Western Reserve Model Yacht Club Finishing Your Soling One Meter From simplest to most complex A. Simplest: 1. Of course, leaving the hull and deck as is (white styrene) is the easiest route to take. The plain styrene hull looks pretty smooth either sanded with a progression of wet/dry sandpaper grades (220, 600, 1000, 1500), or even just rubbed out using automotive rubbing compound. Over (a long) time, UV exposure will turn the styrene white sort of an off-white, which is hard to match for repair. Also, embrittlement is increased on unfinished plastic. Of course: any color you want as long as it s white. 2. Add striping or decals: Using vinyl tape (automotive pin-striping) to add stripe or decals to the unpainted topsides is an easy way to distinguish your Soling. Put on accent stripes or a water line using striping tape. Or use decals to apply graphics to the hull- you will have to clear-coat over decals using Krylon Clear (see below). A plain Soling can be dressed up with some graphics- thin decals, over sprayed with several coats of clear lacquer, sanded and polished. Example- a checkered pattern. 3. Paint stripes or misted edges on your sails: use a fabric paint such as used for coloring silk flowers- Design-Master is one, available at Michael s, Pat Catan or JoAnn Fabrics. This is the easiest way to sail a plain, white Soling, yet have it be easier to identify on the water. B. Painting: The deck of the boat if simply painted over, has certain imperfections that stand out more than leaving the deck unpainted. It can take a lot of work to get the deck smooth enough to really look good under paint. Many choose to not paint the decks of their Soling for these reasons, or paint the deck with a flat color to hide the imperfections. You may want to consider just painting from the waterline, slightly overlapping over on to the deck- (essentially a wide stripe from the waterline to just over the deck.) Painting the hull color overlapping the edge of the deck will hide the flange, and also hide any excess glue or other imperfections in the hull/deck joint. Then leave the rest of the deck and the bottom as is- unpainted. This minimizes the painting, yet LOOKS like a painted boat. Boat by Frankie Novak The styrene under the waterline can be buffed to a high gloss as a last step.
Read the section in this document concerning paint types. Use only the paint and primer of the same brands and types. Preparation for painting- Use a sanding block. Hand-sanding will leave grooves and scratches. Use a sanding block, (sold in most hardware stores), or a piece of ½ thick rigid closed-cell foam cut to size for your hand. Filler - single-part putty or glazing compound (epoxy is too hard for this application). Available at auto stores- body filler. Example- Bondo 1-part Glazing and Spot Putty item no. 907 or 937 in 1.5 oz. tube -easy to sand. More durable is 2-part Glazing Putty no. 801. Both will have to be painted over. Apply the filler using a flexible putty spreader. Sandpaper- always use wet and dry sandpaper, except on wood. You will need 80-grit (for removal of material), 220, 600, 1000, 1500 and perhaps 2000 grit. Two 8-1/2 X 11 pieces of each should be enough. Use a small bucket, and add about 5 drops of dishwashing detergent to 2 gallons of water- it helps keep the sandpaper from loading up. Primer- there is primer, and Primer-filler. Plain primer promotes adhesion and covers dark spots, meaning less paint coats will be needed. Primer-filler is a high-build material that will better fill fine scratches. Primer-filler is more useful. Sand- Start the painting process by sanding the hull using 220 wet & dry paper to remove all the mold release and wax, and any high spots in the hull. Wipe the hull down using mineral spirits sprayed of light on a cloth or towel, not wet- wet will remove the primer. Many will spray a light coat of paint or primer/ primer-filler at this point, to make the high and low spots more obvious after another sanding, before final filling and sanding. Fill- fill the low spots using putty, and re-sand. The combination of sanding the high spots and filling and sanding the low spots will eventually yield a fair hull. Sand the boat again with 600 wet dry paper on a sanding block. Continue to sand until all high areas are removed. Low spots or hollows will show up as dark areas- fill again with glazing putty. Prime: The paint for plastics paints say they do not need a primer. That is true- they will stick to the plastic without a primer. But they will be far more glossy over a primer and it will take fewer coats to cover, plus yield a better finish. Use Krylon primer for Krylon 5- Ball and Fusion, Rust-Oleum for Rust-Oleum and Painter s Choice. Also you are best to use a white primer under light colors and darker primer under darker colors. Sand: After filling and sanding until you are satisfied with the results, sand the surfaces smooth using 220 grit wet and dry paper. Prime paint with a coat of primer and let dry overnight. Thin coat is all that is needed. Hand sand (no block) this time with 600 wet/dry paper. The boat is smooth enough when your fingernail passing over an area cannot feel any imperfections. The purpose it to make the primer coat as smooth as possible, yielding a super smooth final coat. Dampen a cloth with mineral spirits (NOT wet - just damp) and wipe the surface clean of dust. Some next use a tack cloth, or even a dampened (water) cloth to remove all lint and dust. Let dry thoroughly.
