Pretty much anything!!!
It was one very long day (it always is and that’s what is so dreadful about sandblasting/painting a steel boat)…. Up at 5am, work started at 7am and ended at 18 hours later. After a short 3.5 hours of sleep we were back at painting and on for 3 more days… All that for one little section of boat to be finished. We are dividing the sandblasting and painting of the aft section in three. We did the tail end of the boat first, next will be the fuel tanks and finally the engine room.
Sandblast day is like one long triathlon: sandblast, clean, paint.
Sandblasting: shooting sand out of a hose at 110psi while standing right there, in the sand storm, trying to somewhat direct the sand jet in order to hopefully hitting every bit of surface. If claustrophobic restrain from doing this in tight areas. Lovely experience in the tail end of a boat.
Cleaning: Once you are done shooting approximately 1 tone of sand, clean it all out. No dust shall remain on any surfaces. Cleaning is done manually first with dust pans and feed scoops. Finish off with the shop vacs.
Painting: Nope, its not molasses but it sure feel like it; its epoxy paint…. yes, it has to be brushed and rolled on all surface and crevices. Wear mask, gloves and sacrificial clothing; you will still end up stone on fumes and sticky with goo. Tip: good aeration does help a lot with the fumes and the epoxy paint can be washed off the skin with vinegar if done before the paint cures.
Preperation to blast. Sand will get EVERYWHERE!! Block every possible sand intrusion. Having blasted one full boat without air fed hood, I love this thing! Luxury in the sand storm. All set to go. Notice the smile? It’s fake… 😛 Done my time in the storm, ready to pass on the suit. Marks turn! Isn’t he lovely in leather? When I say sand gets everywhere, literally in the skins pores. I actually still have sand coming out of my ears after a bath and a couple showers… 😛 Chill chore. Regulating and filling up sand. Each bag is 25 kg, loaded up in 5 foot high pot… pretty “awesome” workout. Laying not far, I have a friend Nope, not Halloween… but could the suit would suit Say cheese! We try to clean as we go, between loads of sand or when we brake to change lens or have a drink. Letting the boat fill up, the dust becomes out of control The grey color is natural color of clean sanded steel, all paint and mil scale removed and before any rust gets to it. Once the steel is clean and exposed, you want to paint it as soon as possible. Done with blasting… tiredness kicking in… Boat poop 🙂 (Actually sand being dumped from the rudder well) Heat and direct sun is adding to the challenge of the day. Trying to shade the deck and ventilate the cabin. Two coats of paint on. We alternate grey paint and white paint so we can see where we are at. It’s pretty cool to see it all cleaned up … and even better to know I am done back there, no more welding in there!