[Rhodes22-list] Painting update

[Graham Stewart]

Somewhat to my surprise, I have made more progress painting the deck and
transom of Ariel than I expected so I feel compelled to share the progress
with those who insist on posting pictures of their boats actually in the
water. Also I hope to encourage those with older boats they want to preserve
but without boat painting or spray painting experience to view the project
as not requiring the complete leaving of one senses - although that helps
too.

I have been using the System Three waterborne epoxy system. It is an
interesting paint with a number of advantages and disadvantages. Most
important to me is that a novice do-it-yourself type can actually spray
paint this stuff at home without killing himself and the neighbours. Unlike
the other epoxy paints, this stuff is virtually odourless and safe. 

It dies to touch very quickly - usually an hour - and if recoated within 24
hours does not require sanding. So I was able to apply 3 coats in a day. It
is best done on cool humid days which is not a problem in Ontario right now.
I think this paint will take more coats than something like Perfection would
but the fact that you don't need to sand between coats and its quick dry
time are important factors that compensate for the additional coats that
will be needed. I currently have applied 3 coats of primer and three coats
of the finish. The deck is an off white and the transom is the System Three
stock  yellow - which turned out, amazingly,  to be an almost perfect match
for the rest of my boat that was painted in some unknown epoxy paint over 20
years ago and still looks good. The transom was badly damaged when the
rudder popped of the gudgeon while at anchor during a rough period. It
pounced around for several days chewing up the gelcoat before I realized
what had happened. I included a picture of the transom after it was repaired
but before it was painted.

The transom picture gives a fairly realistic view of what the paint looks
like when applied. Although it is considered to be a "satin"  finish it
looks pretty glossy to me. Also, you can see the texture in the paint
created by the base coat that goes on rough. More sanding would have removed
more of the texture. In the case of the deck I actually wanted to preserve
the textured look to reduce glare so I sanded very little. I plan to add an
additional couple of coats of yellow to the transom as the paint looks good
but does not hide very well. Fortunately that will be a quick job given the
fast drying time. The off-white seems to cover better but if you use this
paint be prepared to apply many coats.

The deck centre are looks like the paint is peeling but in fact that is
masking. In repairing the deck I applied cloth and epoxy to the entire
non-skid area so I will need to apply non-skid in that area later - much
later. I intend to use Kiwi Grip and it is best applied to the base coat.

Because the paint dries so quickly very few bugs or other dust and airborne
debris will become entrapped. It takes about a week for the epoxy  to cure
but that doesn't stop you from doing other work on the boat if you just
avoid scraping or abrading the finish. Even so, it is very tough almost
immediately. I have actually had to sand fairly aggressively to remove
imperfections just hours after the paint was applied so I am not seeing the
need to be excessive gentle with it. Reportedly it has a very hard finish
that will endure. I sure hope so as I have no intention of doing this again.

I had surprisingly few runs and that certainly isn't a testament to my
skill. I am not sure why because the paint seems very thin to me compared to
traditional paints - almost watery. Others have complained about it running.
I think the trick is to be content with multiple very thin coats and
absolutely resist the urge to go back over spots that were missed. When runs
do occur, wipe them up with a foam brush right away and the paint seems to
fill in the brush marks quite well.

The HVLP system I used cost me $35 on clearance but is available on sale at
Rockler often for about $140. I got an extra length of hose and jointed then
together with 3/4 plastic pipe and duct tape. Aside from the obvious
advantage of a long hose for a big project like this, the hose also lets the
air, which is heated by the turbine, to cool off before it reaches the gun.
It is surprising how warm the hose is at the turbine but at the gun most of
the heat is gone. That turns out to be important as this paint is very
sensitive to heat and dryness. That long hose plus the fact that the outside
temperature was about 64 degrees and the air very humid - it was actually
raining at times - seems to have made the job much easier. From what I have
read, those who use the paint in hot dry climes can have real difficulty
with it drying before it can run out.

On the whole I am delighted with the paint. I have never used a spray gun
before and had very cheap HVLP equipment. The fact that the job looks
reasonably good and much better than I had expected is a miracle. It isn't
perfect but I think it is much better than anything I could have done with
the roll and tip method - especially on the deck with the irregular shapes
and difficulty keeping a wet edge with traditional epoxy paints.

I must say that there is a tremendous sense of relief when the painting is
done.

Graham 
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