While working on a radically custom '56 Chevy Hardtop called the Black Knight, I called upon Todd Oneal of Bassani Exhaust to collaborate with me on a very extreme exhaust system.

The starting point for this project was a design by boat owner Todd Oneal.

After applying several layers of white base coat, the graphic design is laid out.

Needless to say, I owed him a big favor and - here's where the boat comes in - he called in the favor for a restoration and paint job on his Sanger hull speedboat. We don't do very many speedboats at Huntington Beach Bodyworks, but as I happen to have one myself, I knew my way around it. Our task was to repair the cracks in the hull, remove the old graphics, and apply the new custom graphics that Oneal had designed.

Before delivering the boat to the shop, Oneal removed all the hardware including the engine. This boat had seen better days. There were a lot of cracks in the hull and the old stripes were going to have to go. We started by sanding off the old lines with 36 grit sand paper. For the smaller cracks we "V"d them out with a folded up piece of 36 grit sand paper to sand the cracks themselves.

A die grinder was used for the deeper cracks. After blowing out the cracks, fiberglass matting and smoothed out resin were applied over the top of it for the deep cracks. Smaller, shallower cracks can be corrected with either Kitty Hair or Duraglass. For all the little chips and nicks, standard Polly Putty 417 made by Evercoat was used. We then feathered out the repairs with an 80 grit DA sander and finished with a block to make sure our surface was true and straight, because the block never lies.

Even after the boat was completely sanded down with 80 grit, there were still a lot of cracks that had to be repaired before moving on to spraying. The boat stayed on its trailer so it could be moved around more easily. The wheels and fenders were removed once it was in the booth for easier access.

More preparation was necessary as the trailer was masked off, making sure that the tape was well tucked under the bottom of the boat. The boat was masked just under the bottom edge so it would look natural when it was sitting in the water or on the trailer itself.

Rich tip: Made sure that all masking is tidy and taped securely to the ground and to the trailer. You don't want it to fly up into the finish while spraying.

After a little wipe down and tacking, applying sealer is next. First apply a quick coat of non-sanding epoxy sealer to help with coverage and adhesion. For my sealer, I used PPG's Non-Sanding Epoxy Primer - mixed with two parts primer, one part catalyst, and one part DT885 reducer.

Rich tip: Always test the mixture on a spray card before applying to any vehicle just to be sure the mixture is correct and free of any possible contamination.

This being a "non-sanding" epoxy primer, go right into spraying the PCL Polyprimer, which is a Hi-Fill polyester primer surfacer that is mixed by the quart with a catalyst and is not reduced. This is going to create the surface of the project and is what will be sculpted in the block sanding stages.

The epoxy primer and polyprimer stages are where you can really make a mess of your project by not mixing to exact measurements and laying down coats that are too wet. If you use too much or too little catalyst in either primer, it won't dry as fast or will dry too fast. So mix exactly as the instructions on the can direct you. Also, remember to take your time.

We chose to lay down three heavy coats of polyprimer. After it was completely dry, we applied a black guide coat and then blocked the boat with 80 grit. We started with a long block first, then moved to different sized blocks for different areas on the boat.

More sealer and three more coats of polyprimer were applied, along with another black guide coat, then blocked again with 150 grit. At this point, it was a good time to tear off old masking and apply some new tape and paper. Once more, we sprayed another black guide coat and wet sanded with 400 grit and a block.

After the wet sanding, the boat was as straight as an arrow and we sprayed a quick coverage coat of white epoxy primer (PPG DP48) and then three coats of House of Kolor white.

Rich tip: A system I use involves spraying three coats when spraying basecoats. In case a repair or touch up needs to be done, I know exactly how many layers of paint I have to work with.