Painting the Hull, Part 1

Painting the hull bottom and side panels is quite an arduous chore, with many noxious fumes, but at least I am a "trailer sailor" so I don't have to apply anti-fouling paint to the bottom.

Bottom Primer Coat

In the above picture, the primer has been applied to the hull bottom.  That coat will be sanded and two more primer coats applied.

Side Panels Painted, Water Line Masked

 A few steps later, the first two coats of paint have been applied to the side panels.  You can also see that the bottom primer has been sanded, in some places back down to the epoxy.  That is because I am using a "high-build" primer to fill in any low spots or pinholes.  The primer has been sanded completely off the high spots.   You can also see a line of yellow masking tape at the water line.  After the bottom is painted, that tape will be removed and the water line painted the same blue as the side panels.

Hull Bottom, First Coat

 I have masked the side panels with fine-line tape and "tape and drape" and painted the first coat on the bottom.  This paint cannot be sprayed unless you have a special ventilation system.  I used the "roll and tip" method, i.e., the paint is rolled on, followed by the tip of a paint brush to "tip off" any bubbles and roller texture marks.

Hull Bottom and Side Panels

All three coats of the bottom paint are on, and the masking on the water line and side panels has been removed.  You may be able to see some marks in the blue paint that were caused by the draping plastic.  That is not a problem though because I am planning to add a third coat.  I have to wait a couple weeks for the bottom paint to cure before I put any masking tape on it though.  At that time I will also mask off the water line and paint it at the same time as the side panels.  I decided not to exactly copy the prototype model and used a lighter blue paint.  I think the dark blue would look better though now that I have painted it.  When it comes time to repaint I will probably use the darker blue.

Hull Bottom Closer

This is a closer shot of the bottom after the roll and tip painting.  It looks really good here, but of course this is only a photograph and there are imperfections, many of which I will be able to rub out.  It won't look as good as a sprayed finish, but I am not going to be embarrassed by it at all.  You can also see the "unmasked" water line better in this shot.  I will paint the water line with a brush, but I may spray the side panels.  (A different type of paint which is OK for amateurs to spray is used on the side panels.)