Propane Locker (Part 2)

Oh, glorious, glorious sanding.... (thanks Mads!!)

We're back at it.  Working on the propane locker that is.  I try to limit my exposure to grinding fibreglass as i had a bad reaction to heavy fibreglass grinding when I was a teenager (allergic reaction,  my face swelled up like a chipmunk)    

One of the problems with building anything with corners using a male plug mold is you tend to get a build up of fibreglass at the corners and a smooth finish on the inside and rough finish on the outside.  Most of the rough finish can be dealt with using a nice 7inch disc sander ( HF has a nice cheap one that has lasted me 5 years so far!!) 

After demolding and initial grinding. I realised that there was substantial flare out the the bottom corner where sides wrapped around to the form the bottom and the bottom layers had wrapped up to the sides (rookie mistake I should have known this would happen).  Also because I used 1708 knitted fabric,  the locker is really strong, but all those threads needed to be ground off  and smoothed out so I went through more than I planned in filler to get the smoothness I wanted in prep for paint.  The picture above represents 6-7 sessions of fairing and sanding.  

One item I didn't really mention in my previous post was the inclusion of the shape between the tanks.  In addition to stiffening the locker  sides (really a happy side-effect).  That shaped is designed to hold 2 1lb bbq type tanks vertically.  and as we typically buy them in 3 packs.  I no have some place to store the other 2 that are waiting to be used!

To paint the propane locker we went with Interlux pre-kote with a twist.  earlier this spring we repainted the cabin sides with Interlux Pre-Kote and Brightsides Hatteras Off-white 1990 (This is our second boat painted in this colour scheme)   and added "Petit Performance enhancer" to the paint.  It sort of turns a single part paint into a two-pack paint.  (Here in Canada Interlux Intertane is no longer available so we don't have much choice for 2-pack marine paints).  the results of that effort in the spring convinced us that this was the way to go for all our exterior painting from now on.  We even use it on the primer.  Between adding some Interlux 333 bushing liquid and the Petit to the brightsides it becomes a much more workable paint.  You can roll it on with regular foam rollers and it flows out beautifully! Initially it look horrible with hundreds of bubbles in the finish but they all disappear quickly.    

Pictured above is the locker ( and lid) with 2 coats of the final 3 coats of Interlux Pre-Kote 2 part-ish primer.  

Here is the locker with the first coat of Brightsides Hatteras off-white 1990 and petit performance enhancer.  For the locker I flip it right side up,  and paint the top few inches, then flip it into this orientation to do the rest,  that way I don't risk picking up and dust from the plastic drop cloth.

Here is the locker and lid with the last coat of brightsides (3rd) backing in the sun after spending 8 hrs drying/curing in the garage.  What you can't see here are the 4 feet on the bottom of the locker that were made with a 7/8" hole saw and some 1 by PVC lumber.  The PVC takes the birghtsides nicely so blend in well with the locker and were made from some off cuts I had lying around.  Hopefully by mid week the Regulator will have arrived and we'll be able to take it to the boat for a trial fit to locate it and finalize the holes for the propane hose and the brackets that will secure it to the aft pulpit.  

then its rinse and repeat to make a storage locker for the opposite corner of the stern where we'll keep docklines and other assorted stuff that won't fit into the single tiny cockpit locker!

Stay tuned for Part 3... installing the propane plumbing and finishing the interior....To gelcoat or not to gelcoat, that is the question!