Painting: Now you are ready to apply the color coat. Mask off the deck, unless you plan to paint it the hull color as a second step. Paint the boat upside down -keel up- then store the hull upside down while the paint cures. Paint the first LIGHT color coat. A LIGHT thin coat is merely a misting over the surface. Thin means misting the paint on in successive layers- you can almost immediately put on additional coats- 1-2 minutes after painting. Spray with the can about 6 from the surface, and start beyond one end, and spray past the other end before letting up on the spray button. Do not try and spray in circles. Also- do not try to get a wet gloss - you ll get a run. Gloss comes with successive light coats. Paint the hull with at least 3 or more thin coats of paint, until the color is even in tone and all areas are covered to your satisfaction. Light colors will take more coats than reds, black, dark blue, etc. Do not try to build up the paint by painting thicker- it will run. If it does- DON T try to fix it yet- let it thoroughly dry then sand it out. And- you cannot fill sanding marks with paint- it will run. Allow at least 3-4 days up to 10 days for the paint to harden. Try and avoid handling it during this time- even though it will feel dry- it isn t. The longer you wait- the happier you ll be. The combination of a 9 lb. hull, tacky paint, and whatever the boat sits on in the stand will mar the paint job on your hull, otherwise. Clear-Coating: this is a touchy subject. More often than not, I have had poor results from clearcoats, including alligatoring, where the color coat is ruined by the solvents in the clear coat. I personally don t think it is worth the risk but have at it if you want. If you are determined to use clear coat- here are some tips. Use only the same brand paint as your color coats. Some have success using the clear coat immediately as the final 3 or 4 coats over the color coat. Others wait 10 days or so then lightly sand the color coat using 600 wet and dry paper, then 3 or 4 coats of clear. After the hull is thoroughly dry (7 10 days): lay the boat on a side, and re-mask (the hull this time), and paint your deck. On the side is better than in a stand- the hull paint may still be soft and get marred by the stand. Final Sanding: AFTER everything is thoroughly dry- 7-10 days later: Many will simply leave the boat with its spray-painted gloss. But, to get a super smooth finish, start with a light sanding using 1000 wet/dry paper, then use 1500, and finish off with a 2000 paper. Finally: use rubbing compound, then polishing compound to bring up the gloss. For deck painting: consider leaving the deck white styrene. But if you want a color, consider using a foam brush, masking only the edges, since there will be no overspray and using a satin enamel paint (pint cans at the home improvements store). Thin the enamel paint 10% using lacquer thinner (better adhesion and wetting than thinning with mineral spirits). And (as mentioned above) consider painting the hull color up and over the flange on to the deck.
