A Hull-finishing question from a newbie

[asrainox]

Hi all.

Firstly, I'll introduce the project and where I'm at. I'm currently building a Hartley Ts16, which is a ply-over-frame sailboat which I'm sure most of you will know of, even on the other side of the pond. For the aussies on here, it's practically an institution. I'm a complete amateur, and prior to this I think I probably badly built a table once. The one thing I can say is I am very good at research, read widely, and am rather precocious in my ability to pick up new skills. So far I've finished the hull, epoxy encapsulated and fiberglass sheathed the ply, and now the skeg and outer keel strips at the stem are on with (I believe) a great deal of success. This is where I'm now examining a few options.

What I'd like to do is to have the centreline bright finished from the stem capping pieces to the end of the outer keel/skeg. It's a gorgeous layup of laminated N.G. Rosewood which would give a lovely highlight to the paintwork, and I've purposely kept the shaping of these timbers somewhat more traditional in their fairing to really give what can be quite a boring looking boat a healthy dose of character.

What I already have is a high-build 2-pack primer, and a 2 pack marine enamel paint (deep blue, both Norglass - Shipshape and Northane specifically) ready to go for the sides and transom. I know I can't mix the application of a 1 part and a 2 part enamel when having my painted sides near my bright centreline, so a 1 part enamel for the job is out. I wondered whether the 2-pack enamel in a clear would be suitable for that job if applied over a few sealing coats of epoxy. I remember someone advising against 2-pack bright-work or centre-line stuff. Ease of re-finishing or something...

Any advice on this? Specifically, 1) Is it folly to try to bright finish the centre-line timbers purely for the aesthetics of it? 2) Will a 2-pack clear be suitable on those timbers, if I am willing to take the time to apply it?, and 3) is there any other combination to use with the 2-pack blue I already have, seeing as the boat is an encapsulated ply glass devil-boat, and if it ever gets wet it will turn into soup?

Thanks for your ideas, everyone! And yes, yes. Photos later.

[Larks]

Welcome to the forum mate. First of all though, where are you??

As for the questions, I can give an opinion on question 1 but I can't really answer the others. As to bright finishing the centre line timbers I'd say no, don't do it. From a personal opinion only I think it would look wrong. I can understand the desire to show off the NG Rosewood, I've built a kitchen island bench out of it and it is a lovely timber when bright finished, but I think the hull would like like it's split in half or something, at the very least I think it would look just plain odd.

And from personal experience, the keel and stem - especially from the centreboard forward and then the aft bit of the keel, seem to be the areas that get knocked around the most on my TS16. Either from beaching her every now and then when camping (I've fitted a couple of bronze strips along the bottom of the keel now) or from loading on and off the trailer, it just seems to take a bit of a hammering and I can't imagine the pain of trying to protect it from banging on the trailer each time you load her up at a boat ramp with boat wakes, wind or current keeping her lively.

The ony other thing that I'd add is that I do believe that you need a seamless paint finish all around to avoid any edges that may peel and let in moisture.

Like I say, personal opinion but hope it helps.

cheers
Greg

[asrainox]

Thanks Larks!

I'm in suburban Melbourne, myself. I just feel so dirty covering up that lovely wood with paint is my problem I think.

I will be adding a brass running strip the length of the keel/stem/skeg as well, so I'm not too concerned about it getting knocked from below when loading on or off a trailer. I see what you mean about water ingress though. I had planned to overlap the clear coat and colour coat by a rough 30cm either side of the keel (clear coat first, colour coat after, or alternating) with fair sanding to key the surface in. I do know that it's only a mechanical bond then, but it may be ok?

I have seen a few boats done this way and some do look a little split, but I've got some nice ideas for the topsides that should integrate the line coming up from the waterline at the bow into the sheer and rubbing strakes, and deck. Big picture, I think it'll work out, but only if the mechainics and practicalities of it work. Otherwise, I can just de-character it and fair the stem in like normal.

[asrainox]

I'd really love some extra input, if anybody has any about this!

I'm about to head down and pick up a bunch of clear 2-pack to do the centreline, alternating the painted layers of centreline and colour on the rest of the hull to try to get a fairly waterproof coating, overlapping the edges by a rough 12". I'm not too worried about it, the paint is there to UV protect the epoxy, and be scratch resistant. 2-pack clear will be just as resistant as 2-pack colour, as far as I know.

Any conflicting viewpoints?

[JimD]

I'm not quite sure what you're talking about but there's quite a few different two part products out there. I've used 2part LPU (linear polyurethane) paint on a fiberglassed plywood hull and the manufacturer's clear finish on the bright work and it worked out reasonalbly well. Although the particular clear product I used tended to flake off after a couple years. I don't bother with it any more and use only traditional varnishes on the brightwork and one part paint. Using those products can be tricky, not to mention toxic and it no longer seems worth it to me.

[Reynard38]

If there will be waterline stripe on the boat why not bright finsh above that, and bottom paint below.

[asrainox]

I'm not quite sure what you're talking about but there's quite a few different two part products out there.

What I'm suggesting I'll do is use a 2-part Linear Polyurethane colour for the sides, and a 2 part Linear Polyurethane clear for the centre-line. They are the exact same composition, but one is non-pigmented. Both are the Norglass equivalent of International Perfection, and their related 2-part clear.

I would expect a 1 part clear to begin to flake after some heavy use of 2-3 seasons (being about a 1 part clear's lifespan), but I would expect a 2-part L-poly clear applied to sufficient depth to outlast that by a few more years..

The real question asked is, beyond whether it will look crap or not, is will putting the clear down the centre compromise the integrity of the 2-pack paint, considering Norglass's MSDS and use guides describe the qualities of their clear coating as exactly the same as their colour counterpart, except for stipulating a few extra coats is a good idea when working with the clear.

*sigh*. This is one of the more expensive choices for me, and I pretty much wanna get it right first time. I'd hate to be trying to take off 2part L-PU to put on a 1 part enamel instead.

[JimD]

What I'm suggesting I'll do is use a 2-part Linear Polyurethane colour for the sides, and a 2 part Linear Polyurethane clear for the centre-line. They are the exact same composition, but one is non-pigmented. Both are the Norglass equivalent of International Perfection, and their related 2-part clear.

I would expect a 1 part clear to begin to flake after some heavy use of 2-3 seasons (being about a 1 part clear's lifespan), but I would expect a 2-part L-poly clear applied to sufficient depth to outlast that by a few more years..

The real question asked is, beyond whether it will look crap or not, is will putting the clear down the centre compromise the integrity of the 2-pack paint, considering Norglass's MSDS and use guides describe the qualities of their clear coating as exactly the same as their colour counterpart, except for stipulating a few extra coats is a good idea when working with the clear.

*sigh*. This is one of the more expensive choices for me, and I pretty much wanna get it right first time. I'd hate to be trying to take off 2part L-PU to put on a 1 part enamel instead.

Just my guess that nothing should end up compromised by your plan. But does the manufacturer have a website with contact info and tech support? Hopefully any good vendor who sells it should know what you can or can't do with it.