FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

1) Who does the actual work on my boat?
Always me. I do have 1-3 employees seasonally to help with the prep, sanding, etc. But I am always working side by side with them and am the one who actually applies the varnish, paint, caulk, etc. I never "farm out" the work to others.

2) How do I know if I need the varnish stripped down to bare wood?
If you see the varnish bubbling, yellow cracking underneath, more then 10% of it burned, its best to strip it and start over. Otherwise you are just putting good product (and labor) on top of bad and it will continue to deteriorate.

3) What is involved in stripping the varnish?
Depending on the location and style of the woodwork, I generally start by applying a safe stripper, followed by heat guns, scrappers and sanders to get the rest off. I then clean the wood, followed by several layers of sanding by hand and machine, and then taping.

4) How long will the varnish job take?
In most cases the initial job will take 2-3 weeks. Once I start a job, I stay with it until it is done.

5) How much varnish do you apply on a stripped job?
Usually 5-6 coats. I then clean up, pull the tape and let the varnish cure for 3 weeks, then come back and do 2-3 more coats. I have found this sets up for a better foundation.

6) But the manufacturer says 5 coats are enough. Why do you use so much?
They are speaking in generalized, idealistic terms. Here in the bay area with the air pollution, salt and hot sun I have found over the past 20 years that it is better to have what might be considered too much on. I generally recommend that maintenance coats on uncovered bright work be done every 4 months. This way you are putting good product on a solid surface and staying ahead of the deterioration. It's also important to keep the woodwork and boat itself washed.

7) Why do you insist on using Sterling LPU paint products? They are so expensive.
The labor to prep a boat for painting is the same, whether you use paint that is $30 a quart or $80 a quart. The difference between the 2 products is night and day. The Sterling LPU products are a 2 part system that is so incredibly tough, beautiful and applied correctly will last for many years. It will be much easier for you to clean the boat, and if you ever do sell the boat it increases the value to say you have a Sterling paint job.

8) How do you paint the fiberglass nonskid deck with the Sterling?
Heavy cleaning and sanding, hi build primer if there are significant low spots, finish primer, then 2-3 topcoats with Sterling polymer nonskid broadcasted. The result is a beautiful nonskid deck that is easy to wash with boat soap and water. You can choose from an assortment of colors from their chart.

9) Can you paint my fly bridge, gunnels, coach house, etc with the Sterling LPU?
Absolutely. The process is essentially the same as the nonskid prep except no nonskid is broadcasted. All of this is done with high quality brushes and rollers.

10) Do I have to be hauled out to do these jobs?
In the majority of cases no. I come to your slip and do the work there. The exception would be most marinas don't want someone prep sanding the houses for painting in the regular slips, although I do use sanders that hook up to vacuums. There are work berths that I can help you arrange to rent. Also if you want the hull done, that does need to be hauled out. At that point I recommend I do the prep work and have the boatyard spray the paint on.

11) Why should I get my teak deck recaulked?
Over the years as the caulking shrivels and cracks, and the wood plugs covering the fasteners come off, water seeps in. This is a result of age and is accelerated by heavy use of teak cleaning products. The moisture will penetrate into the fiberglass, rot the sandwich core, cause the mastic between the teak and fiberglass to come loose. It can also lead to interior leaks and damage.

12) How do you know if the damage is too far gone?
If a lot of moisture squirts out of the deck as you walk on it or you hear a lot of "crunching" sounds, you may be at a point where the deck needs to be removed. At that point the most reasonable action to take is to fill all the fasteners and paint a nonskid deck. If this is the case or your insurance company survey says this needs to be done, I can do it at your slip.

13) How do you recaulk the deck?
I have a variety of power and hand tools to remove the old caulk, clean and straighten the seems, tape, recaulk with a teak deck specific caulking (critical) and finish sand the deck.

14) What about the bungs?
I recommend waiting to replace the bungs until after the deck is sanded as more will pop out. Then remove the bad plugs and fasteners, countersink, new fasteners and plugs epoxied in, and then finish sand.

15) My port lights are leaking, can you fix them?
Yes. I pull them out, replace the plexiglass if they need to be, clean up all the surfaces and recaulk. Or if you have new lights I can install them.

16) I have leaks coming in my boat and can't figure out where they are coming from. Can you help?
Absolutely. It could be from the stations, port lights, hatches, etc. I am quite a good detective when it comes to chasing down and repairing leaks.

17) Can you install or replace solar vents and hardware?
Yes, not a problem. If there is something I can't do I will tell you and refer you to the appropriate business.

18) What about the interior, do you work in there?
Most definitely.

19) I am having a boat yard, electrician, mechanic, carpenter, etc doing work on my boat. Can you work on here at the same time?
This is usually not a problem. As the boat repair community is a specialized one, we tend to know each other and can find ways to do things so we don't get in each others way, or schedule the jobs accordingly.

20) My marina or boatyard says you have to put them on as an additional insured for liability, is that a problem?
No. Several of them already are, and if they are not, it's simply a phone call to the insurance company for me.