Painting the akas

We finally received the first 2.5 liter can of water based enamel. The RAL color is 7047 (light grey) and we'll use this for the akas, the decks, the cockpit and the blades. Given the small size of our workshop we cannot do everything in the same moment... We gave a light sanding with 240 grit and then rolled the paint. Here's a view of the top side of the akas after the second coat.

We also gave one more coat of clear resin to the false transom and the rudder blade.

We'll try to do small batches of work more frequently because the subsequent coats have to wait for 24 hours, and because we have to do the top side first, flip the piece when it's dry and then do the bottom.

Total work time to date: 655 hours

Painting at last

So, here we are at painting. We decided to make a first test on the daggerboard. We first washed it with running water and Scotchbrite to remove the blush, and then we gave it a light scrub with 240 grit sandpaper. And here we begin with the first coat

and, 24 hours later, with the second coat

Total work time to date:653 hours

Press stop

The experiment went well: the new enamel is definitely harder than the previous one, so we're going to use this one. Actually, the paint on the first samples continues to get harder after one month, and it cannot be dented anymore with a nail... We still have to decide the exact colors, however the idea is to paint the hull sides and bottoms with bright red while decks, cockpit and akas will be light grey.

Paint shop

Now we're ready to paint. However, the first test with the water based acrylic enamel was not positive because it proved to be too soft once cured: it can be easily dented with a nail. That's why we decided to test another water based enamel before surrendering to nastier stuff like 2-part paints. We bought a can of white water based polyurethanic enamel, semi-matt. This is the professional line of a well known manufacturer and is supposedly much better and harder than the first one. We'll see.

Filling the weave completed!

Five more hours this week end to complete sanding of the vaka deck/cockpit and subsequent coating with clear epoxy (almost 800 grams). Here's a pic taken yesterday during the sanding session

and here's one taken this morning after the second coat.

You can see the milestone beer on the left because Cinzia protested when I tried to put it on the freshly coated deck.
In the meantime we tested the paint samples prepared before. While it looks that enamel adheres well on cured epoxy, the water based acrylic enamel (latex?) that we tested seems too soft. After three weeks we can easily dent it with a nail, so it's either too soft or cures too soft on epoxy. On the other hand, the two-part polyurethane enamel that we tested before is much harder albeit very unpleasant to apply. We'll soon try a one-part water based polyurethane enamel.

Total work time to date: 651 hours

Paint test

Three hours of work after a long stop due to other commitments, including a conference abroad. We continued sanding the aka's deck and cockpit in preparation for the additional resin coats, and in the meantime we bought two cans of water based acrylic enamel (a.k.a. latex paint for our USA friends) to test how well it adheres and cures on epoxy. We gave two coats (the second one after 24 hours) on scrap plywood pieces already coated with epoxy, after a rinse to remove a possible blush patina and a light pass with the sander.

We really hope that those paints will work well because they're easy to apply. We might also give a try to wated based polyurethane enamel which is supposed to be better than the acrylic. Stay tuned for the results.

Total work time to date: 646 hours.

Sanding, sanding

Just two hours on last saturday morning to start fairing deck and cockpit imp reparation for the final epoxy coats after righting up the vaka on the saddles. We should be done by next week end.

Total work time to date: 643hours