Thread: Coquina

Originally Posted by m2c1Iw

Thanks for the link Alex all done now and here is my arsenal of sanding implements long board plus various diameter storm water pipe.

Attachment 177496

Cool . Mind if I pinch your ideas?

Cheers,
Alex.

Guess who had to re-drill one of the holes in his yard? Ahem . I think I used a countersink bit to start the hole round-over, then used a file (probably one of the Perma-Grit ones, I suspect) and sandpaper to finish it off. Then repeated the process in the re-driled hole... I probably documented the stuff-up and the rounding process on my 'Duck thread. I think. I certainly didn't try any metal sheeves or nuffin' .

Hi

After doing the various sided thing with the plane all I did was use the various sized PVC pipes and I am more than happy with the result. I think I could have done better but you would need either the sun in the right position or a vernier to tell the difference.

The hole in my mizzen mast is just a hole with a bit of fairing at the end by sand paper. The mizzen sail is little more than a coffee shop umbrella that I use for steering on the wind and gets in the way on the reaches so the hole works fine. Apparently Herreshof found that on broad reaches the boat is faster without the mizzen. I agree because between the main and the mizzen hanging out one side you end up using a bucket load of rudder which slows the boat. It seems impossible to roll to windward enough like an OK or a laser to compensate. This season I intend to try harder with the centerboard up but only after I have done capsize tests to see how easy it is to right with a boat full of water.

If the mizzen mast had a split you could try a dose of epoxy and lashing the end with whipping thread.

Denis

Originally Posted by AlexN

.

Where would we be without epoxy eh Alex

Originally Posted by wizened

If the mizzen mast had a split you could try a dose of epoxy and lashing the end with whipping thread.

I got rid of the shallow spots with the long board, well most of them got sick of it and figured I was being over fussy anyway.
The split is only on the surface cosmetic only. I've taped it while the pox cures and trust filling the hole will fix it.

Interesting what you say about the broad reach I kinda thought that would be the best angle got a lot to learn me thinks.

A productive couple of days.

Spar fittings all glued check.

Hull primer sanded to 180 check. Took a fair while had to start with 80 to fix the very poor finish.

Hull undercoated check.

The undercoat has flowed out so well I don't think I'll need to sand or bother with a second coat, perhaps a small rub here and there.
No pics undercoat is undercoat.

Now if we can get a warmish day soon the topcoat can go on.

Priming coats serve more then just a key to the top coat. I'd strongly recommend you apply at least a few more primer coats, blocking and longboarding as you go. This is the only way to insure a smooth and fair hull. After all the work, to short cut the surface prep, just to find out you shouldn't have, after the shinny stuff goes down, seems a silly approach to me.

Hi Paul,
Yes the last post was a little ambitious I ended up sanding the undercoat and removed most of the stand out blemishes fortunately the product I'm using builds really well so plenty of thickness to work with.
The finish is not flawless but this morning I checked after putting on the first top coat and am quite pleased with the result again not perfect but by instigating the two metre rule I'm satisfied.

While we are on paint how many top coats do people apply?

I've done two applied by roller the same as on my previous builds and the cover is good just wondering if more is an overkill.

I figure people only look at the bright work anyway so what say you.

Some pics just after I finished painting still not touch dry but even now it has levelled remarkably well.

Attachment 178531Attachment 178532Attachment 178533

I often see questions on painting so here is a quick note on what I did.
The product I'm using is Norglass single part polyurethane enamel and the temperature was about 13 deg C. applied with a cut down 4" foam roller.
I found I was laying it down too thin to start trying to remove any bubbles as I went but after a while discovered if I quickly rolled out a coat on one plank that covered well without signs of sagging but bubbled quite badly then went back and slowly re rolled the coat to smooth and remove any bubbles the result was good.
My attempt at roll and tip was disastrous BTW.

The roller

Attachment 178534

The spars and spar fittings have been epoxy coated now the sanding.......did I mention I don't like sanding

Varnishing starts soon and the hull paint is hard enough to fit the half oval.

Here is a pic of the mizzen mast lacing keeper/boom support. Shape is a little different to the plan being a bit wider and I've shaped the mast mating surface quite pleased how all the fittings came out. As you can see plenty of sanding needed.

Attachment 178919

When I first examine a boat, the thing I do is try to catch reflections in the paint or bright work, then move my head slowly to reveal the fairness of the surface in the waves of the reflection. Florescent tubes are very handy in this regard as the edges are crisp and the tube dead bang straight, so you know what should be reflected back. The 2 meter rule doesn't help much on this technique, as it still catches most of the imperfections, especially the low spots and surface imperfections, like brush marks.

