Commander #5

[paulsproesser]

Finished coamings and paint

[c_amos]

Paul,

She is BEAUTIFUL! Nice work, and thank you for taking the time to take and post the pictures for us all to see.

What brand of varnish is that? Has a very nice color.

[paulsproesser]

sail and flag

[paulsproesser]

I used the Epifanes high gloss but it took 4 1/2 qts so far and it needs a little more in a few areas . We just applied the last coat on wednesday nite 10/5/11 due to the condition of the coamings when i got her I had alot of open grain to deal with so I had to lay them flat and start with 8-10 coats starting with 75% thinned then gradually decrease the mix to 50% to allow it to soak deep into the grain, I did this every 24 hours nite after nite until i got a good build up the started with the 25% mix for another 8-10 coats and letting it cure , when i got about 12 coats I knocked it all down to make the high spots meet the low spots then once I had an even surface I applied about 10-12 more coats to finish sanding when needed inbetween with 400grit . we did very little sanding on the raw wood but alot of restoration to save them and glad i did because you cant find woodthis pretty anymore I looked. but theres no stain thats the natural color of the varnish however i found a good alcohol based stain I used on the winchblocks so they would match because I made them out of african mohoghany which was much lighter in color , We have a long way to go yet I gutted the electrical system and have gathered everything for that but the batteries and now the bottom will have to wait for spring but from what I can tell it all looks good and now that I've taken care of the topside/deck and the core issues the bilge stays dry we will post more shortly when i get the other winchblock on this week and the winches while all the bronze is still shiny

[paulsproesser]

Also I ordered A new hull ID plate from Bristol Bronze because the original had tarnished and chipped but the original says Bristol R.I. and the one Roger sent me says Portsmouth R.I.

[Commander227]

Whooeet wheeeew (wolf whistle)
Nice work Paul!!

[paulsproesser]

tHANKS BUDDY! But I cant take all the credit I could'nt have got this far without Lisas help I think she works harder than me sometimes, and saturday my brother Mike came over from VA. to help and my sisters boyfriend joe who pressure washed the coamings on new years day when we took them off he also made that maiden 12 hour journey with me where we got in at midnite with no working lights , we all ganged up and put the wood back on whith new ss screws washers and ss all thread rod for the winchblocks and had a pizza party and caught a few crabs

[Ariel 109]

Sure does look beautiful Paul, an amazing transformation. I love the solar powered garden light in the flag pole mount, good ideal.

Hey Paul. I would be glad to (gratis) re-enamel you old Pearson builder's plate. It's not too hard to do, should come out nice.

If anyone has an old Pearson builder's plate from a lost hull that they don't need I'd like to purchase it for my boat. Don't care about the condition.

Ben

[paulsproesser]

Here is a pic of the garden light at night and of the plate. I think the metal needs to be stripped and cleaned before it can be re-enameled. I really appreciate the offer but are you really able to fix something like this?

Sure does look beautiful Paul, an amazing transformation. I love the solar powered garden light in the flag pole mount, good ideal.

Hey Paul. I would be glad to (gratis) re-enamel you old Pearson builder's plate. It's not too hard to do, should come out nice.

If anyone has an old Pearson builder's plate from a lost hull that they don't need I'd like to purchase it for my boat. Don't care about the condition.

Ben

[paulsproesser]

You might want to just order your hull plate from bristol bronze. The one I got for 5 dollars more they acid etched the background.

[Lucky Dawg]

HOLY COW! Your brightwork looks stunning! Seeing your companionway has me salivating to get to work on Lucky Dawg's door slats. Nice work and many blessings upon you for your Commander restoration!! Have you looked at your first post recently?? What a beautiful transformation. Hope you and Lisa are walking on air.

[Ariel 109]

I think the metal needs to be stripped and cleaned before it can be re-enameled. I really appreciate the offer but are you really able to fix something like this?

Glass enameled work is pretty straight forward. To get rid of the old cracked enamel on the builder's plate you just bake it away in the enameling oven for a few minutes. After cooling the plate down and applying a blue glass enamel paste you put it back in the oven for just enough time for the glass enamel to melt and fuse on top of the bronze. You can then polish the face of the plate and it should look like new.

[Commander 147]

I have to agree with all of the acolades from the others on your very impressive job on the brightwork. That's what brightwork is supposed to look like but very seldom does. Well done I am very impressed!!!!!

[mbd]

That varnish job is just... wow!

[paulsproesser]

Thanks and yes we have had a perpetual grin on every since we epoxied over the last spot of the old baby blue gelcoat then when the wood went on it was OMG! I look at the first posts all the time and remember how embarrassing it was to sail around but we had fun and she sailed great even with the winches rotting off I expected the jib sheet to rip it rite off sometimes, glad it didnt would've had to buy new winches. If you follow the procedure I posted in #49 you cant go wrong but you have to be patient and i rough cut some quick temporary clapboards out of 3/4 pine and used spray on thompsons water seal while i was redoing the old ones and they still look great .