If Visine gets the red out then what gets the ridge out? Ahh, yes, I do :) I wanted to sand yesterday but, the cabin is starting to gather a collection of tools, supplies, food, blankets, etc. which is starting to get out of control... So day one of my sanding turned into day one of "reorganizing the boat". It looks good, everything is much easier to find, and it feels better overall since it has been done but, I was so sad not to sand...
I didn't really get to "play" around to see what I could do with the sanding the other day. So, I wanted some alone time with just me, a sander, and the girl :) Its easier to make a mistake when you aren't surrounded by people who know what they are doing when you don't. I used the block sander and set it against various parts of the boat. The vibration was too much to take while trying to hold the sander in the right position "in order to get to" the sand spots so, I started on the line... You know... the line that is supposed to mark the water line on a sailboat but is pretty much always located two or so inches above the water line... Maybe it is so if you jump really hard in a boat it still stays above the water line...
Maybe I should go into a little boat paint explanation here... Above the water line is a very thin remaining top coat with some other powdery coat in various places. The water line was painted six different colors with a little blue painters tape still left between the deep red and the blue. The top color of the water line is the start of the bottom paint now. The bottom paint is three different layers with a few spots of a very shiny black in spots up under the layers. Now, take all of that and add various fillers... epoxy, fiberglass, and don't forget the silicone... but... when you picture the fillers don't picture them sanded or finished prior to painting if they were painted... picture them just kind of slapped on the side of the boat and allowed to dry... and for the back of the boat slap a layer of the hard epoxy stuff over the entire back of the boat... and make that thin protective layer about 1/8" -1/4" all over... but, remember don't sand it smooth anywhere ;)
The most logical place for me to start was the water line because it was the perfect height and at the time appeared to need the most work. I sanded... I scraped... I scraped and sanded... I sanded and scraped... I figured out halfway through it was easier to scrape, sand, scrape, sand, etc. until it was even. I also learned very quickly to work the sander in a straight up and down motion going along with the curve of the boat. Once I got it figured out, it went fast (all the way down in about an hour) BUT... then I noticed all the scratches, scrapes and imperfections on the surface... mainly from the sander... soooo... I got out the 320 grit sand paper and hand sanded out all of the spots... The finished result was nothing short of amazing. I never imagined the line to be that smooth and perfect with no additional work.
The best part of this day and my magic line was the accidental sanding of the bottom paint. I accidentally went down 3"-4" past the water line in section just over a foot long. I didn't mean to. While I was working on smoothing the line the other part of the sander was working on this spot. I didn't even realize it until I was taking pictures towards the end of the day. The incredible thing about this is that until now, it was going to be scuffed up on the bottom and the new paint would be applied to that. Who is going to care? It's bottom paint. The part of the boat that will never really be seen. Ok... yes, I care... OCD care. This little spot of very smooth finish on an impossible finish was enough to get everyone involved in the lets strip it to the bottom on the bottom movement.
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