Sanding and Primer Paint for the Interior and Stern

November 24, 2019

I got started today sanding the interior of the boat, the areas that I had spot-filled in the previous session.  Those “spot-filled” areas were in fact quite numerous due to the raw nature of the hand-laid laminate’s inner most layer of glass being a heavy roving.  So, I took the time to minimize the irregular surface by applying fairing compound.

So today I would need to sand back the fairing compound, blending it into the greater surface area.  I used the small 5” random orbital sander and 180-grit sanding discs.  I worked the interior from the bow of the boat to the main cabin.  Since there were a number of areas in which the sanding broke through the initial layers of primer, down to bare fiberglass, I would need to apply one more sealer coat of primer paint.  I planned accordingly.

With the interior sanding completed, I headed into the cockpit and sanded the last skim coat of fairing compound applied to the bridge deck.  The sanding revealed the fact that I would need one more skim coat applied. 

I quickly moved on to sanding the stern of the boat.  The stern – and the motor mount – makes up the last of the exterior that requires primer paint.  I had applied a bit of fairing compound to the stern in the previous work session, to help fair the center line of the stern – the location of the exterior aft chainplate.  I worked this area with 150-grit sanding discs until I had achieved  a fair surface.

With the sanding complete, I retreated to the wood shop to begin to mix paint.  I started with the exterior primer, the Alexseal primer.  I mixed enough paint for the stern and the motor mount aft of the rudder.  With the paint mixed, I spent the 20-minute induction period required for the paint to catalyze by cleaning the surfaces to be painted.

I applied the primer paint to the stern, and then moved down to the motor mount.

Completing the exterior paint, I moved to the interior and applied the TotalBoat epoxy-based primer paint.

The application of the primer paint on the interior went rather quickly since I was not priming the entirety of the interior – just those areas that I had spot-faired and sanded.

I finished up on the interior, applying two coats to all of the areas that I had faired.  I closed up shop and headed home.

Total Time Today: 5 hrs