Chesy 17 Build: Coating and Painting

Mo 'Poxy's Chesapeake 17 Kayak Construction

Coating and Painting

Removing the stitch wires

I turn the boat over, and, finally, after scraping my hands and arms 1000 times on these wires, I snip the wires off as close to the wood surface as possible and leave the rest of the wire embedded forever.

There are methods for pulling the wires. The plans recommend snipping the wires flush and leaving the remaining wire embedded.

Snipping the stitch wires

Sand the hull exterior

I sand with a random orbital (variable speed) 6-inch sander. I use the hook and loop pads with dust collection holes. When the sanding creates lots of dust, such as when sanding epoxy, I connect my shop vac to the sander and wear my respirator.

60-grit aluminum-oxide sand paper is tough-enough to sand the wire nubs flush with the wood surface.

I use the 60-grit to sand the keel and chines round, to flatten-out any humps (un-natural high spots) in the keel high and to smooth-out any rough spots. Then I switch to 120 grit sand paper and smooth the entire surface.

Sanding the hull exterior

Protect the deck

Before I get too carried away with hull coating, I masked the deck to protect it from subsequent hull epoxy, primers and paints.

Masking the deck

'glassing the bottom

Apply epoxy-saturated fiberglass to the hull exterior.

This fiberglass is the weight recommended by the plans. After vacuuming the wood to remove dust, I fill the few gaps and holes with thickened epoxy, drape the dry fiberglass over the hull, trim the fiberglass cloth as need and saturate it with unthickened epoxy.

I apply as little epoxy as possible (too much epoxy will float the fiberglass) using a foam roller and window squeegee.

After each coat of epoxy is tack-free (to avoid sanding) I apply another coat. I continue applying thin coats of epoxy until the weave of the fiberglass is filled and the surface is smooth. This continual epoxy coating requires a bit of planning to assure that I can be in the shop every 8 to 12 hours.

The fiberglass can be cut and wrapped so that it provides two layers of fiberglass at the bow and stern. I then add a few little scraps to create a third layer of fiberglass in these sensitive locations.

Fiberglass set in epoxy on hull exterior

Double layer of fiberglass at bow stem

Sand the hull exterior

As much as I hate sanding, it cannot be avoided at this stage.

I allow the hull epoxy to cure for quite a while (the longer the better). Three weeks is desirable. This allows complete curing and complete formation of the wax on the surface. But if I am in a hurry, 2 days is all I wait.

I wash the surface with warm water (to remove wax) then sand it with 120 grit, to a dull smooth surface.

This sanding is absolutely necessary for the upcoming primer and paint system to succeed

Sanded hull exterior

Prime the hull

I roll on two or three thick coats of a System 3 high-build primer. I do not worry about the primer finish quality since this primer will be sanded.

High-build primer is a thick layer that is easily sanded to create a very smooth surface for final coating.

I use System 3 primers and paints with System 3 epoxies. The result is chemical-compatible materials with great bonding, high durability and a beautiful finish. Not all paints/primers will properly cure over epoxy. Be Careful!

Applying primer

Please !! No more sanding !!!

This is another step where sanding is necessary for a quality finish. After the primer has cured, I sand with 120 grit, then 220 grit, for a perfectly smooth surface ready for final top coating.

At this point, a few pin holes often appear. These are little holes in the primer, and part-way in to the epoxy, that must be filled or they will show through on the final coat. They are filled by using a window squeegee to spread primer into the holes.

Sanding the primer

Paint the bottom.

This is a nerve-wracking step. The final coat is the climax of the boat construction.

I use an HVLP sprayer with high-quality System 3 linear-polyurethane marine paints. The paint thinning, shop temperature, shop humidity and sprayer performance must all be coordinated for success.

It takes more than one coat, sometimes 3 coats, for a quality finish.

Not all coats are successful. Occasionally an unacceptable finish (orange peel, speckle, etc) will require sanding between coats.

It is lots of work, but perseverance pays off. After perfecting the pickle-green paint, an additional layer of System 3 clear linear-polyurethane was applied for a super high-gloss automotive-quality finish.

Sure, the bottom will be scratched and dinged by beach launches and car-topping. But, I do not consider that a valid excuse for doing a poor paint job. My perfectionist side rules and I strive for a beautiful finish.

First coat of top coat

Sanding between layers

Final coat

Back to finish the deck

With the hull bottom complete, I right the boat and begin finishing the deck. The deck was epoxied previously, however, prior to hull coating, the deck was masked for protection. Prior to righting the boat, I install foam pads on my kayak stand to protect the bottom.

During the entire epoxy, priming and painting process for the hull bottom, I left the excess fiberglass. Now, I can carefully cut it near-flush with the deck. I use a 3-inch putty knife sharpened slightly by my belt sander. I cut the excess fiberglass to within 1/8 inch of the deck. Later, when sanding the deck, I will sand the fiberglass flush to the deck.

Removing extra hull side fiberglass

Sand the deck

I remove the masking, then I wash and sand the deck, as surface preparation for the top coat. I sand with 220 grit sand paper, to avoid scratches that will show through the final clear coats.

Surface preparation for clear coat

Mask the hull

I mask the hull to protect it from the upcoming deck coating. Although I will coat the deck with the same clear linear-polyurethane used on the hull, the hull must still be protected from overspray. Otherwise, the overspray will appear as speckle or orange peel, and ruin the high-gloss finish of the hull.

Paint the coaming

Aesthetically, I prefer a painted coaming to accent the natural wood deck. I mask the deck then prime the coaming. After the primer cures, I brush on a few coats of System 3 linear-polyurethane top coat.

Painted coaming

Top coat the deck

Rather than varnish, I finish the deck with clear linear-polyurethane. System 3 puts UV inhibitors in the clear LPU to protect underlying epoxy. Therefore, I tried LPU rather than varnish. The result is wonderful. The clear LPU has no color (varnish is somewhat golden), cures fast (tack free in 1 hour or so) and is less reactive to dust. The LPU is water-based for easy clean up. However, recoating must occur within 3 hours to avoid sanding between coats.

I sprayed the coaming also, to give it a high-gloss finish. Therefore, I had to spray the clear soon after painting the coaming black, to avoid sanding.

Once again, I used an HVLP sprayer. The paint thinning, shop temperature, shop humidity and sprayer performance must all be coordinated for success.