stepped' edge due to several coats being applied without being able to pull the masking tape and flatten the edge between coats.

So I removed the tape, like this.

There was a slight step, but the edge itself was not as crisp as expected. It looked like this.

I has used 3M 244 Professional masking tape on this edge, which has worked perfectly until now on straight edges. But clearly it does not like curves, even as slight as the transom skirt.

So I cleaned up the edge and resolved to use 3M 218 Fine Line tape when re-taping.

My plan was to apply fresh tape and then carefully sand away the tape and the primer, thereby avoiding damage to the blue gloss.

Here I am retaping with 218.

I then tried sanding the tape and the primer, but it didn't work. So I had to accept that a small step on the edge was unavoidable.

The edge was now clean and sharp so I simply re-taped and re-covered the transom, like this.

The next paint to grace the upper hull will be its first coat of white gloss. Hooray!

Seatback Lockers | Priming Interiors (2)

Painting inside the seatback lockers was always going to be a challenge due to their inaccessibility.

Stripping away the old paint was bad enough, but adding fresh was difficult. In a previous post I described my first attempt using an ordinary brush, which failed.

I then found that a foam roller was a good way to prime the back and forward walls and the floor, but it was not possible to cover the remainder.

I tried using a foam brush with the handle shortened, to get into the corners. This is it.

It didn't work very well, and made lots of mess.

I then tried using a sash brush to get into the corners, but that was not effective either.

Finally I hit upon the idea of using a foam pad to simply dab the primer on.

Here it is, with the sash brush.

The foam pad worked well! I applied four coats of primer and moved on to the next task. This is one of the lockers looking aft to the boom gallows pole support bracket.

You can see that the interior has been fully primed.

Only the front and back walls and the floor need to have a show finish, and they will be easy to sand for the gloss.

Upper Hull & Rudder | Touching Up Patches

As described in a previous post, I sanded through to the substrate in places when sanding the primer on the upper hull to get it ready for gloss.

This is what the cockpit looked like when I had marked each bare patch with tape, and applied several coats of primer.

And this is the rudder, similarly marked.

I used P240 finishing paper to sand the the patches. It has a cloth backing so is very soft and flexible when sanding rounded or contoured surfaces.

This is it.

It can be easily torn into suitably sized pieces, like this.

This is the cockpit after all the touch ups had been finished.

And this is the rudder.

Amazingly, the hull is just about ready for gloss paint!

Drop Boards, Companionway Slide & Tabernacle | Gloss Paint Trials

It would soon be time to start applying gloss to the upper hull so I carried out some trials by painting the drop boards, companionway slide and tabernacle.

I had already established that the 'official' recommendation from Epifanes on how to apply gloss is not satisfactory. They tell us to apply paint with a foam roller, with no tipping out. As expected, this produces an 'orange peel' finish - see previous post on this subject.

So I wanted to test tipping out brushes and techniques, and the relative merits of Epifanes thinners and Easy Flow for thinning the gloss.

The slide received six coats of white gloss. I sanded with a P320 grit between coats, as recommended by Epifanes, and pulled all masking tape before the paint cured to preserve a flat edge.

This is the slide after sanding the second coat of gloss, and with tape applied for the next.

And here it is after the sixth coat, with the tape pulled.

The drop boards only received three coats while this was happening because I could only paint one side at a time.

They turned out pretty nice. Here they are.

The findings were as follows.

Epifanes Brush Thinners and Easy Flow both worked well. I added 10% to the paint in both cases, and when applied with the ANZA professional tipping out brush I could not tell the difference. Both maintained the wet edge, flowed out well and left residual brush marks.

I tried using a 1 1/2" (38mm) brush for tipping out, as I did when painting the bottom, but I found it left variable and visible brush marks. So that's a reject.

An online tutorial recommended soaking the tipping out brush in thinners before use. I tried this and also used a separate tray with its own supply of thinned paint to keep it wet.

This is the brush and roller.

This kept the wet edge extremely well, to the extent that the problem has been eliminated. I also found that dipping the brush in more thinners as soon as it started to stiffen kept it supple and soft.

