Thursday, March 20, 2014

Interior paint preparation

I decided that before I got hull panels installed, I wanted to do as much inside finish work as I could while access was still easy.  So I started out by rolling on the final coat of epoxy on the bulkheads and other interior areas.


Everything looks so shiny and nice!  

I thought I was good to go and could proceed immediately to painting the interior spaces white.
  

I had purchased some porch and floor white enamel for this job, but it was a latex paint, and I just felt more comfortable putting on something oil based, so I returned what I had and purchased Rustoleum Gloss White for the job.

To make sure I was getting good adhesion, I painted a small test patch, let it dry, and then was disappointed to find I could scrape it off with my fingernail.  <sigh>

I sanded up another area with my random orbit sander and painted a test patch there, and found I had much better adhesion.  But I couldn't get into all the spaces with my power sander, so I did a third test patch, just removing the gloss with a 120 grit sanding sponge.  That also worked well, so I proceeded to sand all the gloss off my latest coat of epoxy by hand with the sanding sponge.

With everything dulled up, I can start on my painting after cleaning up the dust.

5 comments:

  1. Beautiful workmanship! I'm enjoying your blog very much. I had a similar experience with oil based enamel. It didn't stick well at all to unsanded epoxy, but it sticks very well to sanded epoxy. I'm not sure if it's the smooth finish it doesn't like, or the waxy blush, but sanding fixes both. Mine took a while to fully dry too, like a week. That's when I discovered that thin coats dried in a day or two. When it finally does dry it makes a nice hard finish though. I'm very pleased with Rustoleum. Really nice stuff.

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    1. Thanks, Joel. I'm glad to hear of your good experiences with Rustoleum. I believe that's what Mike Monies used to paint the red Scamp, so I thought I was on solid ground, but I'm glad to have confirmation of that. I'm using MAS epoxy, which is no blush, so I think it must be the sanding that gives the paint something to grip into.

      On my previous boats I have used Interlux Brightsides for the exterior of the hull, but am considering using the Rustoleum for the whole job. It's easy to find, reasonable in cost, and available in many colors. If you've used it on a hull exterior please let me know how that has worked out for you.

      Thanks - Dave

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  2. Hi Dave,
    I've used Brightsides, Rustoleum, and Ace Hardware Porch and Floor on my hulls, all with excellent results. There isn't very much difference between the three. Brightsides is a little bit glossier than the others, but costs 3x to 4x more. Porch and Floor takes longer to dry than the others, but can be mixed in any custom color you want. My favorite is Rustoleum. It dries fast, costs less, has just the right amount of gloss (not too much), has a good enough selection of colors, and it's available everywhere, in several different quantities. It's been on my hull for 3 years now and still looks the same. I sanded between every coat and I think that helps with adhesion, especially over epoxy.

    I'm curious. What part of the country are you located, if you don't mind me asking? I'm just north of Seattle, near "Scamp Central". :-) I sail a Navigator.
    -Joel
    navigatorjoel.blogspot.com

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    1. Thanks for that good summary, Joel. I'm more inclined now to use the Rustoleum both inside and out. I started applying the first coat tonight on the interior spaces. I used the same foam rollers that I use with the epoxy and was pleased that it was thinner than epoxy and rolled out easier. Photos will be in one of the next blog posts.

      This boat is midwestern - being built in SE MN, land of 10,000 lakes, not far from the Mississippi River.

      Hey - I was just looking at your blog the other day. I like your tiller clutch and may do something similar. I had been considering the 'tiller clutch', but I like the DIY aspect of your design. I'll post a comment over there with an idea I have on that.

      Thanks - Dave

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  3. Glad I could be of some help. I was born and raised in Duluth and moved to the Pacific NW in 1978. Been here ever since but I miss those beautiful winters along the North shore of lake Superior.

    I used foam rollers too, the same ones you're using, and then tipped with a disposable foam brush. Worked very well. I'll be starting another boat build shortly (JohnW's latest 'Scraps' dinghy) and I'll be using Rustoleum inside and out.

    Beautiful work Dave! Scamp is wildly popular over here and everyone loves them. You'll love yours too.
    -Joel

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