(1) Started out with experimenting with the epoxy/407 fairing mix. After a few test areas, a mix at the consistency of butter on a 65 degree day seems about best (which, for the scientific reader is about 10 squirts of epoxy/hardener to 1/3 of a cylinder of 407). It was spread on with a West spreader tool, which was OK, but any disposable flat bit of plastic would work. We also found that no matter how careful you are, you can't get it perfectly flat and some ridges will remain (so think a lot about going to your special sanding Zen place).
One thing to note is that you will use a lot of 407 if you cover the entire hull. Probably between two and three complete cylinders, plus at least a quarter gallon of epoxy or more depending on how thin a spread you can get away with. On this old hull, we tended towards a decent (but not total) coverage as we wanted to strengthen as well as fair, especially as the ply in the older boats is thinner than the modern day ones, and ours has had 33 years of use.
(2) Sanding is really big at this point. The best method seems to be to sand as flat as you can (without skimping on the sandpaper as the epoxy eats it up pretty fast), then coming back and skimming any indentations. Follow up with another sanding. Repeat, reducing grit, until done.
Sandpaper used to date includes 60 grit which was OK but dropping down to 50 grit seemed the sweet spot. We even tried a bit of 36, which was handy for flattening off the high spots, but you might as well use a brick - that said, it does make a quick job of flattening the high spots (see the stripes that were former high spots), which makes it easier for the finer grits. Generally 50 grit is overall winner for the basics.
Between sandings, take the opportunity to wash off the boat - epoxy leaches a sort of waxy substance to the surface which, we're told, can negatively impact the paint adhesion and finish. Give it a Scotchbrite scrubbing (a Rich Larson tip) before you get to the paint stage. Doesn't take long so worth it.
You also read about people routing out channels to hide the tape. Don't bother - the 407 does the job.
By way of commentary, this process creates a huge amount of fine dust. Do it outside, unless you're not married, in which case, you get to choose. Feel free to use your dining room or bathroom if this is the case.
(3) So onto the 410 report. We thought we'd give this a try (actually Shawn bought a tube by mistake so since we had it, why not..). The microfibers are quite different to 407 in a couple of ways. First, they're not purple (they're brown, but dry white), and secondly they are very, very fine, so much so that they don't create loads of dust when you're mixing the epoxy in. Basically, it's so fine, it clumps together pretty tightly and has to be scooped out and squished into the epoxy to get a consistent mix. Another thing we found is that you use a lot more (say 1/3 tube to 8 squirts) to get a thinner mix so as well to make this the last step in the fairing process. Ended up using 3/4 of a tube for this stage with a mix that was sort of mayonaisse like. This worked pretty well as skimming was the objective, followed by another sanding, which was much easier than using 407 which really chews up the sandpaper.
That said, the finish is still pretty hard but we recommend only using this as a final skim filler as it's not going to be as durable as the 407. This was basically it for 36332 as we could keep going forever, and we have a very short attention span.
(4) So onto planning for the paint. Marine paint is expensive, very expensive, which would be good if the boat was going to be living in water all the time, which it isn't. So being tightwads, alternatives naturally got considered. Worst case is that if it doesn't work out, it will get removed and redone. So off to the local paint store to acquire paint for this venture. Originally the plan was to spray but the 'well informed' paint store guy recommended a high-gloss oil based paint with a slow set-up, applied with a good quality brush for maximum strength rather than spraying. Apparently, the theory is, if it goes on cool with a decent brush, and the paint is allowed to flatten, any brush strokes will be minimal. The application will have to be done in the garage (more respitory damage - whee) where it's cool enough to let things cure slowly, and there's less stuff getting blown around. As before, good experience for 70407 when we get there. Have developed a nasty cough at this point.
Hah - see later for evidence to refute this paint claim.
(5) So onto the final fairing. In the spirit of not obsessing, a thorough (and careful, looking for any bumps and working them down flat) sanding was done with 100 grit, which actually worked pretty well and gives a decent smooth finish.
(6) After removing all dust with a damp towel (several times), masking it up, and putting it back on the newly tarped trailer so it could be moved into the garage and shade (since it's pretty hot here at the moment), on went two coats of primer with a roller (with a Dempsey's beer break in between obviously). Amazingly no obvious blemishes were apparent, so this is good, not that there are plans to do anything about it anyway. Actually feeling pretty pleased with ourselves and very smug at this point. Hope it floats :-)
(7) So onto the finish coats. After a light sanding of the primer, Mark thought he'd give a brush coat a try (after all the paint shop guy said to do this). Maybe this is OK as a base coat but not too impressed with the finish. Very definitely looks like it was painted with a brush, which isn't too bad looking - just not as smooth as hoped for. So, in the spirit of learning the hard way, the next step was to sand this coat back a bit to get rid of the brush strokes - a 100 grit did the job for this. Make sure the paint is dried hard before you do this (ever tried to sand slightly soft paint - trust us, you will find it doesn't work very well), or better still avoid this problem in the first place. It was a bit annoying to take a step back but paint is a lot softer than epoxy so didn't take too long. So the first coat was really a half coat so we'll end up with 2 1/2 coats when done.
