The Cabin Top Is Painted

Woohoo! Unseasonally warm and dry May weather made life easier for us, and we have finished painting the cabin top. Just as well, because tonight I fly out for Europe for two weeks, and when I get back I think I can be pretty sure the weather won't be so compliant.

Once we had the second coat of undercoat on it became pretty clear that a gloss white finish would be a poor choice - even with the matt undercoat the glare in direct sunlight made you flinch. So we went with the traditional blue, and I'm glad we did, as it has come up looking great.

We used a single-pack Altex enamel paint system, but for the top-coats we added their 2K additive which basically converts the paint into a two-pack cross-linked polymer, and makes the paint harder and glossier. It also made it really nice to roll on. Will definitely use the product again for other outside jobs.

And now, I give you the finished result...

Second undercoat. I think you can get a feel for the "glariness" of it.

First top coat.

Final top coat.

OK, not quite finished, we still have to varnish the handrails and reinstall the dodger etc, and I have a couple of small patches I want to touch up, but I'm ticking this one off the list!

Off to Europe, so will be silent for next few weeks.