After I finished sanding with the 5" random orbital sander with 120 sandpaper I went back over all the nooks and crannies with the detail sander. I don't think there is any way to over estimate the amount of time you spend sanding on this structure. When you're going over it 1sq. inch at a time this little 15 ft. boat seems like a cruise ship!
So it was time for me to break out some new tools and supplies. I'm painting the interior with West System WR-LPU (Water Reduceable Linear Poly Urethane). I like this product because it is water reduceable and tough. Cleanup is very easy and (at least in my experience) easy to use. It can be rolled and tipped or sprayed without toxic fumes and it creates a very hard finish. To spray it the instructions recommend a HVLP unit and for this I chose to purchase a Earlex 5500 sprayer. I've used the WR-LPU before but had always rolled and tipped it. Spraying would be a new experience (and a little nerve racking).
The first step in using this type paint is to apply the special high build primer. The primer is an epoxy based mix that is easily sandable and since it is an epoxy product it adheres very well to epoxy reinforced fiberglass. It also goes on pretty thick so it will hide some of the more "minor" surface blemishes. So I mixed up a 20oz batch of the primer. This stuff is really thick and had to be thinned about 15% to be used in the sprayer.
I have a 1.5 mm nozzle kit installed on the sprayer and I ran a couple of test passes over some scrap to get the flow setting correct and then went to work on the boat. My trepidation was soon replaced by elation. The primer went on flawlessly. It will require more coats but the sprayer worked great. You can spray right up to the edge of the masked area and barely get any on the tape. So easy to control.
Once I've built up enough primer I go back over it quickly with the sander and then recoat with the paint. I'm kinda excited about how nice it looks with just the primer!
Hours this session: 4
Hours total: 257
Hours remaining: 163
