Painted covr strip

[Dale Genther]

When we bought our 41 ft. Greman Frers Sr. sailboat 8 years ago it had a stripe about 3/4 in. wide located about 6 inches down from the caprail. This stripe rans from about 9 inches aft of the stem to about 6 inches from the transom. It was originally a gold mylar tape which I thought was tacky so I removed it and have been painting it on with gold sign painters tape ever since. The problem is that I've gotten the yearly painting down to the point where I could complete it in a weekend (haul out on Fri afternoon, backin on Mon. morning) if it wasn't for this gold stripe. I now have to wait a full day or two for the topside paint to dry before I can mask and paint the stripe on. I like the look of the stripe as it accents the boats shear and breaks up the white topsides. As it, is it is easyier for me to sand the whole hull including the strip, then roll and tip the whole thing, followied by masking and repainting the stripe. What I'm looking for it any suggeations for a more permanate strip that. 1) would be easy to sand around before painting the topsides 2)wouldn't need to be redone every year 3) would preferably be gold in color. BTW adding a wood rubrail with a brass cap on it won't work as the caprail on the bulwurk already has this.

[Dale Genther]

Sorry, the subject should have read Painted Cove Stripe. Someday maybe I'll learn to type properly.

[Dale Harvey]

A: Learn how to cut a line with a paintbrush. Not everyone can do this. B: Use real gold leaf, but that will still require A.

[B. Burnside]

Pardon this question if it sounds rude: Is your boat wooden? How thick is the planking? Have you considered entrusting your cove stripe to a really steady-handed router operator? If so you could make a real cove for the stripe, finish it in gold leaf if you feel wealthy, or paint it less often if you don't. You could mask out the cove if it were painted. If you used gold you should definitely not mask it, but I find it easier to cut a line on the edge of the cove than on a flat surface, and you can wipe away the boo-boos before they dry.

There was another discussion on gold leaf here if you want to check the Searchy-Thing in the upper right corner of the screen.

Barb

[Scott Rosen]

What Barb said. Exactly.

[Dale Genther]

Barb - My boat is wood, mahogany planking about an inch thick. My previous boat, a wood Dickerson 35, had a routed in cove stripe. I must be hand painting challenged because I always masked that one also before I painted it. I liked the look of the straight crisp line I got that way. Guess I'll continue masking on my current boat.

[rodcross]

I may take some flak for this, but I cheated and went to a local custom-auto shop and bought a roll of gold tape and fitted it into the cove. You wouldn't be able to tell unless you put your nose right into the cove. After 40 years of being gouged, scratched and scraped, the cove is none to precise and since I usually have had a few cups of coffee before painting, I'd never get it right. The line looks perfect, and since the tape won't take any paint, painting around the cove is a walk in the park. When the day comes that I decide to use goldleaf, I'll still use clear, double-sided tape and apply the leaf to the tape. Don't shoot me for this. I'd rather be sailing than painting, anytime.