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Over the past two days I moved a couple of small rowboats into the shop for refinish work, so I could sell them with fresh coats of paint. One is a newly built plywood 9-foot V-bottom dinghy built (but never painted) by a neighbor; the other is an older 10-foot fiberglass reproduction of a Whitehall-style rowing boat, with wineglass transom and two rowing stations--and mahogany seats that give it a classy look.
After sanding and filling small gouges, pinholes other slight imperfections in both hulls, I decided to roll and tip the paint job. While this is often done with two persons--one moving slightly ahead, rolling paint onto the hull in approximately 2-foot sections, and the other following right behind lightly leveling the paint with a nearly dry brush--it was easy to roll and tip the small dinghies by myself, since the areas covered were smaller.
I know rolling and tipping has been covered here before, but I wanted to add a few specific tips:
* PAINT - For most small-boat projects like this, I prefer either Interlux Brightside Polyurethane or Pettit Easypoxy. Both are easy to use, give a nice and durable finish, and are pretty non-toxic when compared with the two-part products. Thin as recommended on the can...usually about 10%. (By the way, last week I tried a very different two-part, water-based paint that's been kicking around the shop for several years, unopened. It was a one-gallon kit of System Three paint that advertised as a low-VOC product (appealing), so I finally got around to giving it a whirl. While System Three makes some great epoxy products (I really like their Clear Coat), stay away from their water-based paints--they're AWFUL! Even applied over a very good primer and allowed to cure properly, the paint peeled away in small sheets when lightly scuff-sanded...just like a cheap latex house paint, only worse. ...But I digress.)
* ROLLERS - When rolling and tipping, the best approach is to use the little 4-inch weenie rollers that feature relatively dense foam. Beware of the cheapos that are only good for water-based paints (their foam is often not as smooth or dense as the solvent-resistant kind that are designed for enamels, urethanes and varnishes). So far, my absolute favorite is made by Redtree Industries, sold in two-packs. I get mine at Admiral Ship Supply for $4.83 per two-pack, although the suggested retail price is $8.45. (If not at your local hardware store, they can be found at most marine or paint stores.)
* BRUSHES - I love working with a good natural-bristle brush for a lot of paint work, but nothing beats a foam brush when rolling and tipping. (After all, the point of tipping is to eliminate brush marks, as much as possible.) But beware--while they may look the same, not all foam brushes are equal. If you go to the local hardware store, you may find foam brushes that (like some foam rollers) are very coarse in terms of foam density. You want foam that's more-or-less the density of the Redtree rollers, and so far my favorite foam brush is the 2-inch-wide "Poly-Brush" model made by Jen Manufacturing, USA. There's a Chinese 2-incher that's equally good, simply labeled "Foam Brush 8505." When you're picking brushes out of the bin, be selective...making sure that their brush ends are cut straight across and grabbing the ones that haven't been crushed/distorted in shape at the bottom of the pile. (The foam may spring back in time, but why not start with the good ones?) Retail for the foam brushes I buy is listed as $1.15 each, but they're often sold for a bit less.
* ROLLER TRAYS - When using the 4-inch-wide rollers, you want to go with a narrow 6-inch-wide tray. My favorite is a solvent-resistant model made by Premier Paint Roller Co. of Richmond Hill, NY. ($2.20 each suggested retail). The great thing about narrower paint trays is that they're easier to pick up and move than big, wide and paint-loaded trays...and you waste less paint in the end, since it's confined to a smaller area. On smaller paint projects like the little rowing boats, I place the tray on a small rolling wooden stool, tacking scraps of 1"x1" fir down on the seat to keep the tray from accidentally being pushed onto the floor. I sit on a small, height-adjustable rolling chair, pushing the paint-tray ahead of me, and am able to scoot around the perimeter without a lot of bending and twisting. A final tip is to stack 3-4 of the trays on top of one another, to add stiffness and strength when you have to pick them up.
* TECHNIQUE - Nothing new here, but the object is to get just enough paint on the roller for even coverage...but avoid uneven application. (You're trying to pretend that tipping isn't an option, and that whatever you lay down with the roller is the final product--as smooth and even as possible, not quite subject to sags.) On a typical smaller boat, you can roll in whatever direction you want, but you want to use the almost-dry foam brush to tip vertically--not horizontally--since vertically-tipped paint will be less inclined toward runs and sags. (The exception would be a fiberglass hull that has faux planking seams indented into the surface; in that case, you might have to roll and tip parallel to the planking seams, in order to avoid "catching" paint in the recesses.) The most important thing about tipping is how you hold the brush and how much pressure you apply--or, more accurately, DON'T apply. You want to pretend that you're painting with a fine artist's brush, holding the brush's wooden handle near the end and very lightly and evenly stroking from top to bottom...using just enough pressure to even out the paint, knock down roller bubbles and eliminate any heavy spots, but not so much that your dragging a load of paint down with you. If the paint starts feeling too thick and heavy midway through the job, add another splash of thinner.
