[Public-List] Hull Painting

[Robert Alley]

Jonathan:
     In addition to what others have said:  Regarding the temperature 
difference that occurs on opposite sides of the boat--Buy a couple large 
tarps and tie them to your lifelines, with the ouboard ends fixed to 
poles or stalks of bamboo and tied to something.  You want to position 
the boat, if you have a choice, so that the sun follows the centerline 
and the South side is tarped--keeping the temperature of the surface to 
be coated (hull sides) as equal as possible.  It can be really hard to 
work out the thinning and application of paint on surfaces of different 
temperatures. As the sun moves, your south facing surfaces heat in some 
areas and cool in others--your bow, stern, and center will all be 
different temperatures.  You can't go back over paint already applied; 
warmer surfaces can cause the paint to "dry" faster than it can be 
tipped, and you cannot increase the thickness applied to slow down that 
process.

    If you are doing this in a yard, water the ground around the boat 
and any adjacent roadway for as far beyond the boat as you can.  Any 
dust is your enemy. Wipe with a tack cloth and a thinner soaked rag (in 
that order) ahead of your painter.

    Instead of ladders, consider using short sawhorses to hold 
purpose-built work platforms of some sort 18-20 inches off the ground to 
stand on.  Dragging ladders around may raise dust and slows down the 
work.  Two 6 or 8 foot platforms and sawhorses are easy to build and 
have other uses as well. Or you can rent an adjustable platform on wheels.

Best,

Rob



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