[Rhodes22-list] Painting update

Sun Sep 8 17:04:52 EDT 2013

Graham,

Looks great man! You're almost there. Love that yellow!!!

Cheers,
Ted

On Sep 8, 2013, at 4:42 PM, Graham Stewart <gstewart8 at cogeco.ca> wrote:

> 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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