The time for finish paint, Alexseal, has come...for the hull at least. I started by hand sanding the hull, starting at the freshly laid top of the boot strip and moved up to the sheer line. The work began at the starboard counter with a careful working of the boot stripe tape line and then the field of the counter and hull, moving forward to the stem. The 320-grit paper used was in the middle of the suggested 280 to 400-grit paper on the multiple coats of the Alexseal primer paint. Once I completed the stem, I moved over to the port side of the hull and worked my way back towards the stern, finishing at the port counter.

The bulk of time was spent in the hand work to prep the surface for a good mechanical bond with the Alexseal finish paint. And now with that sanding work complete, I moved on to vacuuming the hull surface, as well as the sanding dust deposited onto the trailer and floor, and then completed with two passes of the hull with rags and acetone.

I returned to the shop to prepare the 2:1 (Part A and Part B) mixture of the Alexseal finish paint. In hind sight, the volume of paint was a bit much - having roughly 5 ounces remaining after the 1st coat was applied - but I errored on the side of having too much rather than too little to complete the painting. After the two core parts were mixed, I then thinned with the appropriate agent by about 20%, covered the paint with a secure lid and headed back to the boat along with various painting accouterments. In the paint booth, I waited the remains 10 minutes of the required 15 minute induction period, and then added and thoroughly mixed in the rolling agent. This is recent addition to the Alexseal lineup for those that forego spraying, and allows the paint to lay down to that mirror finish we are all looking for. Now that the paint was ready to apply, I fitted out a foam roller, gloves, and respirator to begin application.

I started at the transom, fully covering this area, and then on to the starboard counter. I worked from the counter and up to the sheer line down the length of the starboard hull. A couple times per side, I added additional paint to the pan and continued the process of paint application. I did notice less fish-eye bubbles with the rolling agent, but a light touch is still required to move the paint to a smooth lay down. I finished at the port counter and closed the shop for the evening. The results were good but would improve with subsequent coats, with required sanding between build coats. It was great to reach this milestone as Biscuit moves close to completion.

Total Hrs: 4