The first is to paint the surface at gunwale level with Andy Russell's satin black gunwale paint (or, as he has it, Gunwhale Paint). Yesterday I applied some Fertan rust converter to the bits that were lightly corroded and today I put down some primer over that. Tomorrow I expect I'll apply a second coat of primer – probably not necessary, but the manufacturer recommends four coats on bare metal! Then I'll have to decide whether to use some black undercoat, or just apply the gunwale paint over what's there. I'll also need to decide what to do about the dollies. I expect that the mooring lines will rub off in no time anything I apply to them. Is it worth the hassle? And what do other boaters do? I'll have to find out.
The second job is to do something about the tunnel bands – the red and white sections which are looking a bit sorry for themselves. Their rather tatty state will only be emphasised by the application of Andy Russell, and by the boat blacking to take place in November. The upper band is the same colour as Erin Mae's ivory detailing, while the red can be done to match the main bodywork panels, and I've got paint and suitable undercoat for all of that. The main problem will be getting at the panels. With the dodger off to get at the rusty bits I tried lying stretched out on the cruiser deck, and it looks at though I can probably manage to lean over far enough. My best beloved has been emailing me references to fisherman's waders, but I'd rather avoid going in if I can avoid it!
Can’t the tunnel bands be done at the same time as the blacking?
ReplyDeleteI'd been thinking about that, Adam, but in that case I wouldn't be able to do it myself. I'll have to see what engineering will charge.
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