Hull Side Panels | Finishing The Finish

I wanted to get a really good finish on the blue hull sides so I employed the same methods used on the bottom.

First I wet sanded both sides with P800 wet and dry. Here is the starboard side.

Then I did the same again using P1500, P2000 and P2500 wet and dry paper. This is the port side.

Lastly I used the Rotex 90 in rotary mode to polish the surfaces.

This is the sander using a medium P5000 (red) polisher and compound.

Then we use a fine P9000 (blue) compound and an extra-fine P11000 (white) compound to complete the finish. Here they are.

This was the result on the starboard side at the stem.

It's beautifully smooth but like the bottom I'm not too impressed with its shine or depth of colour.

I will live with it for a while and see how I feel about it ...

Hull Side Panels | Priming The White Stripe

I thought that it would be wise to use white primer over the light grey primer on the hull side panels, to be sure that the white stripe would be same shade as the bottom.

Here I have masked off the white stripe and applied a coat of white primer.

I think that should look nice when painted!

Hull Bottom Panels | Finishing The Finish

I decided to aim for a better finish on the bottom panels, not because they would be on show but because I wanted to practice before tackling the topsides at some future date.

Accordingly I invested in some wet and dry sandpaper and a set of polishing attachments and compounds for the Rotex 90 sander.

First I pulled the masking tape on the blue stripe.

Then I wet sanded the bottom panels with P800 through to P2500 grits.

Lastly I polished the panels with Festool polishing compounds from P5000 through to P11000.

This was the result.

The surface is now beautifully smooth - like glass - but it isn't as shiny as I had hoped.

I will no doubt find a way of improving the lustre at some point, not that it matters on the unseen bottom panels which will in any case get scraped and scratched in use.

We're getting there, slowly but surely!

Hull Side Panels | More Gloss

When the Hempel filler had cured I sanded the affected surfaces flat with a P220 grit and applied four more coats of paint.

This is the paint I am using. The colour is Oxford Blue, appropriately enough!

I used this roller and a foam brush for tipping out.

I left the paint to fully harden for a couple of days and then sanded the surface with a P280 grit to get a nice flat surface. As here.

Lastly I applied a sixth coat of gloss, hoping it would be the last. This was the result.

Looking good!

When the paint was dry I pulled the masking tape on the stripes, as here.

It left a lovely sharp edge with no bleeding. This 3M tape is excellent stuff!

Hull Side Panels | Gloss Paint & Bubbles

I masked off the white boot top stripe and applied the first coat of blue gloss to the sides, using a 4" roller and a foam brush for tipping out.

Not surprisingly it looked pretty patchy, as in this view from astern.

The following day I was slightly dismayed to find that a number of tiny bubbles had formed as the paint dried overnight. I had no idea why and didn't spend any time worrying about it.

This is what the surface now looked like, in some places.

That would not do at all! So I carefully ground out the bubbles with a fine carbide burr in my small cordless drill, and filled them all with Hempel Profair filler.

This is how it looked.

Not pretty, I know, but I was sure that subsequent coats of gloss would cover it all up nicely.

Onwards and upwards!

Boot Top | Marking Up

I decided at the start of the build that I wanted PocketShip to have a handsome boot top stripe, like the prototype.

It's a lot of trouble to do properly and some builders don't bother, but I thought it was worth the effort.

The first step was to determine how wide the white stripe on the blue side panels should be, and how far down the sides it should be located.

After consulting lots of of photos I concluded that the stripe should be about 38mm from the edge of the white bottom section at midships.

I used the laser level to mark up the top edge of the stripe, and then adjusted the bottom edge until it landed fairly at the stem and stern as shown in various builders' pics.

This is what the white stripe looked like when pencilled in half way along the hull. 

Here is what it looked like at the stem.

And this is what it looked like where it crossed the chine and ran along the bottom panels to the transom.

I adjusted the edges fractionally at the bow and stern to make sure they landed in exactly the same place on both sides of the hull.

Lastly I used the laser level to ensure that all was level and straight across the transom, like this.

Notice how the stripe varies in width depending on the angle of the side or bottom panel, being exactly level itself from stem to stern.

I think that will look really nice. I'm happy with that!

Hull Side Panels | Sanding

When the primer had hardened I sanded both side panels to a flat, smooth finish using a P220 grit.

They looked like this.

Looking nice!