Primer – Wednesday, May 01, 2013 – got back from vacation late last night, and today we were blessed with a nice day.  Finally the bottom is primed.  Received advice from Fred that the two-part poly urethane needed to be as thin as milk—he was not exaggerating.  You really can’t get it thin enough.  It was a hot day so more thinner had to be mixed in before the small batch was completely used. 

What we started with at 11:00 am.

What we had at 2:30.

I really wanted to spray, but you can smell the toluene from 50 feet away when you are just mixing the paint.  Toluene is a particularly nasty solvent—causes birth defects in solar systems.  You would probably want a real spray booth and protective gear if you were going to spray it.  Turns out that it brushes pretty well, but you have to get the hang of it.  Carry a lot of paint on the brush.  Brush only from the wet edge.  Work fast, it dries almost instantly.  I’m not completely happy, but it is at least as smooth as the bottom paint was, and there aren’t any barnacle marks.  Looks good from 8 feet—less if you wear thick glasses.  It isn’t going to look new no matter what.  Hoping to get chores done early tomorrow, the first coat finish might go on.  Temperature should be in 70’s.  Who knows, might even finish mowing the lawn.