Today, it was finally time for the white topcoats on the deck surfaces.  Despite having a smaller area to cover for the topcoats, compared to the primer coats which covered the entire deck, applying the topcoats took longer overall because I had to split the application into three stages in order to ensure that I could reach all areas without marring freshly-applied paint.  I also had to factor in the transitions between the three areas, if applicable, so that I could avoid overspray on newly-painted areas, or any sort of lap marks.

The spray gun needed to be completely reset for the topcoats, since the amount of material flow needed to shoot the heavier primer was much higher than for the water-thin topcoats.  So I tuned the gun down substantially, and then mixed up what I thought would be more than enough of the topcoat for the entire job, so that I could fine-tune a single mixture that wouldn't need adjusting later.  It turned out that I had plenty of material for the whole job; some waste is unfortunately inevitable.

From past experience with the Alexseal topcoat product, I knew that I needed a slower reducer, and more of it than specified.  I noted that the technical material information had been modified since I first used the product, and indicated more reducer than it once had, up to 30-35% by volume as opposed to the originally-published 20-25%.  I used a mixture of slow spraying reducer and medium reducer, and added between 35% and 40%.  Then, I sprayed some samples on some shiny black plastic sheeting that I had previously set up to test the material flow and to determine how well the material would self-level.  After a few tests and minor adjustments, as well as a waiting period to determine that the applied material would not sag or run over time, I was ready to begin painting in earnest.

I began with the most difficult area:  the cockpit well.  I seemed unable to levitate today, and therefore had to spray the well by kneeling on the sidedeck and leaning deeply into the space with the spray gun, all the while keeping the hose and reservoir from touching any of the surfaces.  I could barely reach some areas in this way, and as a result I decided to apply four coats to ensure good coverage.  I began with a light tack coat, and then applied somewhat heavier subsequent coats.  Each coat in this area took 5 or so minutes to apply, followed by a waiting period of 30 minutes or thereabouts to allow it to tack up sufficiently before the next coat.

Once I was satisfied with the cockpit well, I moved on to the cabin trunk and outer portion of the cockpit seating areas, including the aft bulkhead in the cockpit and the raised area where the traveler used to be mounted.  I began at the forward end of the cabin, spraying the hatch surround and leading edge, and worked my way back and around the stern of the boat before continuing up the other side.  I moved as quickly as I could from a practical standpoint so that I could spray and meet up with the previously (from the other side) sprayed areas in the center of the raised portion of the cabin trunk and the leading edge.  Again, I waited about 30 minutes between coats, during which times I straightened the always-tangled hoses and prepared material for the next go-round.

After three good coats on the cabin trunk, I moved onto the final area:  the toerail and waterways along the outer edge of the decks.  Since spraying the top and exterior of the toerail required virtually pointing the spray gun at the freshly painted cabin trunk, I used a piece of cardboard as an overspray protector as I sprayed these areas.  Carrying this extra item around, coupled with dealing with the hoses and avoiding all the fresh paint, made the final steps as much or more of a challenge than any other part of the deck, despite the relative ease of actually spraying the narrow area in question.  I finally finished up in mid-afternoon, disassembled the gun for a thorough soaking, and left for the day to allow the paint to cure and to escape the fumes.

OK, so you don't care about any of that.  I know you came for the pictures, so here they are.

Total Time on This Job Today:  7.75 hours

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