It's been a long time but I thought I'd report back on a couple of things. The Lowes here in town had no idea what I was talking about and neither their web site nor Home Depot's showed the Rustoleum Topside Paint. However, Amazon does carry it. I bought a quart of white, one of "Sand Beige," and one of primer.
The inside of the cabin was tired looking and whoever painted it last did a really poor job. The V berth area was all flaking and paint was slopped over the aluminum window frames. I cleaned everything with Arcyliclean, and then used a six inch trim roller with a fine cover to roll white on everything but the V berth and the window frames.
I sanded the V berth area to remove the flaking paint, using a 1/3 sheet electric sander and 150 grit. I then used the roller to prime the area. The primer is a lot thicker than the paint and really leveled things out.
I was concerned that the samples on the internet and the can of Sand Beige looked almost too yellow, but the paint itself is indeed more of a sandy color. The Rustoleum really levels out nice and in these areas, which are not truly smooth to begin with, no tipping with the brush was needed, though I did use it to get into tight spots.
I tried everything I could to get the paint off the window frames, to no avail. The aluminum was also so scuffed and worn it seemed like wasted motion. So I finally used some Rustoleum aluminum paint I had and just brushed it on. Many aluminum or other metal paints have too much vehicle for the metal and do not provide an even finish, but this product really works. The brush strokes totally level out and the metal flows into a very even coating that comes quite close to "as new" looking.
I had first used Rustoleum to paint the tube frame on a race car I was restoring with a car expert friend of mine. I thought he was nuts when he said to brush it on but was amazed at the results. I plan at some point to use the Topside paint on the deck from the rub rail up (the sides don't really need repainting yet)...using the beige color on the non-skid areas.
There is another thread on the site regarding storage units that I posted questions to. I plan on following up there and have some photos of what I built I will post that will also give an idea of how the paint came out.
Topside Painting Advice
Re: Topside Painting Advice
I still need to take some photos and post them but wanted to update the progress on "Girasole" (more about the name in a moment).
I have now completed the inside for now. I made a 20x30 table out of the same birch plywood I used for the cabinets I had built, and fabricated brackets for snort, folding legs out of aluminum with brass fasteners. I also purchased stadium seats to use for back support while sitting on the flat floor. These and the table are held in place to the hull with backpacking lashing straps connected through drawer pulls fastened to the hull with the same double-sided 3M automotive trim tape I had used to secure the cabinets. The Beckson trim from Wholesale Marine for trimming around the companionway and the lazzarette is on order and should arrive on the 22nd. I ordered it over eBay as, for whatever reason both the price and the shipping were less than on WM's own site. I have traced, labeled, and cleaned up the wiring but will leave the actual lighting and rewiring for another day.
I then moved to the outside, again with Rustoleum Topside paint. I used the sand beige for the non skid areas and gloss white for the surrounding area, down to the rub rail. I used the "roll and tip" process (my first time). While I'm no more a painter than a cabinet maker the results are a 1000% improvement on the boat's presentation to the world.
I also sanded and refinished the wood guides for the companionway cover and the guides for the hatch. I stained them with the same natural teak stain used on the cabinets and gave the wood four coats of semi-gloss Minwax Helmsman urethane.
The wood used for the motor mount was rotted and held together with tie-wrap. It was also fastened to the parallelogram device used to raise and lower the motor with carriage bolts (not stainless steel). They were totally rotten and actually snapped off when I tried to remove them. I have built a new mount out of a sandwich of two pieces of 3/4 inch and one 1/2 inch piece of birch ply, again stained and urethaned and held together with stainless hardware. Ready to mount once I get the stainless bolts which should have been used in the first place.
The boat seems never to have had a name. I chose "Girasole.." an Italian word for sunflower, but made up of two words which basically describes what a sunflower or a boat does...turns to the sun. I've designed a graphic using a 3" Aristocrat font and (of course) a photo of a sunflower. Haven't had it printed up yet...and when I am ready to put it on the boat-on the advice of a friend who sails a 38 foot Catalina-I will have an appropriate naming ceremony.
That...as well as the "kick up" rudder which will make my life and setup soo much easier-will wait for awhile (at $850 the rudder will cost 2/3 of what I paid for the boat and I figure the work I've done so far have already run to $500 or more). Now I'm waiting for another warm spell to get her out again.
I have now completed the inside for now. I made a 20x30 table out of the same birch plywood I used for the cabinets I had built, and fabricated brackets for snort, folding legs out of aluminum with brass fasteners. I also purchased stadium seats to use for back support while sitting on the flat floor. These and the table are held in place to the hull with backpacking lashing straps connected through drawer pulls fastened to the hull with the same double-sided 3M automotive trim tape I had used to secure the cabinets. The Beckson trim from Wholesale Marine for trimming around the companionway and the lazzarette is on order and should arrive on the 22nd. I ordered it over eBay as, for whatever reason both the price and the shipping were less than on WM's own site. I have traced, labeled, and cleaned up the wiring but will leave the actual lighting and rewiring for another day.
I then moved to the outside, again with Rustoleum Topside paint. I used the sand beige for the non skid areas and gloss white for the surrounding area, down to the rub rail. I used the "roll and tip" process (my first time). While I'm no more a painter than a cabinet maker the results are a 1000% improvement on the boat's presentation to the world.
I also sanded and refinished the wood guides for the companionway cover and the guides for the hatch. I stained them with the same natural teak stain used on the cabinets and gave the wood four coats of semi-gloss Minwax Helmsman urethane.
The wood used for the motor mount was rotted and held together with tie-wrap. It was also fastened to the parallelogram device used to raise and lower the motor with carriage bolts (not stainless steel). They were totally rotten and actually snapped off when I tried to remove them. I have built a new mount out of a sandwich of two pieces of 3/4 inch and one 1/2 inch piece of birch ply, again stained and urethaned and held together with stainless hardware. Ready to mount once I get the stainless bolts which should have been used in the first place.
The boat seems never to have had a name. I chose "Girasole.." an Italian word for sunflower, but made up of two words which basically describes what a sunflower or a boat does...turns to the sun. I've designed a graphic using a 3" Aristocrat font and (of course) a photo of a sunflower. Haven't had it printed up yet...and when I am ready to put it on the boat-on the advice of a friend who sails a 38 foot Catalina-I will have an appropriate naming ceremony.
That...as well as the "kick up" rudder which will make my life and setup soo much easier-will wait for awhile (at $850 the rudder will cost 2/3 of what I paid for the boat and I figure the work I've done so far have already run to $500 or more). Now I'm waiting for another warm spell to get her out again.