This said, 99% of people don't do this and are impressed with varnished oars and neatly coiled dock lines instead. You have plenty to be proud of on your build.

Originally Posted by PAR

When I first examine a boat, the thing I do is try to catch reflections in the paint or bright work, then move my head slowly to reveal the fairness of the surface in the waves of the reflection. Florescent tubes are very handy in this regard as the edges are crisp and the tube dead bang straight, so you know what should be reflected back. The 2 meter rule doesn't help much on this technique, as it still catches most of the imperfections, especially the low spots and surface imperfections, like brush marks.

Paul if I'm absolutely truthful the finish is not quite as good as I'd like and probably one or two extra primer coats with some careful sanding in between would have improved things but then the roller finish even with the slight orange peel is OK.
I did consider spraying with two pack as my place of work has a full downdraught heated booth. No doubt if I'd let the boys loose the finish would have been smooth as but then I don't want it to look like a glass boat and if I had it wouldn't be my build.

Here is a pic of the fluro test.

Attachment 179042

This said, 99% of people don't do this and are impressed with varnished oars and neatly coiled dock lines instead. You have plenty to be proud of on your build.

High praise coming from a pro like you Paul I'm flattered.

There is something satisfying about unmasking a paint job and this was no exception just as well I didn't leave it any longer too as the paint is hardening up nicely.

The pics hmm... for some reason I can't upload the pics, will give another go later.

Attachment 179043Attachment 179044

Wet sand the last coat of paint, which will make it smooth, knocking off the high spots of the roller stipple. Use progressively higher and higher grits, until you get to the buffing stage. Then buff with an aggressive compound, followed by a finer compound, then eventually polish. I've saved many a paint job by this technique. Next paint job, develop you roll and tip technique as it's so much better then a rolled finish.

Of course the above technique assumes you have sufficient film thickness to tolerate aggressive buffing and wet sanding, which is why I always use several coats of primer and topcoat, not just a couple of each. A couple of each means you'll rub right through in spots, which will just you off. Lastly, if you have a fair number of coats of paint on a surface, the paint lasts longer and more importantly it can be repaired, instead of repainted. I've saved a lot of weathered paint jobs this way also.

What most seem to forget is you can buff paint, just like a car, but you do need film thickness. I don't consider a paint job finished, unless I have run the buffer over it, to knock down stipple and finally apply a good quality wax, to preserve the finishing efforts as long as possible. You can make an ugly prom date look pretty good with some makeup, which is what a good buff and wax will do to even the most hideous paint job.

OK fixed the problem with the pics in the last post I could have sworn I resized them before trying to upload but that seemed to be the problem, the forum does not like 3mb photos.

Many thanks for the save your paint job post PAR if I was really pernickety I'd probably give it a wet rub and another couple of coats but as I'm not it will wait till the inevitable dings and scrapes occurs, hopefully the winter after next. When I built the PD racer and painted it with black Brightsides I did actually resort to a machine buff and cutting compound, yep I know what you are thinking "are you crazy man" but that's the trouble with dark colours they show every little bump so even slack ar$es like me can't cop the finish.

On to varnish......

I'm doing a side by side test using Goldspar and Le Tonk original not #1 well maybe not a test but I've got some Goldspar that needs using up so that's going on the spars while I'm using the Tonk that Alex kindly supplied on the transom.

Coating the two products at the same time has shown up a couple of immediate differences even if it is a bit wasteful of cups and filters.
Both products are being applied over well sanded epoxy and straight away the Goldspar is showing a bit of fish eye even after careful scrubbing whereas the Tonk is flawless apart from a few specks of dust. I'm afraid I'm not as thorough with my anti dust procedure as Alex.
The Tonk flows beautifully with not sign of sagging and the build is terrific even after only two coats.

Have to say the Le Tonk beats the Goldspar hands down as far as application plus I came across a line of brushes that make varnishing a pleasure. They are Monarch brand polyester filament the way they flow the coat on is fantastic and no sign of dropping bristles. I have the 25mm detail for the spars and the oval cutter for flat surfaces they are the best brush I've used mind you that is often brushes from the $2 bin, these aren't cheap.

Attachment 179080

I use to use really nice, costly brushes, which I spent as much time caring for, as actual varnishing time used. Now I'm a foam brush guy. I can toss them in the trash and not feel bad about it and they leave a better finish with fewer stroke marks. They don't hold as much material, but you get use to this. They also can drip if you try to over load them, but you get used to this too. Considering the finish I can get with them, I've given up on worrying about good brushes. I get my foam ones by the case and toss them after each use.