LIBERTA – A Boat To Freedom

I guess I’m not the only one feeling the spring in the air. We’ve received a few questions by mail regarding the interior paintings and varnishing the floorboards we made last year. And to be more accurate, the actual paints and other substances we used. I’m not claiming to be a leading expert on the field, but here’s more info on the things we used on these jobs. Of course I did spend countless hours googling about the different substances and going to practically all the paint store chains and marine supply stores.

Varnishing The Floorboards

Substance used Varnishing The Floorboards was International Schooner Gold. The floorboards were varnished 5-6 times. I was lazy on sanding down the boards in between the rounds. This was done on all boards only on the last two rounds. End result is looking very nice and the floor is not too slippery.

Painting the interior

While painting the interior, we painted the window frames, the roof, dividing walls, roof hatch frames and the side walls in the saloon and the front cabin.

Besides the roof, white parts were painted with Tikkurila’s Helmi furniture paint. Because of the dark material, several layers had to be painted: two layers with the primer and two with the actual paint. As a gloss grade we chose 80 to add some life to the surface. It was a good choice. Especially the roof hatch frames, that previously sucked all the light, are now mirroring the light inside the boat.

The roof was actually not painted with a paint! Instead of paint wood wax was used. http://www.osmo.de/navigate.do?id=4550&name=Wood+Wax+Finish+%3cbr+%2f%3eIntensive+Colours&lang=en  The color was 3186 matt snow. Using only a brush would have meant a lot of work and an uneven result. So a brush was used to wax the sides of the roof bars and the top was done with a paint roller. I have to say that the finishing look of the roof was the best of all the paint jobs.

Staining the wood parts

Many of the wood colored parts also got their surfaces enhanced. They were stained with Liberon’s dark mahogny colored stain. As a tip I must say that this exact color was rare for some reason. So, if you end up using it, buy enough at the get go! On top of the stain also a few layers of Finishing Oil (made by the same manufacturer) was brushed. I must say that I’m pleased about how nice the finish turned out!

Jussi

For more articles under the category Fixing the boat click here!