Froonie's First Coat Topsides Paint (blushing?)

     Here we are, at last, the first application of topsides paint.  It has been a long process (much too long, but family and work take the front seats), and now seeing Froonie with her subtle(?) flair is rewarding.  I swear this Sea Sprite was taking its first deep, coming-back-to-life breaths it has taken in a long time - her spirit was awakening!  ....or was that the paint fumes talking?  Well, I still have a bit of work ahead of me: finish the interior painting, re-milling the toe rails (too beefy), installing electrics....but I should be launching in Feb / March!  So on the first day of this new year, I applied the first coat of finish paint to Froonie's topsides, and if you have been reading the blog then you know it is PINK!  Easy now!! This Sea Sprite belongs to my daughter, and she is a aficionado of all things pink, so... 

     I really had no business painting today, with the wind gusting and kicking up.  Though I like to think that with the wind kicking up, Froonie was coming back to life, thanking me for giving her that fresh coat of paint!  Anyway, the wind was such that I knew not to be painting, but I just couldn't help myself.  With that much wind swirling and gusting, I was subject to small earth particles embedding in the paint, the temporary tarp supports crashing down on the boat (or me, which did happen), and the paint flashing off too quickly (which happened).  But I also knew that this first topcoat was a learning coat and that I would be sanding regardless, so I went for it.  

     On my way down to Froonie, I remembered that I had a small gap off the stern that needed attention: between the aft chainplate and the stern, where the chainplate begins a gradual bend pointing towards the masthead, a gap had been filled with thickened epoxy.  Rather than having a new chainplate fabricated, I decided to fill this gap with West System epoxy and high strength gap filler.  I taped off the chainplate and proceeded to apply this solution, but this meant the stern would forgo color today. On to painting...

     The first thing that I did after addressing the aft chainplate was to remove the string marking the waterline, and then to lightly solvent wash the hull to remove sanding dust but as to not remove the pencil reference marks.  That completed, I turned my attention to applying the tape line marking the transition from topsides paint to bottom paint.  Here is where those ever slight "bumps" I saw in the string were eliminated by laying the tap down in such a way as to produce an even line that was pleasing to the eye.  Next I took 220 grit paper, with fingers first feeling for areas that needed sanding attention, hand sanded down to the tape line.  With this last sanding, I had everything north of the tape line ready for paint.  I adjusted the stern jack stands, wiped down the hull and deck, and mixed paint.  I measured out for the 30:1 ratio, but halved this for a 16:1/2 ratio due to the particular quart-sized mixing pot I used which had a 16 ounce mark on it.  The 16:1/2 ratio is good; if anything, a little more subtle on the pink would be a good thing.  It is amazing how far a little red paint will go!  A half-ounce of Interlux Brightsides Fire Red with a little brushing thinner Interlux 333, and I had a nice pink paint to play with!  In having such great success with rolling (not rolling AND tipping) the interior Brightsides paint, I chose to just roll the topsides paint.  I discovered that I may need to tip off the topsides paint, more on that below.  Deep breath...okay let's get on with the pics - I know you have already scrolled down, choosing to skip over my flowery prose :)....

     What to say?  She doesn't look that bad...you know, I am embracing the pink.  Good choice Sky!!

     Stern shot - always a good pic.  What a difference from the day Froonie first touched the jack stands here in FL.

     Port side came out much better, as I had the starboard side to learn how best to roll the Brightsides on.    In addition, I was sheltered from a southerly wind, and this prevented the paint from flashing too quickly.

     A honest blog is not without the errors too - I have had plenty across this project, but I am always close to good help and advice.  In choosing not to tip off the paint, in choosing to paint on such a windy day, in knowing this was a learning coat...I had problems, Houston!  'Fisheyes' were evident as I rolled out the starboard side, and resulted from a combination of the factors just mentioned.  These will be eliminated through a complete 220 grit sanding job that is next on the list.  I will no doubt be tweaking my paint process as well to incorporate a brush for tipping - and maybe an assistant.