Repainting the right way

Its name was Shad and it was red, white and green like the Italian flag - neither of which I could stand (with no disrespect to Italians).

I found it in the corner of a hobby farm on Sydney's outskirts, suspended on a makeshift slipway. Its tandem-axle trailer sulked among dandelions. Leaves and berries littered the cockpit, while inside its was dank and unkempt.

Not a great first impression, I must admit, but I wasn't to be easily dissuaded - for I'd driven through peak-hour traffic and pouring rain to find the property.

Shad was a Sonata 8 lift-keeler - my preferred candidate in the second-hand 24 - 26ft market because of its long cockpit and racing-oriented performance.

The trailer, rig and sails were in good order, and the Mercury 9.9 outboard looked fresh out of the box. Furthermore, Shad's internal ballast had been excavated from beneath the settee mouldings - a costly but necessary task, as in some Sonata 8s the lead, compressed in by fibreglass, had oxidised and expanded, causing hull deformities. A bulb keel was fitted to Shad to compensate for the ballast shortfall.

I haggled for a while with the owner before he named his rock-bottom price. I scratched my chin. It was the right boat at the right price - but in the wrong colour.

That could be fixed, I decided, before shaking hands at $12,500.

Upon getting the Sonata home, the clean-out and clean-up began. Out came the cushions, carpet and accessories - then I went to work with various cleaning products. It's amazing what a difference cosmetic detailing can make. But there was no disguising the hideous topsides. Painting was called for.

BRUSH, ROLL OR SPRAY?
The easiest way to paint, no question, is with a brush, and it's certainly fine for timber craft. But it is almost criminal to leave brush marks on a smooth gelcoat surface - you'd be better off polishing.

Spray-painting was the next option, but in my situation this was relatively expensive, with quotes exceeding $2000. Much of the cost vanishes into thin air, in the form of overspray, and I didn't want to overcapitalise. Also, spraying has to be done professionally in a sealed environment such as a spray booth, whereas I was hoping to do much of the work at home.

I'd previously read about a roller/brush technique that was said to yield a finish almost as good as spraying. You roll on, then tip off with a brush, so it's reasonably fast. And it's more efficient than spraying, with a fraction of the paint usage. It was the path I decided to follow.

PAINT BRANDS
The choice of paint was the next decision, and from a scientific viewpoint I must profess total ignorance. I don't have a clue what goes into marine coatings, so I couldn't recommend one over another. They're "polyurethane" - that's all I know.

But amateurs should not need a science degree. It's user-friendliness - ease of mixing, pot life, paint "flow" and so on - that really counts, along with price.

Some paints are formulated for spraying and advise against rolling or brushing. The other consideration is whether to use one-pack or two-pack - the latter having a converter. I feel two-pack is worth the extra money to achieve a more durable finish; at least for topsides that cop a beating.

A stroll of the boat show unearthed a number of paint brands and I ended up selecting Awlgrip because a mate had painted his boat with it and I'd heard that the US Paints product was favoured by some superyacht manufacturers.

The local Awlgrip agent at the time was Mike Elton from Drascombe Australia, based at Lemon Tree Passage, Port Stephens. He supplied the paint - in Stars ‘n' Stripes blue - and also the primer and thinners. Since then, International Paints has bought US Paints, and Mike has changed to Sterling Paints, as well as being appointed a Jotum Marine Coatings agent.

PREPARATION
As anyone who has painted a house knows, preparation is everything. It's what puts the "pain" into painting - but, as the old adage goes, you use as much paint to achieve a bad finish as a good, long-lasting finish.

Given the premium price of marine paint and the nature of the environment, it is even more critical that you get the prep work right on your boat. A good bonding between the old gelcoat and the new paint is essential. Secondly, the surface must be as fair as possible to obtain maximum lustre and remove any blemishes that would otherwise be highlighted by the gloss.

Trailerboats have an advantage, in that you can do the prep work at home. Also, the height is such that you don't have to erect scaffolding. That said, moored craft can be done on a hardstand area at the same time as antifouling.

The whole process takes about five days, using my 26-footer as a guide.

There is no rushing the first part of the job: sanding. Shad had a number of gouges that I patched with epoxy filler (Epiglass Epifill). I then attacked the hull with an orbital sander, using 120-grit paper. It took about eight dusty, back-breaking, arm-tiring and hand-numbing hours to complete.

Don't go too far with the sanding because a slight grittiness is needed for the primer to grip. Also, pinholes tend to appear in the gelcoat because it's a very porous coating. You have to look hard for them because they show clearly when the final coats are applied, at which time it is expensive to fix.

