It has been exactly one calendar month since I started wet sanding the entire upper hull, as instructed by the Epifanes mono-urethane gloss technical data.
In total the task consumed about 50 hours of wet sanding with P400 wet'n'dry grit. That would only be about 12 days of work at my preferred rate of 4 hours per day. Say two weeks.
But it actually took four weeks because I found myself doing just about anything rather than face the mind-numbing tedium of preparing for the final coat.
So quite a lot of chores got done; domestic, financial, automotive. Even they were more fun than sanding.
But I got there in the end.
The first task was to tape the rails to protect them from water and mess. I used the 3M gold professional tape because it is waterproof.
Here the starboard rub rail, toe rail and the companionway hood grab rail are all taped up.
I sanded the footwell and cockpit first, then the forward deck well. After that came the companionway hood and cabin roof, and finally the topside panels.
Here I am working on the top of the hood.
I did not sand any edges or fillets because I was sure I would sand through to the bare substrate if I did.
So when all the sanding was complete I burnished all the edges and fillets with a medium grit nylon abrasive pad.
At last the day came (today!) when I could stand back and admire the fully prepared upper hull.
This is a view of the cockpit from astern.
And here is the forward deck well and cabin top.
The surface is now beautifully flat, smooth and matt. All ready for what I fervently hope will be the fifth and final coat of gloss.
We will see...
