With the first coat of Alexseal on the hull and fully cured, I took advantage of some time off from the "9-5" to get started on sanding and application of the second coat. The first application of the Alexseal topcoat paint went on well, but orange peel (even from sanding the Alexseal primer) prevented the glass-like finish we are all going for in a freshly painted hull. So on to sanding...

I grabbed a bunch of 320-grit paper, grabbed a light and applied the fine feel of the finger tips, and set out to hand-sand the hull. No real secret here, just a thorough and intentionally methodical approach to bringing down nearly imperceptible high spots on the hull. I worked the transom first, and then the starboard counter up to the bow, finishing at the port counter. My approach was by hand as well as a small 3M block for the first pass. Upon finishing, I vacuumed the surface well with the shop vac and a soft bristled attachment. It was a very good first pass, but more work was required to get the hull surface prepped for the second coat.

On the second pass of hull sanding, I held a light in one hand shining at an angle to pick up the high spots missed during the first pass. The light along with running my fingers over the hull surface highlighted areas requiring more work. I walked around Biscuit, applied the light and finger tools, carefully bring down the high spots. When I was finished, satisfied with the results of the methodical sanding, I vacuumed the hull once again and then returned to the shop to mix a pot of Alexseal paint.

I mixed less paint this time, making good notes from the first pot, and then headed back to the paint booth along with supplies. While the paint was undergoing the required 15-minute induction, I used rags and acetone to clean the remaining sanding debris from the hull.

I outfitted the roller with a fresh foam applicator, poured in the roller/brush agent into the paint pot and mixed thoroughly. I poured approximately a third of the paint into the pan and set about on the second coat at the transom. As I did on the sanding work, I moved on to the starboard counter and worked my way to the bow, applying fresh paint at every two feet or so and working back into the most recent line of paint applied. I turned at the bow and headed down the port side, finishing at the port counter. Stepping away from the boat and reviewing the application, I could see that the mirror gloss was most apparent on this second coat. The next round of sanding and the third (hopefully final) round of paint will yield the results we are looking for. I closed the paint booth with extraction fan running, returned to the shop to tuck away the tools and closed up for the evening.

Total Hrs: 4.75