Week 14
So with the boot stripe on next is the hull paint. After doing the boot stripe it was apparent to me that the two gallons of Gelcoat I had ordered was not enough to do the hull. Several days were spent on redoing the masking for the hull while I fretted about gelcoat quantity. We decided to use neutral base and Tap green pigment to put down a base coat. There was not enough pigment at one store so I got to go to several stores to get enough pigment and neutral base. We are using much larger quantities then they are use to selling this time of year. Chris was feeling comfortable with the gelcoat by this time and it was decided he would shoot the hull
After getting two coats on one side and one on the other on day one of painting we decided to try and tint it down to match the color I had picked (clover green). This meant another trip to Santa Rosa for yellow and white pigment, the Tap store was out of white but I was able to get some from a paint store that carried Tap products close buy. I just love running errands, especially if I can drive on an eight lane freeway at rush hour. There are pics of the first day of painting, none from the second.
First day starboard side
First day port side
We tinted a gallon of the neutral base to match my color, then we mixed all three together so the color was consistent. This gave us two gallons to put on as base or primer and then we could mix the final gallon with a gallon of clear additive. The clear additive makes for a higher gloss and smoother flow for the final coats.
So on day two we got (we means Chris shooting and me mixing and running errands) another two coats on. These coats were the final color. Because of the nature of polyester, the new coats mix with the old because they had been catalyzed but they hadn't been blocked from air for the final set up. The clear additive has a wax in it which acts to block the air. Once you start shooting it you have to keep going to the end. If you stop over night you have to sand before you can add coats.
So on day three Chris got all the final coats on.
Shooting final coats
The Paint God reflects
So after great effort and tension the color is on and there have been no catastrophes yet. This is my response to those that think all boats should be white----with a blue stripe.
Shark bow
Looking Good
So now its time to start putting things back to gether. We will have to wait at least a week before color sanding and polishing.