I finished the varnishing this morning and cleaned up the boat. She can leave the dock any time after tomorrow morning although, if I wait a day, the varnish will be harder and less vulnerable to damage. If it's as nice tomorrow as predicted, I'll probably take a chance.
I rushed this job because of this great stretch of weather and the threat of wet following the remnants of the tropical storms next week. It's been a marathon during which I've tried to put all impulses of craftsmanship and care out of my mind. Despite that, it looks GREAT... from about 50 feet away. It's good enough close up that I should be able to avoid embarrassment by keeping up a constant patter of, "Oh look, a seal.... say, the girl on that boat over there is topless..."
However, I've got a good thick coat of Bristol Finish on the most visible and high wear critical areas. If I find myself inspired and feeling like puttering instead of traveling, I can sand it all flatter somewhere on the ICW and either put on another coat of the BF or try varnish on top.
After ranting about the stuff for years on the Internet, I've now concluded that I actually like Bristol Finish. Most of the problems I've had go away if I warm up the mix with a heat gun before using it. It simply needs to be warmer than the surface it goes on. In this weather, it tacks so fast that I can practically keep going around and around the boat adding coats.
The day after laying on 4-6 coats, I sand it flat and put on a thin finish coat to restore the gloss. This is where I cut corners but a few more hours of sanding and I would have had a really beautiful finish nearly as tough as gel coat.
Of course, now that I've found that I actually like the stuff, rumor has it that it won't be coming back on the market. Story of my life. Well, I've got a can left over for another round of refinishing. Enough of this, I'm going to go sailing.
I rushed this job because of this great stretch of weather and the threat of wet following the remnants of the tropical storms next week. It's been a marathon during which I've tried to put all impulses of craftsmanship and care out of my mind. Despite that, it looks GREAT... from about 50 feet away. It's good enough close up that I should be able to avoid embarrassment by keeping up a constant patter of, "Oh look, a seal.... say, the girl on that boat over there is topless..."
However, I've got a good thick coat of Bristol Finish on the most visible and high wear critical areas. If I find myself inspired and feeling like puttering instead of traveling, I can sand it all flatter somewhere on the ICW and either put on another coat of the BF or try varnish on top.
After ranting about the stuff for years on the Internet, I've now concluded that I actually like Bristol Finish. Most of the problems I've had go away if I warm up the mix with a heat gun before using it. It simply needs to be warmer than the surface it goes on. In this weather, it tacks so fast that I can practically keep going around and around the boat adding coats.
The day after laying on 4-6 coats, I sand it flat and put on a thin finish coat to restore the gloss. This is where I cut corners but a few more hours of sanding and I would have had a really beautiful finish nearly as tough as gel coat.
Of course, now that I've found that I actually like the stuff, rumor has it that it won't be coming back on the market. Story of my life. Well, I've got a can left over for another round of refinishing. Enough of this, I'm going to go sailing.
