grumpydog
Well-Known Member
First of all, I sanded across the grain. Then I left paint dribbles. Then I wore flat spots into the mast with the orbital sander. Then I nearly nicked someone's bits and pieces of wood thinking his treasured pile of stuff was a rubbish pile. My latest though, and most recent, has to be the best yet. (I'm restoring a 1932 Hillyard 9-ton btw). I spent hours masking the deck brightwork, which had all been varnished, then set to painting the deck with thinned Blakes deck paint. No matter how careful I was, the watery paint (I was using a brush) went everywhere, leaving stains hither and thither. No problem, thought I. I'll carry a turps-soaked rag in my pocket. This worked OK. I carried on, got the job done quite nicely I thought, and went back to London (boat's in Newhaven), thinking I'd leave the masking tape on for my return in a week to put on later coats of paint. On the way home, my leg started burning like a [--word removed--]. I'd left the turps rag in the pocket! THe next day, I awoke with an outside thigh red and crackling like elephant's skin, and the next week I returned to the boat to spend EIGHT HOURS removing the masking tape which had stuck on like superglue. I have now bought some posh blue masking tape from the yard chandlers, which promises it lasts two weeks. We'll see about that. Next job is to remove all the white splatters that escaped the rag. Sometimes this business feels like going one step forward and two steps back!!
