dogbiteken

the paint job took about three to four months to complete not including the two months contemplating how the design would look. i used sig supercoat products it says its fuel proof. starting with sanding sealer and lots of sanding this i applied by hand with a good brush and would sand between coats also as i mentioned before, i did replace a fair ammount of the decking with better plywood than supplied. i will admit that up close in some areas in particular the bottom of the tunnel yes, you can see grain. after i was satisfied with the sanding sealer coats and sanding i started to spray. i used a touch up type sprayer with a three to four ounce paint cup both gravity feed and siphon feed types one sprayed more volume than the other i also used a oilless compressor with water seperator located away form the outlet to let the air cool so the water would condense. started with a white base did about four to five coats and sanding between to help get rid of any remaining grain the paint helped to see the grain better and yes filler was used where needed, then continued with a few more coats of white. be careful keep your hands clean with the white or you will leave smudges. i would let the paint dry inside the house for three to five days before next coat and longer before masking. masked up the design and added some color, let dry and started to shoot clear coats. let dry reversed the mask and added some gold pearl powder (very expensive stuff 30 bucks for a very small jar but it goed a long way) you probably cant see it in the photos it all depends on how the light hits it most of the time it looks white. then sprayed on about eight to ten more coats of clear in several sessions with dry time in between coats and then i had to forgot about it for about two weeks. after the long wait i started sanding again with 600 than 1000 grit paper but to get the ultra shine i used standatd turtle wax rubbing compound and soft cotton rags and a lot of elbow grease yes, my arm was sore for days. it took about four or five evening sessions of intense rubbing then i moved on to the polishing compound, more pain but not nearly as bad and then added a few coats of wax. not your average spray bomb finnish. it took a lot of time and effort and in the end i did achive my goal of the glass smooth finish. a lot of the methods i used were new to me as i was trying them out for the first time on this boat. i am still working on more photos of some of the details. dont be afraid to replace poor quality wood from a kit. you bought the kit because someone else already did the engineering for you. i also did not think the instructions were that bad i have built other dumas kits and have been successful.
edited may 22 08



"help! jane! stop this crazy thing!" george jetson