Practical Boat Owner — January 2018

84 Practical Boat Owner January 2018 • http://www.pbo.co.uk

VIEW FROM THE BOATYARD

SPRAY PAINTING

expect. The stripes in good condition will

simply peel away given a little persuasion

with a heat gun or, even better, a steam

gun, but where there are nicks or they

have worn thin there are other techniques

using a mix of white spirit, Stanley blades

and also wet and dry sandpaper.

Every last trace of adhesive needs to be

removed. We try to steer clear of

aggressive solvents like acetone which

dissolves the glue but with a high risk of

spreading a thin layer of glue about when

wiping clean. Good lighting and even

better eyes are now required to spot all

the dents, chips and star crazing so that

these can be treated next.

Often the best way is to sand down the

entire topsides area using 150-grit on a

dual action (DA) sander. Note for DIYers,

though, from this point on you need to

employ very good dust extraction. Dust is

the make it or break it of a good spray job,

so we use dust extractors on each DA and

wash down at least twice a day.

Also the deck and lower hull is taped up

with a mix of plastic sheeting and brown

paper. During the course of the project the

boat will be taped and retaped a number

of times.

Primer, repairs and fairing

We’ve had excellent and long-lasting

results using Awlgrip paints over the years

and have got to know the system pretty

well. Once the major damaged areas have

been dealt with the topsides are coated

with the first of three coats of Awlgrip 545

epoxy primer. This effectively seals the

fairing and filled areas as well as providing

a good base for top coats.

After the coat is dry we lightly spray a

contrasting colour to act as a guide coat

and sand back. The guide coat will quickly

show any high spots or valleys that can be

spot filled. This process is repeated

another couple of times until we are 100

per cent happy that the topsides are true

and fair.

White is a difficult colour to work with, so

we use a contrasting guide coat which

White is a difficult colour to work with, so a contrasting guide coat is used

which helps to identify the highs and lows, the imperfections on the hull

Spick and span after the third coat is completed, which

signals the moment the boss comes out to inspect

Filler and fairing repairs are sealed under the first coat of

545 epoxy primer, which is a good base for top coats

New vinyls being applied with precision