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We allowed the Interlux Interprime Clear Sealer to cure in the paint/varnish clean room over the weekend. Now the fun begins.
RJ will sand the entire boat using a pneumatic random-orbit sander and 200 grit paper. His goal is getting as close as he can to flat without cutting through the sealer. Eventually he will sand the surfaces until he has a uniform snow field, but we won’t see that stage until we are about 5 coats into the process.
We will then return the boat to the paint/varnish clean room where she will lie in its 65 degree environment for 24 hours, by which time the boat’s surface should have reached the critical temperature.
Temperature and humidity affect how much thinner we add and how the varnish lays down. We shoot for 60-65 percent humidity and 65 degrees.
As is our practice, Pettit Hi-Build gloss varnish will be applied with a 3” foam roller followed by tipping immediately using a 3” Wooster varnish brush. RJ is our go-to varnish guy, while John and I are relegated to tipping behind him.
She will only become more and more stunning with each coat which we will chronicle in future updates.

As promised, here is the Riviera following applying the first coat of sealer. As I say in the clip, I have been engaged in lots of reading and research around issues of chemical incompatibility, during which a possible conflict between Interlux Interstain Wood Filler stain and CPES popped up several times.
Under “certain circumstances,” and especially if the stain is not fully cured, applying the CPES over the Interlux stain can cause the stain to lift and bubble.
Interlux recommends applying two coats of its Interprime Wood Sealer (1206 clear) over Interstain, so we are turning my Riviera into our guinea pig.
What I noticed first is a virtual complete absence of VOCs, unlike Smith’s CPES’s VOCS, which assault whoever is near it.
And, unlike CPES, which drags if the brush strays too far onto areas already soaked in the material, we were able to roll and tip Interprime using a 3” yellow foam roller and a chip brush without experiencing any drag.
Interlux explicitly stipulates no sanding between coats on anything but plywood, where we always sand between coats with CPES.
However, where we can safely recoat CPES, Interprime wants 16 hours at 77 F between coats. (No way do we keep the shop at 77F;
I am very pleased by how the Interprime caused the stain to blossom to the rich red mahogany hue we are after. CPES would not give us this result.
We will report again following tomorrow’s second coat.

As promised, here is the Riviera following applying the first coat of sealer. As I say in the clip, I have been engaged in lots of reading and research around issues of chemical incompatibility, during which a possible conflict between Interlux Interstain Wood Filler stain and CPES popped up several times.
Under “certain circumstances,” and especially if the stain is not fully cured, applying the CPES over the Interlux stain can cause the stain to lift and bubble.
Interlux recommends applying two coats of its Interprime Wood Sealer (1206 clear) over Interstain, so we are turning my Riviera into our guinea pig.
What I noticed first is a virtual complete absence of VOCs, unlike Smith’s CPES’s VOCS, which assault whoever is near it.
And, unlike CPES, which drags if the brush strays too far onto areas already soaked in the material, we were able to roll and tip Interprime using a 3” yellow foam roller and a chip brush without experiencing any drag.
Interlux explicitly stipulates no sanding between coats on anything but plywood, where we always sand between coats with CPES.
However, where we can safely recoat CPES, Interprime wants 16 hours at 77 F between coats. (No way do we keep the shop at 77F;
I am very pleased by how the Interprime caused the stain to blossom to the rich red mahogany hue we are after. CPES would not give us this result.
We will report again following tomorrow’s second coat.

We passed a significant milestone on the 1952 Chris-Craft Riviera runabout 18’ with completing staining the entire hull.
The blonde sections had been stained, sealed and received an initial two coats of Pettit Hi-Build gloss varnish before we began staining the remainder of the decks, covering boards, transom and topsides this afternoon.
We applied Interlux Intersatin, 2 parts #573 to 1 part #42, Don Danengerg’s favorite combination. After allowing the stain to flash, a process by which the initially shinny and greasy surface morphs into a dull matte finish.
Then the fun begins as the thinner continues gassing off and scrubbing cross-grain with cheese cloth and terrycloth towels becomes ever-more difficult with each passing minute. For this reason, we always stain large boats such as the 18’ Riviera in sections.
You will arrive at a moment where you feel, “Finally, we are done.” Probably not. Grab several sheets of cheese cloth folded into a polishing pad and do a final buffing over the entire surface. The cloth stays pretty clean while the surface becomes lustrous. Now you are done.
Applying three coats of CPES tomorrow morning is next. It will be followed by a very light scuff sanding with 120 grit, and then the boat moves to the paint room where we will begin building what will eventually be at least 15 coats of Pettit Hi-Build varnish.