(7) So off to the paint store again to complain about the poor advice and buy more paint (well, they did give us the contractor price out of guilt which saved almost $3 - a fantastic coup). Anyway, this time the advice was to use a fine foam roller that will minimize the dimples you always get, plus to add some Flood 'Penetrol' which both thins the paint and slows down the drying time. First attempt was to use about a 20/80 Penetrol/Paint mix which seemed to work quite well. It also helped that it was an unusually cool day so that slowed down the reaction a bit too. The next and final coat will go on with about a 25-30% mix so it slumps even more, and that'll be it.
We've come to terms with not being a contender in the next America's cup but it'll still look pretty good. If anything more fancy is needed, that can go into the winter renovations we originally planned since all the structural work is done now.
A minor tip here. No matter what you do with a roller it will leave many small bubbles on the surface. Don't worry about it. Paint the boat then go back around and lightly knock them down with an almost dry roller. Takes care of them in no time.
(8) So off came the masking tape after 24 hours. Overall the finish looked pretty good though they'll be a couple of bits of detailing done here and there.
For 70407 we'll be asking Mark's brother, a professional painter to spray the boat after we've faired it. If you're in the San Francisco Bay area, here's a shameless plug for his website
http://www.europeanpaintworks.com/ so make sure you call him - this way he'll paint the boat for free and keep the beer debt to a minimum. Help us out here people...
(9) Onto the final few tasks pre-seaworthiness. This entails a bit of cleaning up of the fittings, and final epoxy barrier coating on the gunwales (after sanding off the epoxy blobs that had formed from the boat being upside down), and removing any bits of paint splatter that don't seem obvious till you epoxy over them. Also noticed the center case fiberglass tape has come loose so probably as well to redo that part before too long. Added a bit of brown stain to the patch so it isn't quite so obvious, and started the process of reproducing the halfmoons that were used for oarlocks (new ones obtained and ready to go) patterned from the one surviving, but weak, original. The interior will definely need a good going over but that can wait a bit. Maybe we'll give it a light sanding and an epoxy barrier coat for protection rather than cosmetics since that won't take too long. The trailer will also need a bit of adjusting to really cradle the boat nicely - it's almost there bar a couple of tweaks.
(10) So on to the interior barrier coat. There's not going to be any attempt at major restoration there for now, but a light sanding and closer inspection yielded several things we decided we needed to rectify before we use the boat.
The original tape was a bit 'crispy' in places and wasn't holding tight. Since we want this solid, and able to last a few years, we pried it off with a craft knife and large flat screwdriver so we could re-fix it with fresh tape and epoxy modern-style. Not much work so might as well.
Below, the old tape around the center case and middle of the hull removed. You can just about see the old stitches.
(12) Well, as all was going so well, you've got to anticipate the daily screw up (or, then again, perhaps it's not - perhaps it's a good thing in the long run). The thorough cleaning with the high pressure water found some more rot (probably because we got a bit too close) we hadn't seen before on one of the topsides. We found out the hard way as the pressure washer cleaned it right out and punched right through the hull.
After the initial moments of thinking the usual disaster had struck, on reflection this is no biggie as the area is very easy to fix and reinforce (with fairing compound and a length of tape and epoxy on the inside to bring the area up to full strength). Further inspection yielded no similar problems so we should be in good shape when this is done. A little re-fairing of the topside area and a touch up with the remaining paint should make this vanish and we end up with a stronger boat too. So all will end well, though the plans to put the boat in the water will be delayed a week or so so as not to rush things. Not that we ever do.
To the right you can see the rotted areas - the darker wood is the dead giveaway - we just couldn't see it under the grime or we would have fixed it like the other areas of rot we spotted and fixed. So it'll get fixed now. We once again cope somehow....
(13) Next up was to fill in the rotted areas with epoxy/407 (could have used 403 but didn't have any to hand and this will work fine). We let it cure, sanded both inside and outside, and then filled a few low spots. This will get a final outside sanding and then paint again (touching up a couple of spots that missed complete paint coverage first time around). Once cured, fiberglass tape will be applied to reinforce the topsides and restore the strength. Looks ugly now but easy to repaint.
(15) A quick sanding around the epoxy/407 to tidy up the edges a bit, and then on went the tapes, at the side from the rear shroud block back about 3', just under the gunwales. We did this on both sides, and stippled it into place. Then on to the tape down the center line, followed by around the center case.
The inside will still need some serious work to restore, and will get a thin barrier barrier coat of epoxy for now, but any serious work can wait till the winter so we can learn how to sail a Mirror. Should be interesting (and probably very wet)...
(16) Onto fixing the various fittings and we're done. Since we had no choice but to reuse the same holes, each got a blob of epoxy for strength. This will probably make removal very difficult but this isn't likely to be a problem. Shawn will give a final sanding and a coat of varnish, then a'sailing we will go.
So that's it for 36332 (unless it leaks). Watch out for the sailing adventures coming soon. Twilight pictures so a bit gloomy.