For some reason, and I'm not totally sure why, I started the final finishing process by varnishing the rails. In this case, I'm not sure if it really matters what order.
By the time I put a coat of final epoxy on them, sanded that down, and then put 5 coats of varnish - it took a week of total time. I think they look good, though, and feel smooth.
The next task was to paint the hull. I primed it with Interlux "Pre-Kote" primer. The goal of the primer is to fill all the little imperfections that still exist. So basically, you roll on a coat of primer and then sand it all off! Hmmm. What fun!
This photo shows the general idea. I'm about finished sanding the primer.
Although not a great photo, you can see in this closeup the scratches and small imperfections that the primer fills.
It took me much longer than the average human, but I finally realized the finished product is what I and everyone else will see forever. It's worth making it look good.
And I like it!
Modern paints, in this case "Interlux Brightside Polyurethene," are amazing. This is two coats that I rolled and then "tipped out" with a brush, which means just running the tip of the brush across the paint.
I did the cockpit in the same "Seattle Gray" color. I really like nice smooth paint offset by varnished rails.
Now I need to do the whole process over again for the deck.
