Hello Folks, Well, I finally have gotten to the painting part of this project! Although the sanding part is never ending. I decided on Kirby's as a traditional boat paint. It's been interesting to say the least. The first coat of primer went on extremely thick! I should have thinned it. I did thin the second coat and it flowed much better, but required care to avoid "holidays". The white top coat went on much better with no thinning and leveled out nicely. The #33 Dark blue, I applied straight from the can with foam roller and tipping with a foam brush. The results were errr, workboat finish where the start/stop points were very noticeable. Glad I only had time to paint one side. For side two, I thinned the paint 1/2oz. Penetrol to 1/2 a cup of paint (approximately)and used a real brush, not foam / no roller. The results were much better! The paint leveled out well. So now I'll sand the first side and apply another coat thinned, with brush. Another thing I noticed is that the paint dries to the touch in 24 hours, but has not reached full hardness. It still feels a little tacky. So I'll wait a couple more days before applying another coat. Pictures will not be shown until the painting is done and masking removed.
Hope you all are enjoying your Skerries on the water!

re: painting.

Note that you've changed two variables -- thinnning AND brush.... I've had great results (using interlux brightsides) by thinning the paint and using a foam roller and tipping out with a foam brush.... the trick is to not overload the roller with too much paint, lest you get sags...and to be careful around the laps (where it is easy to create drips).....and then to remember that even the most perfectly applied finish is going to get dinged and scratched once you start using the boat (unless you happen to live in a different world than I do -- one where the assorted interfaces between water and land happen without rocks, barnacles and all other manner of jagged, hard, and/or pointy objects!) So paint on, do your best and enjoy!

Julie K.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Julie K.,

John I didn't dilute the paint but used very thin coats of paint. That's the trick with Kirby's.

Thanks folks. The boat is looking real good. I don't mind a small sag here and there. I guess it comes down to which method works for each individual. You're right Julie we do have rocks aplenty here in New England. Actually the place I can't wait to launch in Portsmouth, NH is littered with rocks and shells. but it's so pretty there!