Pic of the Day

[Renegadenemo]

Suitability for high speed craft:.........n/a.

I know one thing - it doesn't come off your hands! I doubt very much it'll fall off the boat anytime soon.

[mtskull]

Nice POTD; resplendent indeed.

Given the relatively long drying time of the paint, how successful were you in keeping dust out of it?

[Renegadenemo]

how successful were you in keeping dust out of it?

The gazebos, plus a rest period after the heaters went off, were extremely effective at keeping the dust off. Any tiny particles that did make it onto the paint then came straight off with a machine polish.

[SimonC]

A couple of questions about the paint;
Are they standard rollers, or something special from the suppliers?
Can you machine polish between coats?

Great to see the blue paint going back on the boat, I've been watching progress for several years now. Keep up the awesome work!

[Richie]

Decent quality foam rollers. You can machine polish between coats as long as it has hardened sufficiently. Not sure why you would do this though ?

[SimonC]

I only mention machine polishing between coats, because of this previous pos...

how successful were you in keeping dust out of it?

The gazebos, plus a rest period after the heaters went off, were extremely effective at keeping the dust off. Any tiny particles that did make it onto the paint then came straight off with a machine polish.

I know what it's like - wet paint seems to attract dust and especially bugs!

[conistoncollie]

Will you be keeping the original paint / Union Jack on the tail fin, or will it be refinished?

[Renegadenemo]

Will you be keeping the original paint / Union Jack on the tail fin, or will it be refinished?

We've tried to keep the original paint on the fin but it's just too far gone. Good news is that we can almost certainly save the flags. we're going to have a damn good try anyway.

The machine polishing was done after the third coat of blue.

[midlife]

Brilliant news about the flags Bill, it always sends shivers down my spine watching you wiping away the muck to reveal one.
Cheers
Wayne


.

[Renegadenemo]

I wiped the left hand flag on the first ever dive, that was about October 2000. The one you see was staged. It involved sending down about five divers to sit on the bottom and just wait for the visibility to improve. Most were there to provide lighting and one to operate the camera. We were all on some helium mix or another, which causes two problems. One is you can't maintain your body temp and the other is the small molecules seep into bone and cartilage where N2 won't go thus increasing the decompression penalty in freezing water where you can't maintain your body temp. Never been so cold in my life! By the time the viz cleared and we got the shot I couldn't feel my hands. By the time I made the long 6m deco stop they were like blocks of wood and by the time I got aboard the boat it was all I could do to clamber aboard and wrap them in a warm towel. The pain of the circulation returning was excruciating and I was in the wheelhouse almost sobbing with it. So next time you think it's a great event - it bloody wasn't!