Commander #155 'Mephisto Cat'

[Rico]

Here are a few more shots of the gel-coating process. There are no action shots because of the time constraints of the gel-coating. If the resin sets-up while still in the equipment it is just all bad news...

So we'd prep like crazy and then spray like mad as the days were short. Guillermo would spray while I did my best to keep hoses & ourselves away from any surface already coated.
We did several coats at each area applying a nice thick layer each time, in order to up with a nice thick shell.
After the resin was in place we raced to apply a curing compound that keeps oxigen away from the surface allowing it to harden properly and preserving a quality surface finish (we still polished afterwards!). Then came the clean-up.

We usually finished late in the day, and by the time I got around to taking pictures, it was already dark.

If I remember correctly (It is all a bit fuzzy now!) We applied several coats going roughly in this order (we did come back to do more coats on several areas):
- Port side topsides
- Sbd side topsides
- Non-skid
- White areas on deck
- Waterline stripes
- Hatch covers & other bits
- Cabin interior and any other nooks

We did several coats at each area especially at those areas that see the most wear. The waterline stripes received only two coats of the red gel coat.

Picture #1
Spraying the pretty rear end yet again... (This is the closest thing to an action shot!) We started with the transom as a test area, and tested Gel-coat a few times for color & consistency. With all the resin back there, I could get rear ended and most everything will be able to be buffed out! (Not that I'd like to try!)

Picture #2
I believe this is the second two-coat application of the white areas on the deck. The greenish tint is due to the curing compound. I got the green tint version so that we would see where we had a good coverage with the compound and did not leave any gaps. This all washes off easily with just water. It is like a thin coat of Jell-O. I love the stuff... If it is not used, the oxygen exposure prevents the exposed Gel-coat from curing properly resulting in a sticky surface that is quite hard to deal with.

Picture #3
A bit closer to the end... All colors in place. We also mixed that pretty red as the base red was a bit too 'lipstick'... (Note nicely painted outboard plug in place). The waterline stripe at the plug looks a bit weird in the picture, but it is fine in reality... an optical (Photo) illusion. (I checked after looking at this pic!).

Picture #4
Testing looks with the lazarette lid in place. Non-skid is done along with all other colors. No hardware at all is in place yet.
I took this picture when the lid was completed. At that time, I was also installing the new companionway teak and you can see the teak dust everywhere! Note also the ton of dust inside the lazarette due to a dusty Santa ana wind....