I start with the deck first but I don't think it matters. I run a couple of steel rods through the toggle holes and support the boat on a couple of brackets that I clamp to my saw horses ... so when one side is dry I flip it over and do the other side. I use a brush for the first coat. For subsequent coats I use a thin foam West Systems roller cover and tip with a brush. Don't try to do too much area at one time ... you need to keep a wet edge to minimize creating a "stripe" between sections. You will get stripes but as you put more coats on they will become less obvious.

I use ZAR oil based exterior poly. I use Winsor & Newton Winton artists oil paints to tint the varnish. These are student grade paints. I understand paints with better quality pigments give better results. I dunno the percentage of tint I use but I'd estimate it to be about 10% to 15% of the volume or less.

What color do you want your kayak to be? THIS is where it gets tricky. You are not mixing liquid paint to arrive at a color ... nor are you mixing solid colors on a pallet to arrive at a color ... it doesn't work that way with this method. You are mixing a wash that will be translucent and whose color will darken with subsequent coats ... and you're painting it onto a somewhat translucent surface. When you mix the tints into your base ... you will most likely see colors you don't expect to see ... an example is earth tones. With earth tones you will see a lot of orange ... not the browns of the raw paint. Mixing 2 oils together can be tricky too ... some mixes are real touchy ... others aren't ... and it's real easy to "gray" the result.

I'd recommend you try a few color swatches to see if you can get close to the color you want. It's worth looking at a good color wheel to get an idea of the basic theory of color mixing. Keep track or your proportions so you can come close to reproducing the color on subsequent coats. I measure my oils on a flat piece of plastic marked in 1/4 inch increments ... a line of paint X increments long mixed into Y volume of base gives me whatever color. Match each mix to your swatch as a check and fine tune as necessary. I also make swathes as I go to get an idea of the variance of each mix used on each coat because it helps me with fine tuning. I start a bit on the light side to account for darkening of the color on subsequent coats. On 12 ounce nylon I usually use 3 color coats followed by 3 clear coats ... that usually gets me pretty close to the color I want ... or close enough ... and fills the weave.

Ken Blanton

: Hey Everyone,

: I am almost ready to finish my kayak. I am using Epiphanes and
: intend on adding artist oil paint to tint it the color I want. I
: have 4 (although I'll probably think of more) questions to post
: for advice.

: 1. How do most of you actually physically "paint" your
: kayak...ie. top deck first, hull first, both at once, with what
: (brush, roller, etc) and how do you suspend it when drying
: without getting marks on it?

: 2. How much tint can I put in the varnish before it starts to
: effect the varnishes properties?

: 3. I am also planning on putting a design on my kayak using
: straight artist oils. How long do I need to wait for this to dry
: before I put a coat of varnish on top of it? Also can I use an
: artist oil design between two layers of varnish?

: 4. How many coats of varnish does everyone use?

: Thanks,

: Rosanna