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Refit:  Winter 2008-2009


Winter 2008-2009 Refit | Saturday, December 20, 2008 (and several days preceding)

The day after completing the blue paint, I removed the tape demarking the top of the boottop.  The tape was extremely well stuck, a phenomenon that I attribute to the weird tendency of older Awlgrip, as it oxidizes, to grip the tape in an odd and annoyingly tenacious way.  I had noticed this issue on deck in recent seasons when I masked off the deck adjacent to the toerails for varnish, but it had never been a particular issue despite that. 

However, with the various thicknesses of primers and topcoat on top of the tape, the extra adhesion was a serious problem.  Normally, the buildup of paint over the tape in this way poses no particular issue for removal, as the tape remains strong enough to pull cleanly away, even though the thick primers and paint require a certain tape-removal technique, which I have done many many times.  But since the tape was stuck badly to the boottop, I found that it tore constantly during removal, being as well stuck as it was, and required tedious, time-consuming, and careful maneuvers to finally remove it all.  A job that normally takes 4 or 5 minutes took perhaps an hour and a half, spread out over several sessions to maintain my sanity.

In the event, I got all the tape off, and then later removed the plastic and tape from the decks and toerails (which task proceeded as expected at the normal pace).

With the masking tape removal debacle behind me, I solvent-washed the boottop as a preliminary step to clean and prepare it, as well as to remove a few areas containing masking tape adhesive.  Then, I applied some of my blue vinyl fine-line tape to the hull along the top edge of the boottop to create a crisp line here.  I followed this with a layer of standard green masking tape over the top, and then applied green masking tape between the boottop and the antifouling, since the blue fine-line wouldn't stick to the antifouling (and I didn't really need it there anyway).


    

    


For several reasons, I'd decided earlier to brush, rather than spray, the white paint for the boottop.  Chief among these reasons was the fact that the boot was in generally good shape and sound, and therefore I didn't see the need, nor plan, for primer--just several new topcoats as required, so I thought it'd be a quick and easy job to sand and brush-apply three coats of white Alexseal.  I soon discovered why I favored spraying and came to regret my brushing decision; it seems the effort of masking for the quick spray job is well worth it.  But I digress; more on this later.

Next, I sanded the boottop with 220 and then 320 grit paper, cleaned it twice with solvent in the usual way, tacked off, and mixed and applied one coat of Alexseal snow white, using a 2" badger brush.  I applied this late in the day after work on Friday, and left it to cure.  On Saturday morning, the paint had not yet cured enough to sand, so I left it for later in the day, when I sanded and applied a second coat.

I decided to leave it alone for Sunday, as I knew the paint wouldn't be ready for sanding till late in the day, so I planned to sand and apply the third coat sometime on Monday.


         


Total time Wednesday, 12/17/08:  1.5 hours
Total time Thursday, 12/18/08:  1 hour
Total time Friday, 12/19/08:  1.75 hours
Total time Saturday, 12/20/08:  1 hour

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Glissando, Pearson  Triton #381
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