Then it was time to paint the boat. So I telephoned Blakes Paint and was put through to their advice department.I was told to buy a hygrometer to measure humidity and a thermometer to measure the air temperature.
No problem. I then was advised not to paint if the humidity was over 65%. Ok I can understand that. Also the temperature must not be below 15 degrees centigrade. OK again. We also must be careful that there is no dew, due.
In addition to that we had to key in the first coat using wet and dry sand paper then wash off with fresh water, let the surface dry then paint. This we did. We could only paint between 8am and 2pm as before this there was dew and after this time the dew would start again.
We soldiered on completing the topsides and then the walkways and then cockpit and last the deck. Starting aft we painted the deck and let it dry.
Next day the complete top coat came off in sheets. I phoned Blakes. They said there was contamination on the deck. We had done all they said.
They told me to wipe the surface with degreaser and start again.
This we did after scrapping the first coat off. The paint stayed on although I could scrape it with my finger nail. Blakes said that this was normal and we needed to let it cure completely which would take a week.
We completed the painting using the technique above and were very happy. Next we antifouled the boat which was very quick.