Here are a few shots of the skiffs I was painting yesterday (lower foreground of the first photo), along with the roller tray, roller and 2-inch foam brush.
- Marty
After sanding and filling small gouges, pinholes other slight imperfections in both hulls, I decided to roll and tip the paint job. While this is often done with two persons--one moving slightly ahead, rolling paint onto the hull in approximately 2-foot sections, and the other following right behind lightly leveling the paint with a nearly dry brush--it was easy to roll and tip the small dinghies by myself, since the areas covered were smaller.
I know rolling and tipping has been covered here before, but I wanted to add a few specific tips:
* PAINT - For most small-boat projects like this, I prefer either Interlux Brightside Polyurethane or Pettit Easypoxy. Both are easy to use, give a nice and durable finish, and are pretty non-toxic when compared with the two-part products. Thin as recommended on the can...usually about 10%. (By the way, last week I tried a very different two-part, water-based paint that's been kicking around the shop for several years, unopened. It was a one-gallon kit of System Three paint that advertised as a low-VOC product (appealing), so I finally got around to giving it a whirl. While System Three makes some great epoxy products (I really like their Clear Coat), stay away from their water-based paints--they're AWFUL! Even applied over a very good primer and allowed to cure properly, the paint peeled away in small sheets when lightly scuff-sanded...just like a cheap latex house paint, only worse. ...But I digress.)
* ROLLERS - When rolling and tipping, the best approach is to use the little 4-inch weenie rollers that feature relatively dense foam. Beware of the cheapos that are only good for water-based paints (their foam is often not as smooth or dense as the solvent-resistant kind that are designed for enamels, urethanes and varnishes). So far, my absolute favorite is made by Redtree Industries, sold in two-packs. I get mine at Admiral Ship Supply for $4.83 per two-pack, although the suggested retail price is $8.45. (If not at your local hardware store, they can be found at most marine or paint stores.)
* BRUSHES - I love working with a good natural-bristle brush for a lot of paint work, but nothing beats a foam brush when rolling and tipping. (After all, the point of tipping is to eliminate brush marks, as much as possible.) But beware--while they may look the same, not all foam brushes are equal. If you go to the local hardware store, you may find foam brushes that (like some foam rollers) are very coarse in terms of foam density. You want foam that's more-or-less the density of the Redtree rollers, and so far my favorite foam brush is the 2-inch-wide "Poly-Brush" model made by Jen Manufacturing, USA. There's a Chinese 2-incher that's equally good, simply labeled "Foam Brush 8505." When you're picking brushes out of the bin, be selective...making sure that their brush ends are cut straight across and grabbing the ones that haven't been crushed/distorted in shape at the bottom of the pile. (The foam may spring back in time, but why not start with the good ones?) Retail for the foam brushes I buy is listed as $1.15 each, but they're often sold for a bit less.
* ROLLER TRAYS - When using the 4-inch-wide rollers, you want to go with a narrow 6-inch-wide tray. My favorite is a solvent-resistant model made by Premier Paint Roller Co. of Richmond Hill, NY. ($2.20 each suggested retail). The great thing about narrower paint trays is that they're easier to pick up and move than big, wide and paint-loaded trays...and you waste less paint in the end, since it's confined to a smaller area. On smaller paint projects like the little rowing boats, I place the tray on a small rolling wooden stool, tacking scraps of 1"x1" fir down on the seat to keep the tray from accidentally being pushed onto the floor. I sit on a small, height-adjustable rolling chair, pushing the paint-tray ahead of me, and am able to scoot around the perimeter without a lot of bending and twisting. A final tip is to stack 3-4 of the trays on top of one another, to add stiffness and strength when you have to pick them up.
* TECHNIQUE - Nothing new here, but the object is to get just enough paint on the roller for even coverage...but avoid uneven application. (You're trying to pretend that tipping isn't an option, and that whatever you lay down with the roller is the final product--as smooth and even as possible, not quite subject to sags.) On a typical smaller boat, you can roll in whatever direction you want, but you want to use the almost-dry foam brush to tip vertically--not horizontally--since vertically-tipped paint will be less inclined toward runs and sags. (The exception would be a fiberglass hull that has faux planking seams indented into the surface; in that case, you might have to roll and tip parallel to the planking seams, in order to avoid "catching" paint in the recesses.) The most important thing about tipping is how you hold the brush and how much pressure you apply--or, more accurately, DON'T apply. You want to pretend that you're painting with a fine artist's brush, holding the brush's wooden handle near the end and very lightly and evenly stroking from top to bottom...using just enough pressure to even out the paint, knock down roller bubbles and eliminate any heavy spots, but not so much that your dragging a load of paint down with you. If the paint starts feeling too thick and heavy midway through the job, add another splash of thinner.
Here are a few shots of the skiffs I was painting yesterday (lower foreground of the first photo), along with the roller tray, roller and 2-inch foam brush.
- Marty
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