NB "Kelsarusue"

Kelsarusue

So begins another post about boat painting...

 Please feel free to browse the extensive archive on my blog which outline my method and working practises.. 

Kelsarusue is the pride and joy of an experienced boating couple from the black country, and my most recent endeavour. Superficially in reasonable condition, bitter experience meant that what I uncovered during preparation was no surprise!

Removal of all the windows and cabin fixtures revealed this lot:

 

"Rust Rust Glorious Rust, Sand it or Scrape it Remove it you Must!"

A week of solid graft usually sees the back of this demanding but necessary part of the job.
 Between sanding, grinding, scraping, shouting and clawing at the surface with fingernails the stuff comes off..

 Trust and honesty are essential between client and customer in any job, but particularly in the cottage industry of narrowboat painting. The Mrs found a consumer website the other day which appeared to diagnose me as a "Cowboy Painter" on the basis that I required a deposit before starting work, wore trainers, and did not have headed note paper!
To say that I was rather pleased is an understatement, as I've always loved westerns... All I need is a holster for my paintbrush!

Whilst applying the first of six coats of paint (for those that followed the link I made sure to hide the tins of cheap paint I'd poured into the empty expensive tins the night before)...  I just had to get rid of those bloody spurs 'cos they just kept making this damned distracting jangling noise.

Getting the coachlines straight is pretty crucial otherwise my scam will be blown and the Sherrif will run me out of town..
 


  

 Coat number three and the dock is providing adequate protection from the tumble weeds careering down the dirt road outside.

Three coats of gloss later and the undercoated coachlines unmask perfectly, I'll have to keep my head down... don't want to get a bad reputation with any of the other outlaws in this territory!

 Gasping to hit the saloon I resist, and steal myself with a steady hand to mask out the coachlines again top and bottom before chucking on two coats of cheap gloss with an old brush that used to belong to a fella I shot once.

The Sign Writing talents of the notorious outlaw Trevor Counsell lend a stunning finishing touch to this act of total deception, notice i have taken care not to show his face as he's been on the run for over sixty years and is wanted DEAD OR ALIVE!
 

Pride in the Boat restored its time to mosey on out of town. 

Thanks to Kelvin and Sue for being fantastic customers.

To all those thinking of embarking on a boat revamp beware, the cook at the saloon swears by the old addage "cheap goods no good, good goods no cheap".  In the unregulated wild west of the narrowboat world you pay your money and take your choice. Whether you get John Wayne or Jimmy Stewart to do your job for you you can only be really certain of one thing...
They are a bloody Cowboy!