So I will thin the gloss with thinners for the initial coats of paint, and with Easy Flow for the final couple of coats.

I am looking forward to painting the upper hull!

Bare Substrate | Touching Up

I mentioned in a previous post that I had sanded through the primer in places when preparing for gloss.

These patches would need to be touched up to hide them before gloss could be applied.

The interior of both seatback lockers also need to be fully primed, so I am doing that at the same time.

This is the the rudder with grey and white primer touch-up coats applied. I have also given the underside of the bottom plate its seventh and final coat.

These patches are on a Dorade box and the first coat of primer has been applied.

You can see that the bare patches almost disappear after just one coat, which is why the blue tape markers are so important. Without them I would quickly lose track of most patches.

I decided to use a roller to prime most of the seatback locker interiors. It turned out to be much easier and more effective than a brush, given the poor access.

Here is one locker after its second coat.

I will use a brush to paint the corners which I can't reach with the roller.

I am using finishing paper to dry sand the edges and corners smooth. This is it.

This packet contains P180, P320 and P400 grit sheets. I purchased it some time ago, and it is now exactly what I need to finish the touch-ups.

Progress is being made, albeit slowly.

Companionway Slide & Drop Boards | First Gloss!

The companionway slide and both drop boards had been sanded to a P220 finish ready for gloss.

The time came for a practice with the new Epifanes mono-urethane to see how it behaved on application.

I had been viewing online videos on how to apply this paint, including two official Epifanes tutorials.

One is on the Epifanes website and shows how to paint a fibreglass kayak. The other is on the Dan Lee Boatbuilding website and shows how to apply mono-urethane on wood. Dan is the 'poster boy' for Epifanes products here in the UK, and is very informative.

However, one thing surprised me in both videos. The tutor did not tip out the paint with a brush. They simply rolled it on with a foam roller and left it to flow out of its own accord.

Oner viewer asked Dan about this and his reply stated that he rarely does any tipping out.

I was sceptical about this approach, but decided to give it a try anyway when practising on the companionway slide and drop boards.

I mixed the mono-urethane with 10% Epifanes Easy Flow to maximise flow out and carefully rolled on the first coat.

This is the companionway slide.

This is the upper drop board.

And this is the lower drop board.

And here is the slide with the masking tape pulled.

You can see even in these pics that the surface has an 'orange peel' finish, which is exactly what I expected.

It's nice and shiny and seems very hard after 48 hours, but it looks awful.

I can only assume that this is deemed acceptable by Epifanes, but I don't agree.

It was worth a try but we can now rule out 'roller only' application.

The next practice run will be done with a brush to tip out the gloss.

Onwards and upwards!

Upper Drop Board | Preparing For Gloss

The upper drop board had been painted with Epifanes primer and mono-urethane gloss to check that it did not blister when exposed to rain, which had happened to the original yacht enamel. Hence the repaint...

Left outside for some weeks, the Epifanes passed the test and the drop board was set aside.

Now that we were preparing for gloss it was time to re-prepare the upper drop board for fresh paint.

I wet sanded it with a P400 grit to obtain a perfectly flat and smooth surface.

This is what it looked like.

The work light highlights any imperfections, and the hairdryer dries the wetted surface to reveal any residual brush marks.

That didn't take long and the board was again set aside to await gloss. Hooray!

All The Rails | Preparing For Gloss

The upper hull had been fully primed and sanded smooth, so it was time to mask off the rails in anticipation of gloss paint. How exciting!

First came the rub rails. I used 3M 244 professional masking tape to mark up the join, overlaid with ordinary paper masking tape to protect any bare wood on the rails. It looked like this.

Next came the toe rails, again masked off with the high quality 3M tape with ordinary tape protecting bare wood. Like this.

Lastly came the companionway hood grab rail, masked off in the same way. Here it is

A small step but it means we are now genuinely contemplating the application of gloss paint, which is amazing!

Lower Drop Board & Tabernacle | Preparing For Gloss

Only the new lower drop board and the tabernacle remained to be sanded in readiness for gloss.

That feels really good to know - we must be near the end!

