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Building the 'Swift' - part 5: Continuing the building of the "'Swift'". In part 4 the hull has been filled and in this section we will paint the hull inside and out.
First step is to sand the filler. The pic at left shows how the chines are initially sanded by hand. There is more control when one sands by hand and you can do a better job to get the chines fair without sanding through the filler. After the chines and indeed all the other edges are finished you can tackle the large surfaces with an orbital sander. #100 grit production paper should be ok at this stage.
This is what she looks like after the light-grey high-build primer has been applied. I use a foam roller for this. It helps to add some thinners to the paint. An epoxy based product gives good adhesion and can be over-coated with most finish coatings. My preference is for two-component polyurethane paint, which has very good water and abrasion resistance.
After turning the hull back upright again, the same process is used to paint the inside of the boat. Left pic: painting of the primer progressing. A sequence needs to be followed so all surfaces can be painted without painting oneself into a corner. Starting with the cockpit, working aft seemed to work fine. Right pic: The side tanks can be painted from the outside, whereas one needs to be physically in the cockpit while painting it.
The polyurethane finish coat is applied following the same sequence. Note that the white base color has been tinted with green to make it easier on the eyes - the light-green tint reduces glare considerably.
Left pic: Masking tape has been applied to the gunnel, just below the rounding and painting has started. At right the paint job is finished and the masking tape removed - the hull is finished and ready to receive fittings, hatches etc.

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