Sunday, July 15, 2012

Real Progress

Bulwark primed.
Not that I wasn't making progress before, but now it feels like I'm really rolling. I was finally able to lay down the first coat of Primekote epoxy primer on the decks forward of the cockpit this weekend.  I'd been putting it off for a few weeks now because I always managed to find another area to sand, but I finally said enough and went to it.

The temps this week have been nasty for New Hampshire; mid 90's and humid so I decided to do the job as early as possible so I could get out of the boatshed before it turned into a furnace.  Even if I could take the ridiculous temperatures in the shed anytime after 10 am, the sweat that literally pours off me would certainly ruin any finish so I started at 5 am, just after sunrise.

I did it in 2 parts, the first morning I painted the bulkwark sides and top (under where the caprail will go).  I used a 2" high density foam roller that was a perfect fit for the job.  First I wiped down the entire bulwark forward of the cockpit with 2333N brushing thinner and then mixed up 10oz total of the Primekote.  Then I rolled and tipped it off starting at the bow and then working back on each rail.  All told (with the 20 minute induction time) it took about 2 hours.  Everything went according to plan and I didn't sit in any paint or dump the bucket in my lap (this has happened to me before).  I left for the day and let it bake.

Looks good to me.
At 5 am this morning I set out to tackle the fore deck and side decks forward of the cockpit.  Same procedure as the day before but a bigger area and more paint (25oz total including 20% 2333N brushing thinner).  Everything went well with job as well, but I needed to change out the roller half way through because it was showing signs of coming apart.  This time I used a 7" high density roller though.  The only other glitch was that toward the end I was running very low on paint and had to stretch the last few feet (I worked from the starboard aft side forward, onto the fore deck, and then down the port side working aft).

I'm really happy with the results. There were no surprises as far as unexpected 'un-fair' areas.  There are a few areas that still need a bit of additional fairing, but I knew that going into priming.  I wanted to get a more uniform color on the decks so I could better see some of the areas that were still a bit lumpy.  I ordered a 1.5 quart kit of System Three Quickfair for this purpose.  It should be here sometime midweek.  Once that arrives I'll be able to do a final spot treatment for any undesirable areas left on the fore and side decks.

In the meantime I get to get started on the cockpit area aft.  Lots to do in the cockpit and a bit more fairing on the aft deck and areas adjacent to the cockpit.  I have no shortage of work ahead of me, but this was a big milestone.

Very shiny and still wet.  I had to jump off the back of the boat to exit.

In the lower right side of the photo, you can see an area that will need some additional fairing.

Not a great shot, but it all looks pretty clean at least. 

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