The usual method was used, with a P180 grit to remove brush marks followed by a P220 to polish to a smooth finish.

This is the lower drop board being worked on.

After sanding I wash the surface with water to remove the dust and dry it with a small hair dryer. This technique instantly reveals any residual brush marks.

The tabernacle followed. Here it is.

The inside faces had to be done by hand, but they turned out OK.

Next step is touching up all the bare patches and painting inside the seatback lockers.

We certainly are getting there!

Upper Hull | Preparing For Gloss

When the white primer had hardened I sanded the entire upper hull with a P180 grit to remove brush marks, followed by a P220 to polish it smooth.

This is the starboard cockpit deck and seatback being sanded.

As stated in previous posts good lighting is essential for this. The work light in the pic is 30W and excellent for this purpose.

As usual despite great care I sanded through the paint in many places, especially on the edges. So I marked every bare patch with tape for touching them up. They would be difficult to spot when paint had been applied, so markers were essential.

This is the companionway hood.

It looks a bit sad right now but all will be well when the touching up has been done!

Seatback Lockers | Priming Interiors (1)

I had been putting off priming inside the seatback lockers because I knew it would be difficult and messy due to very limited access.

And so it proved at my first attempt. I used a small brush and over-thinned paint.

It wasn't pretty. Here is the outcome.

I decided to sand this back to a smooth surface and try again with a roller. I did a dry run with a roller and it seemed to be much easier and more effective than a brush.

Here is the same locker sanded smooth by hand with a P120 grit.

I will paint the interiors when I next break out the white primer for touching up the upper hull.

Companionway Slide | Preparing For Gloss

The companionway slide had received seven coats of white primer, and now needed to be sanded smooth in anticipation of gloss paint.

I started sanding outside in bright light, as here.

But I instantly remembered that an overhead light source does not reveal brush marks. We need a bright light source, level with and perpendicular to the brush strokes to highlight them by their shadows.

So I went back inside and sanded to a smooth finish with a P220 grit, like this.

It took me ages to perfect this technique - but now I know how to do it, it's easy and quick. Hooray!

Companionway Hood | Priming The Interior

One particularly challenging task was priming the interior of the companionway hood.

I could only use a brush to paint the front and the sides of the hood, and used a long handled roller to paint the top and bottom surfaces.

This is the tool set in action.

These activities had to be done on consecutive days to allow the paint to dry, so it took a long time to apply five coats. I thought five would be plenty, since the interior is not visible and does not require a super-smooth finish.

There is not much to look at, but for the record here is the inside of the hood after five coats of primer.

The next step is to abrade it with a fine grit, ready for gloss.

Rudder | Applying More Primer

As mentioned in a recent post the rudder had received five coats each of grey and white primer and was ready to be sanded smooth to prepare for the final two coats and to remove the 'step' between the two colours on the boot top stripe.

Here the whole rudder has been sanded flat with a P220 grit and taped for the next coat of white primer.

I pulled the tape while the paint was still wet to allow the edges to soften. When dry I taped up for grey primer and applied the sixth coat, again pulling the tape after painting.

Somehow when applying the masking tape I had allowed the top of the boot top stripe on the starboard side to bulge upwards very slightly. It was a tiny amount but very obvious to the eye.

I laid a straight edge along the stripe and pencilled in the straight line again, like this.

You can easily see the bulge as it widens toward the middle of the stripe.

So I taped for the seventh coat of white primer, straightening the stripe at the same time. Like this.

This is the seventh and final coat of white primer applied to the rudder sides, and the fourth coat on the underside of the bottom plate, with the tape pulled.

Then came the seventh and final coat of grey primer on the cheeks and stripe, and the fifth coat of white on the bottom plate. Here it is.

In this pic I have sanded the whole rudder smooth with P180 and P220 grits, flattening the stripe at the same time.

Despite lots of care I inevitably sanded through the paint in some places, leaving bare patches. Here are a couple.

Previous experience tells me that the gloss will not hide these patches, so they will have to be touched up and removed.

So I marked the rudder with tape for all the grey and white touch-up areas. Like this.

You certainly need a lot of patience to paint a boat! At least, to do it nicely...