Upper Hull | Preparation for the Fifth Coat of Gloss

I stated in a previous post that I would be wet sanding the fourth coat of gloss in readiness for the fifth, which I hoped would be the final coat.

I chickened out temporarily, thinking that dry sanding would be so much quicker and easier.

So I got the sander set up ready. Like this.

But something was nagging away in the back of my mind, so I reviewed the Epifanes recommendations. Again.

That didn't help a lot. The product guide tells us to wet sand for the final coat, but the You Tube tutorial by Dan Lee Boatbuilding tells us to dry sand between all coats with no more than a P220 grit.

Who was right? I decided to consult the technical data sheet for the mono-urethane gloss.

That states categorically that we should be wet sanding with a P400 grit between each coat. It even adds ominously, "Preferably by hand".

I have ignored the data sheet before, with terrible consequences. Which is why I am repainting this boat!

There was nothing to be done about the first four build coats. They had all been dry sanded with a P280 grit.

But I would have to make sure the final coat had a flawless substrate. By wet sanding.

I started work on the port cockpit deck. Like this.

It immediately became obvious that this was going to take a long time to complete. Possibly weeks...

So this is an interim post. At time of writing I have wet sanded the port cockpit deck, rear cabin wall. seatback and the transom.

It may be some time before I post again to say that the task is complete.

Time for a beer, I think.