Iips for painting a Laser hull.

[Steam Flyer]

I'll give it another go tomorrow.

Remember you have to take it down evenly, you want to end up with a fair hull not a waffle iron.

FB- Doug

 

[Admiral Hornblower]

Update! After much deliberation I decided that I would paint the laser.

First I sanded the scratches out as best as I could with 120 grit and in some areas even 40 grit ( don't cringe) I still had to fill numberless scratches with Bondo though.

Then I sanded the entire boat again finer grit, then I cleaned it, and finally, got rid of any dust. I then applied a coat of Primer https://www.amazon.com/Rust-Oleum-207014-Marine-Fiberglass-Primer  the next day I sanded it, first with 220 then 400. Today, I applied the first coat of topcoat https://www.amazon.com/Rust-Oleum-Available-207005-Topside-Battleship/  (with thinner) using the roll'n tip method. I plan to apply at least 2 more coats.



there is obviously a bit of orange peel, I was planning on knocking it out with sanding...correct?

when rolling and tipping properly is it expected to have orange peel?

thanks, Adm.H

 

[Steam Flyer]

......  there is obviously a bit of orange peel, I was planning on knocking it out with sanding...correct?

when rolling and tipping properly is it expected to have orange peel?

thanks, Adm.H

No, the goal is to have it lay down beautifully flat. It might be too much thinner or poorly shaken/mixed combined with the thinner. One thing to remember, it's impossible to have your paint too well stirred (although it is a problem if you get bubbles entrained in it). It could also be dust or oil on the surface. Hard to say

As you roll, it should have a little bit of bumpiness/orange peel that spreads and flattens smooth in a minute or less (more and the paint starts to get a dry skin before flattening). Experiment a little to see if you need more or less thinner. Be methodical!

For a first try, your paint job looks beautiful so far.

FB- Doug

[edit to add] you longboarded it with the 220 and 400 grit, right? It will break your heart to longboard your new paint and see the highs and lows..........

 

[Admiral Hornblower]

Applied the second coat today with a lot more thinner, about 3% it turned out much better than the first coat, but it definitely could have used more thinner, I'll try 4-5% for the next coat.

I'm quite pleased though, since this is my first go at painting a boat!

I suppose Gov is pissed off that I didn't take his advice... <_<

 

[Admiral Hornblower]

Finished painting the laser today, looks awesome.

 

[Steam Flyer]

That does look awesome

Except you forgot the cove stripe and waterline!



FB- Doug

 

[Varan]

And the lips.

 

[dburchfiel]

nice job

 

[Grestone]

Lookin' good there, Admiral!

 

[Admiral Hornblower]

I am not quite pleased with how smooth the hull is yet and i supposed sanding the hull with fine grit sandpaper like 600 800 ect; would do the job... but I have noticed that whenever I sand that paint it loses its sheen, which I certainly don't want!  Any suggestions?

 

[Bill5]

I suppose you could sand it then wax it to recover some sheen. But is the paint itself “unsmooth” or is it the hull? 
One comment on your colour choice. It looks awesome but know that it will really show scratches and dings.

 

[Admiral Hornblower]

I suppose you could sand it then wax it to recover some sheen. But is the paint itself “unsmooth” or is it the hull? 
One comment on your colour choice. It looks awesome but know that it will really show scratches and dings.

The paint itself, not the hull. I just wanted to sand it with very fine grit so it felt a bit more smooth. It's hard to explain, it feels smooth, just not that slick, silky surface I am looking for.

I assumed it was customary to sand with fine grit after the last coat of paint.

It would be great if @dburchfiel would step in because I know he has recently painted his 505 and should have some tips.

 

[fastyacht]

The paint itself, not the hull. I just wanted to sand it with very fine grit so it felt a bit more smooth. It's hard to explain, it feels smooth, just not that slick, silky surface I am looking for.

I assumed it was customary to sand with fine grit after the last coat of paint.

It would be great if @dburchfiel would step in because I know he has recently painted his 505 and should have some tips.

All sandpaper through 600 is a flattening effect. 800 through 1200 is "satin." Beyond that is gloss. When you put on rubbing compound you are effectively using somewhere between 1200 (heavy rubbing compound) and 3000 (fine polish).
If you sand with 600, it will be matte.
Some paints do not sand and buff out. Others do. Even if you go through the polishing part.

 

[dburchfiel]

Get some 3m finishing film (sandpaper) for your RO sander.  It comes in 1000-5000 grit.  The hull will be smooth, dull and fast sanding with 600 0r 800.  After that sand with 2000 grit then 5000 grit and it will be gloss.

For some reason my photo's aren't loading but there's a picture of my custom painted car in the 505 Covid thread that was done that way.  The only buffing that was done was swirl remover after sanding with 5000.

 

[VWAP]

https://www.mothboat.com/building/wax-on-or-off


To Wax, or Not to Wax: An Engineering Perspective

 

[Admiral Hornblower]

Get some 3m finishing film (sandpaper) for your RO sander.  It comes in 1000-5000 grit.  The hull will be smooth, dull and fast sanding with 600 0r 800.  After that sand with 2000 grit then 5000 grit and it will be gloss.

For some reason my photo's aren't loading but there's a picture of my custom painted car in the 505 Covid thread that was done that way.  The only buffing that was done was swirl remover after sanding with 5000.

Thanks!

 

[Steam Flyer]

https://www.mothboat.com/building/wax-on-or-off


To Wax, or Not to Wax: An Engineering Perspective

Not at al what i expected. Thanks, great reference

Makes it sound like you should wet sand the front half and use wax on the back half of the hull

FB- Doug

 

[Admiral Hornblower]

hi again! I feel embarrassed that i didn't say this before but I think the main reason the paint didn't feel smooth enough is that, the paint has orange peel! 

I assumed I would be able to sand it out, but I am not having much luck. The pic below is after sanding with 1000 grit wet n' dry sandpaper with water 

all it seems to be able to do is sand off the tops of the bumps... which creates that speckled look of light and dark

Sorry to bother you guys again with my questions again  It does seem like I'm learning things the hard way!  

Anyway, I did some Googling on orange peel and it seems like this phenomenon is common in ametur paint jobs, which made me feel a little better.

slowly but surely i'm learning and any tips you guys have are very appreciated!

 

[Bill5]

A few decades ago a guy in our club painted his Fireball with the same result. He claimed he did it in purpose and called it the “golf ball effect” and resulted in reduced drag. His nose was growing as he spoke...

 

[Steam Flyer]

Orange peel is difficult to avoid. Making sure the surface is totally free of oil or wax is the usual prescription.

You're not going to make much progress with 1000 grit. I'd also suggest that you really don't want to create bumps & hollows at this stage... if you've been using a batten/longboard then tell me to shut up... but my suggestion is to use one and drop to 600 grit. Do this until the shiny spots (the low area) are ju-u-st starting to disappear. Then start shifting up in grit to 800, 1000, etc.

Your surface doesn't look that bad, frankly. Next time I refinish a boat I am going to ask YOUR advice!

FB- Doug