Summary of the steps to a perfect finish: STEP USE NOTES Initial sanding 220 grit wet and dry Remove mold release sandpaper Initial filling One-part filler Fill obvious low spots (look just ahead and to port of the rudder hole for example) First sanding 220 grit wet and dry sandpaper Remove high spots, smooth your filled spots Initial priming Primer or primer filler Makes seeing low and high spots easier Second sanding 220 grit wet and dry sandpaper Fill Bondo or other glazing Fill additional low spots. putty. Final sanding 220 grit wet and dry Repeat until all areas are sandpaper. smooth. Prime Final layer under color coat. Allow to dry overnight. Scuff (sand) 600 wet and dry sandpaper Tack using mineral spirits dampened cloth Paint with color coat 2 3 light coats, about 2 Allow to dry overnight. Sand any areas that wrinkled or are not smooth Final coat- paint with color coat minutes between coats 600 wet and dry sandpaper 1 or 2 additional light coats, about 2 minutes between coats Allow to dry 7 10 days. Deck Painting- repeat Allow to dry 7 10 days. above steps for the deck. Final finishing: Sand 1000 wet and dry sandpaper Sand 1500 wet and dry sandpaper Sand 2000 wet and dry sandpaper (optional) Rub Out Rubbing Compound Polish Polishing Compound Buff Soft cloth A word about solvents: the polystyrene plastic parts of the Soling will be negatively affected by any solvents besides mineral spirits, alcohol, water, and detergent. Particularly lacquer thinner, acetone, and MEK will etch the surface, or make the plastic brittle. If painting with standard aerosol paint (Rust-OLeum, Fusion, Krylon 5-ball), use mineral spirits for cleaning and removing paint without damage. If painting with polyurethane, or lacquer, there is NO solvent that will be effective and not damage the plastic. Mistakes have to be sanded off. However, you can TRY alcohol to clean up many types of paint- it may work with certain paints.
C. Paint Choices There are many good paint choices. Always use the same brands of paint and primer, and the same brands in two colors if using two colors. Never mix types, for example lacquer on the deck and enamel on the hull, even if the can says you are able!! Paint Types: 1. Alkyd aerosols general purpose (Rustoleum Rust Preventive Enamel) can be airbrushed, or brush painted. Be sure to thin it- see below. Enamel is soft, and never gets as hard as some other paints, making it respond to buffing better, and enamel will scratch easier- but also be easier to repair through buffing. 2. Enamel paint- available in pint cans. 3. Lacquer: Lacquer is very expensive. Lacquer dries faster, harder, and glossier than enamel. Tamiya TS Series lacquer paints are available at some hobby shops. (Do not try to wipe off mistakes painting with lacquer- it will soften the plastic surfaces. You have to sand mistakes off after the lacquer dries.) WRMYC no longer recommends lacquer paint. 4. Polyurethanes: these include automotive basecoat/clear coat systems- 2-part paints (plus a reducer for thinning). Polyurethanes are hard, very glossy, and durable. They also cure very quickly- and drying time is about 24 hours vs. several days for standard aerosol paints. Victor uses auto paints (applied by a body shop) for their factory boats. But, urethanes are generally not recommended for amateur use- they are hazardous (fumes and flammable). We do not recommend them for S1M painting, unless you are an expert with the right respiration equipment. D. Which paint to use? Our recommended aerosol paints: Brand Type Observations Usage cautions Krylon Fusion (Sherwin- Williams) Painter s Touch (Rust-Oleum priceleader brand) OR Rust-Oleum 5-Ball Protective Enamel Krylon 5-Ball (Sherwin- Williams) Paint for plastics Acrylic Enamel acrylic lacquerized enamel High gloss, with a primer. Quick dry but 7+ day CURE. Easy, seems (almost) foolproof. Cleanup using mineral spirits. Easy to repair scratches and buff out. Prime using their primer. Forgiving; gloss is great, with a primer. Cleanup using mineral spirits. Easy to repair scratches and buff out. Prime using 5-Ball primer. Second coats within an hour, recoat after a few minutes or wait a week. Second coats within an hour, recoat after a few minutes or wait 24 hours. Second coats within an hour, recoat after a few minutes or any other time. Hint: when using an aerosol paint, place the can in warm (not hot) water for 12-15 minutes in advance of use. The warmth causes the paint to spray in a finer mist, for a smoother result.
Waterline drawing - here are the numbers: courtesy Frankie Novak Horizontal reference point Vertical measurement from deck turn to waterline 1. 4.25 from the stem measure down from the sheerline (edge of deck)- 99 mm. This is the point at which the waterline begins on each side. 2. At the front of Keel (16 aft of the stem) measure down 77 mm. 3. Halfway between the 4.25 point and the front of the keel, measure down 84 mm. 4. At the rear of Keel measure down 69 mm. 5. At the rudder log (Shaft) measure down 58 mm 6. Bottom of Transom at underside- the lines should be about 1 apart at transom.