Receiving the Bottom Paint |
Having scuffed up the entire surface of the centerboard with 40-grit paper on a random orbital sander, it was time to clean up the board in preparation for the application of the bottom paint.
I wiped down the board with mineral spirits, as per the instructions on the label of the Pettit bottom paint I had purchased. Let me back up just a bit. The label actually instructed me to use Pettit's proprietary 120 Brushing Thinner. Suspicious, I went to the local West Marine to check out the data on this thinner. Turned out, of course, that it was almost 100% mineral spirits. West Marine wanted about sixty-seven bucks for a gallon of this stuff. The local hardware store down the street had gallon-sized containers of mineral spirits for about fifteen bucks. The choice was clear.
Sometime before I had started this centerboard project I had purchased Pettit Ultima SR40 paint knowing that I would need to paint both the bottom of the boat and the centerboard that I would soon build. The number 40 in the product name refers to the percentage of copper within the paint. The word Ultima in the name indicates that this is a member of Pettit's line of ablative paints. Regardless of the manufacturer, ablative paints are those that gradually shed their layers to prevent the build-up of successive layers of paint over time. I selected ablative paint, because it is the type that is recommended for those who remove their boats from the water on a regular basis. Given that the Ericson 25 is a trailerable boat, ablative paint made the most sense.
When I had gotten the board well prepped and I had all the painting materials laid out and ready to go, I grabbed the can of Pettit and I drove down the street to a local paint store to ask the fellows there for a favor. I had bought plenty of paint from them while renovating my house. I asked them if they would put this can of paint in their mechanical shaker. They obliged. Back at home, I popped the lid off the can to reveal the deep red color within. Even though it had received a good shaking at the paint store, it still needed some work with the wooden stirrer.
Starting at the head of the board, I applied the bottom paint with uniform, unidirectional, left-to right strokes. I considered using a roller for this, but since it was a small area and I wasn't overly concerned with the appearance of the paint job, I used a simple, 79 cent chip brush.
The first coat went on pretty well, and I was pleased with how things were going.
After I had allowed for at least six hours of drying time, I returned to the board near the end of the day and applied the second coat of paint, as per the manufacturers recommendations.
The next weekend I turned the board over and prepped the other side for painting.
Again, I wiped it down with mineral spirits to remove any unwanted residue from the surface.
On went the first coat.
Towards the end of the day I returned for the second coat of paint.
At last I could declare that this lengthy project had come to an end. The new centerboard looked fantastic, and given the steps I had taken to ensure that it would be protected from water-intrusion, it was my hope that this board would provide loyal service to my Ericson 25, Oystercatcher, for a long time to come.
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