Next was taping the waterline, toerail and fittings - and finally the time had come to rid Shad of its stripes.

The primer was a Jotun product called Penguard HB - a high-build epoxy that helps to fair the surface when you sand it. Spraying the primer would save sanding time, but again it's wasteful and specialised.

As it happens, there are a few tricks with rolling Penguard. One is to do the job early in the cool and calm of the morning (to extend working time); the other is to thin it down to get a nice flow. It's important to use a good quality roller, suitable for two-pack paints, with a nap of no more than 5mm. This stops the crocodile-skin ridge effect left by some rollers, which can be a nightmare to sand.

You have to work quickly because the primer dries quickly and the last thing you want is an uneven build-up. The natural tendency is to work from the bow backwards and the gunwale downwards, because it gives a known starting point.

The advantage of fast-drying paint is that the second coat can be applied soon after the first - then, because you're trying to achieve a high-build, you can apply the third. The Sonata used most of the eight litres I bought.

It's best to sand the primer within four days, after which time it achieves maximum hardness. A trick of the trade is to spray on a black guide coat using 3M powder shadow coat (aerosol paint clogs the sandpaper), which indicates how much sanding needs to be done and where you're up to. The guide coat fills the crevices and once it disappears, you've sanded enough.

The orbital gets another workout with 220-grit paper; suffice to say it takes even longer than the original sanding session.

THE FINAL COAT
So far all the work had been done with Shad parked on the street outside my home. This was fine except that the weather was wavering between strong westerly and wet southerly - neither of which was conducive to painting.

It was at this point that I decided to call in Mike Elton, who has a large shed and also vast experience with applying the Awlgrip - experience that has taught him to use the finest foam rollers and paint brushes you can buy.

He filled the last pinholes that the primer had highlighted, then gave it a final sanding to his satisfaction. All the dust was removed from the hull and surrounding floor, and a wax and grease remover was applied before a tac rag wipe-down.

I produced my tin of paint, all one US quart of it - less than a litre - which I assumed would only run to one coat. This concerned me because the stuff, frankly, was as dear as poison ($140 per quart).

Elton proceeded to mix the first batch in a tin that had previously accommodated 400g of peaches. The mix ratio is 2:1:0.6 of base paint, converter and reducer respectively, though the quantity of thinner can vary according to climate.

Ever wondered how to get the ratios right in an unmarked container? The trick is to put a metal ruler in the tin and pour up to appropriate level. Simple.

After stirring the pot he allowed 20 minutes for the chemicals to combine. While that was happening, Mike moistened his $80 brush in solvent.

Then the magic began, as Mike rolled a section about a metre square. Air bubbles were prominent but the master painter quickly followed up with his brush, tipping off vertically to help prevent the dreaded drips known as "curtains".

The paint immediately shone like a mirror. Mike had thought the white primer might emit through the first coat, but the coverage and depth was amazing. Indeed, anyone who reckons watching paint dry is boring should see this stuff in action.

Mike worked along the hull, doing manageable areas with the roller then consolidating with the brush. At one stage he felt the brush "pulling", so more reducer was added to the mix. Twenty minutes later the topsides were glistening, and a mere 300ml of paint had been expended.

The coat was allowed to dry and the following morning was given a rub down with 320g paper to remove imperfections. It got dusted off again, hosed and dried before the second coat went on. It added further lustre and, as there was still paint left, a third coat went on the following day. It was the money coat.

Three coats on a 26-footer and we'd used less than 900ml of base paint. Spraying may have used up to three times more paint, Mike estimated, in which case you'd use a cheaper product.

Awlgrip is an advanced product and you have to develop a feel for the flow - get it wrong and it's curtains (drips). I'm not sure an amateur would get such an exceptional result, but certainly the prep work is a no-brainer.

So good did the Sonata look that I decided to retire the name Shad. It was now a sailor's delight - hence its new name Red Sky at Night, which was emblazoned on a setting sun.

Some 18 months after buying the boat, financial circumstances forced its sale. Interestingly, a number of potential buyers were suspicious of the paint job, asking the broker what we were trying to hide.

But others were impressed. There are countless yachts from the early-'80s on the second-hand market, most of which are in a neglected state. Good examples command a premium and the Sonata ultimately sold for $16,000.

With a good tidy-up and less than $600 in paint, the value had soared by $3500. And I'd had the priceless pleasure of ownership.