Category: 1952 Chris-Craft Riviera Runabout

RJ once again transformed the surfaces of the ’52 Chris-Craft Riviera Runabout to snow fields, but this time the results are different. This time, the gloss is successfully fighting its way through the haze created by sanding with 800 grit dry paper.

Are we there? It is difficult not to believe we are, but I pay the bills and RJ is thirsting to get to at least 15 coats before we declare, “Finis!”

Coat 10 will be rolled and tipped this weekend, followed by number 11 on Monday. I must admit to believing that diminishing returns have set in to the point where reaching beyond 11 borders on a fool’s errand. But only time will tell, and we make group decisions at SMB.

We also listen to our community, so please weigh in when we come back to you early next week once coat 11 has cured.

RJ once again transformed the surfaces of the ’52 Chris-Craft Riviera Runabout to snow fields, but this time the results are different. This time, the gloss is successfully fighting its way through the haze created by sanding with 800 grit dry paper.
Are we there? It is difficult not to believe we are, but I pay the bills and RJ is thirsting to get to at least 15 coats before we declare, “Finis!”
Coat 10 will be rolled and tipped this weekend, followed by number 11 on Monday. I must admit to believing that diminishing returns have set in to the point where reaching beyond 11 borders on a fool’s errand. But only time will tell, and we make group decisions at SMB.
We also listen to our community, so please weigh in when we come back to you early next week once coat 11 has cured.
Description

We are one coat closer, and “only” seven more coats and three comprehensive sanding sessions away from our interim goal of 15 coats of Pettit Hi-Build varnish rolled and tipped onto the 1952 Chris-Craft Riviera Runabout. RJ keeps teasing about shooting for twenty,
RJ’s last pass with 400 grit dry paper made the surface noticeably flatter, and therefore the eighth coat much glossier, but, as I believe this clip illustrates. However, diminishing returns will almost certainly begin setting in once the ninth coat is applied and Rj sands again, this time with 600 grit.
Several of you have wondered about the tension between building coats and then sanding them away with overly vigorous attempts to sand the surface really flat. You are correct, but our experience is that, at least for the first six to eight coats, we are still filling declivities.
Unless we are dealing with a particularly open surface, the sanding we do following the eighth coat is aimed at knocking any dirt or dust that settled during curing out of the varnish. Our goal now is building film thickness, which deepens the gloss and provides additional UV protection.
So Happy New Year to our entire community. Thank you for following us during 2014. We will be back to you with more updates on the other side of our New Year’s celebration.

We are one coat closer, and “only” seven more coats and three comprehensive sanding sessions away from our interim goal of 15 coats of Pettit Hi-Build varnish rolled and tipped onto the 1952 Chris-Craft Riviera Runabout. RJ keeps teasing about shooting for twenty,

RJ’s last pass with 400 grit dry paper made the surface noticeably flatter, and therefore the eighth coat much glossier, but, as I believe this clip illustrates. However, diminishing returns will almost certainly begin setting in once the ninth coat is applied and Rj sands again, this time with 600 grit.
Several of you have wondered about the tension between building coats and then sanding them away with overly vigorous attempts to sand the surface really flat. You are correct, but our experience is that, at least for the first six to eight coats, we are still filling declivities.

Unless we are dealing with a particularly open surface, the sanding we do following the eighth coat is aimed at knocking any dirt or dust that settled during curing out of the varnish. Our goal now is building film thickness, which deepens the gloss and provides additional UV protection.

So Happy New Year to our entire community. Thank you for following us during 2014. We will be back to you with more updates on the other side of our New Year’s celebration.

Here is the promised segment illustrating how we roll and tip, in this case coat #7, on the 1952 Chris-Craft Riviera Runabout.
RJ is rolling varnish on, being sure to achieve uniform coverage across the surface. John follows behind using a 3” Wooster tipping brush. John’s challenge is to smooth out the surface with the lightest possible touch. As is evident in the clip, he is barely touching the surface with the absolute ends of the bristles.
We always keep the tipping brushes half submerged in the thinner used with the varnish. We learned the hard way that, even if seemingly cleaned and cleaned again, allowing the brush to dry translates into a myriad of dry particles and dust among its bristles.
We will allow the brush to dry between boats, but then clean and soak, and keep it wet when the next varnishing process begins anew.

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.