: 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

Hi Rosanna,

I'm just in the proces of finishing my first SOF and have some points i will consider next time. I'm using epiphanes like you intend to.

Don't like suspended finishing, too wobbly, not enough control to even out the finishing products, only my opinion though. When suspended too high, the deck will be hard to reach properly and when suspended too low you'll have a nice time with the hull ;)

I put mine on a pair of sawhorses with car safety belt fixed to them. Something along this style, http://www.borealdesign.com/guide_utilisateur/boreal_img/schemas/schema_6_ang.gif

I started with the hull first, but by doing this there was some varnish that crept up onto the hull. I waited for the hull to be dry enough to i could flip the kayak over. Upon turning over i noticed the varnish had crept up onto the hull and had hardened. This showed when i put on the first coats on the deck. I put on 2 thinned coats to get a first even filling of the weave (8 oz polyester).

Realizing my coaming didn't offset enough to the deck (it's ash) and to get rid of the darker spots on the gunwales, i decided to tint the deck using an already tinted outside-use varnish (compatible with the epiphanes). It's a hell of a job to get an even colouring. Next time i'll tint the deck before putting on any varnish (seems to even out a bit easier). The area under the coaming is a b..ch to get the tinted varnish on evenly. When i'm satisfied (a hard thing to do :roll:) i'll put more varnish onto the tinted deck. I'd advise you to do more than one coat on top of your artwork. Remember though that the varnish has an amber color and will affect your artwork colors. Try on scraps first, which i should have done too :lol:

I'm swithing between hull and deck now to fill the weave completely.

Using a combination of rollers and brushes and the occasional foam brush. Roll your finish on and tip off with a brush or a foam brush. This is the easiest way to get thin even coats on evenly. A brush will get you thicker coats and fill the weave quicker, but might result in some brush marks if not done properly and it's easier to get islands (spots you missed and aren't covered with finish).

I put on 2 coats consecutively, wait for the first one the be dry to the touch then go over it again. Makes for quicker build up of the coats. And should give you an overal thicker coat for sanding in between.

When i'm finished i s'pose there will be a total of 4 to 6 coats.

Can't wait to see your finished kayak...