Thread: Painting guide/help

It's looking fantastic Ace! Well done

Thanks again, i guess i have been lazy and not spent a heap of time on sanding and making things smooth. It feels like i have spent an age sanding already and i havent even done the top side yet with undercoat!!!!!!!!

Thanks woodeneye, from a distance she will look good but up close im not too sure. I am happy so far with how things have turned out. I am getting anxious to puit her in the water, but yet so much to so still.

Cheers

I seem to be having some trouble...

Is there any way to reduce or get rid of the seams? What i mean by seams is that when i go from one area of painting to the next, it seems that the paint dries before i can tip it and leave what looks like a joint in the paint. Would thinning it help?

Cheers

Originally Posted by highace1

I seem to be having some trouble...

Is there any way to reduce or get rid of the seams? What i mean by seams is that when i go from one area of painting to the next, it seems that the paint dries before i can tip it and leave what looks like a joint in the paint. Would thinning it help?

Cheers

Hi Ace
Keeping a wet edge is pretty much a painter's art. Paint in smaller sections at a time so that the paint doesn't dry too much by the time you come back to the wet edge that's furthest away.

Another way that I think will help you is for you to use a foam roller. With the roller you can lay the paint down faster, and then you just come back with the brush and tip it off to get rid of the bubbles much sooner. Because of the speed of this method, you should have fewer problems with that wet edge. You'll soon get a feel for the area you can cover with the roller and tip off before it dries too much.

Another benefit is that you'll achieve a much smoother, more professional looking finish

Yes, you can thin with up to 5% of the recommended solvent, but if you can avoid it it's all the better. However, today was 30degC here in Newcastle, so when painting in these conditions adding solvent buys you some time before that wet edge goes off. Best to paint when conditions are cooling, ie. late afternoon/evening so as to avoid out-gassing from the timber.

When i started i did think it was a tad warm, cant do much about it now. This painting thing is not that easy, especially when you dont have a definate sharp edged panel to work with. I wish i could have sprayed.

Im going to sand it AGAIN and then give it a final coat. Even with th problems i think it looks pretty good.

Ill give it another try tomorrow night and see how i go. Hopefully a nice day out on the water with the MG14's, im loving this sailing thing again.

Thanks for the help

Fingers crossed

Cheers

I had to smile when i went back through the pictures.

A before and after shot.

I love the colour Ace! And a pretty darn good finish too.

What paint are you using?

On Michael Storer's site, there's some good painting tips, you should read up.

Maintaining a "wet edge" is the oft repeated phrase from good painters. There's no substitute. Most don't understand what this means until they paint on a really hot and or dry day with a fast drying paint. Then they discover terms like "brush drag", "flash off" and "lap marks", with their real world definitions staring back at them.

To maintain a wet edge you have to work in areas small enough to do this and you have to be quick about it in hot weather. As a very general guide, a roller full of paint should be applied to an area that is 3 times the length of the roller tall and 3 times wide, in normal weather, mid 70's (f) 24 (c). Once you get into the upper 70's to lower 80's (26 c) you need to reduce the size of the patch you're working to say 2 times the length of the roller. Once into the mid and upper 80's (30 c) you've reduced the patch to a fairly small area and may have trouble getting the material down (rolling) and still having enough time to tip it off.

A wet edge is literally what it sounds like, a wet edge of paint some place that you work against. The surface is dry and the paint, fresh from the can is wet. Everything else is at some stage of drying. To eliminate the "lap marks" apply paint to an area and tip off. The next batch of paint that's rolled on is right next to the freshly applied stuff and it's dragged back to the last applied paint. The previously applied, still very wet paint's edge will hide the just applied paint's edge. You do this "dog chasing it's tail" routine until you're finished. It helps to roll the paint away from the adjacent area, then tip quickly back into the wet edge, with a final tip away from the wet edge (wet to dry), which will give you a nice smooth result.

The biggest trick is to have enough time to work both the previous area and adjacent areas, before the brush starts to drag. In hot or dry environments, this can be difficult, because the paint is drying as you work.

Hot dry days are when additives are helpful. Alkyds are better then acrylics at holding their wet edge. Try to work in areas where you can have natural stopping points (centerline to chine for example) which helps eliminate lap marks.

To fix your lap marks, lightly sand them flat if necessary, then a light coat over maintaining a wet, edge will usually cover them.

Im using Norglass Pacfic Blue for the main areas of the boat, then Norglass Sandstone for the interior. Im trying to fins some grip additive for the interor, havint had a good look around yet.

PAR, you are a wealth of knowledge. I admire you for doing this stuff for a living, a number of times i have wanted to throw the sander and give it all up. How you guys do bigger boats is beyond me.

CHeers

Ace

You hire minions . . .

Ahhhhh yes silly me.........

Im not looking forward to painting the interior. It was painful enough just putting down the primer. Im not going to worry about tipping etc

Ace

Originally Posted by highace1

Im using Norglass Pacfic Blue for the main areas of the boat, then Norglass Sandstone for the interior. Im trying to fins some grip additive for the interor, havint had a good look around yet.
CHeers

Ace

I like it a lot.

Bias Boating in Hunter Street Est had the grip stuff last week.

Thanks, i thought the colours would suit the age of the boat. I just got the Bias Boating catalogue in the mail so ill have to make a trip over that way to get some.

Ace