Surface Preparation for Painting a Wooden Boat | Mastering Skills

From Season 2, Episode 3 of WoodenBoat's Mastering Skills series:
With this episode, mindful of the fact that spring fitting-out is in high gear in the northern hemisphere, we take a break from our four-part series on planking to discuss painting a wooden boat. Host Rich Hilsinger visits with Brooklin, Maine, boatbuilder Eric Dow and his daughter Shawney to discuss considerations for painting a wooden boat. Shawney, the lead painter at Eric’s shop, will demonstrate the step-by-step process of doing a first-class job from start to finish.
The episode begins with a discussion of surface preparation, which is critical to a satisfactory result on both newly built boats and those that require refinishing. Shawney’s example in this episode is an 18’ outboard launch that Eric designed and built a number of years ago. She begins with removal of the old paint in a safe and efficient manner, and discusses the right tools for that job. She also discusses how filling, surfacing, and fairing are paramount to a quality finish. Other topics include various paints and products, masking-tape techniques, painting conditions (indoors and outdoors), the application of primer coats, the “roll and tip” painting technique, the importance of keeping a “wet edge,” the final coat(s), and safe clean-up procedures.
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