One More Thing On Galley, then on to Finishing the Outside of the Shell

When I was putting the module in place, I began worrying about scratching the galley floor.  Then a brilliant (if I do say so) idea occurred to me:

I bought a 20" wide roll of thick, rubber-like shelf liner.  The liner is actually about 20 3/16" wide, which allowed me to put the edge under the galley module.  I added a second, narrower piece from there to the back and applied white duct tape at the seam.  I think it looks great and will be very durable.  One downside is it would be very difficult to add the barriers that hold the stove and cutting board in place, but I think it'll be easy enough to stow them somewhere and move them to the galley when needed.

On to varnishing the shell.  I decided to spray the varnish and here is the first coat:

Looks OK in this picture, but closer inspection shows a lot of "orange peel."  I am using a small HVLP (High Volume Low Pressure) sprayer and Itnerlux 216 Special Thinner, which is supposed to be for brushing and spraying--but they may be expecting you to use a high pressure sprayer.

Earlex Spray Station 5500

I called the sprayer company and they suggested trying more thinner.  According to the book, it is supposed to take 130 seconds for the paint or varnish to flow through viscosity cup.  They said to try 100 - 110 seconds.  I got it to just under 100, but it was no better.  Even tried 80 with the same result.
Just not atomizing properly--which further leads me to believe a high-pressure sprayer is needed.

There is one ray of hope:

This is after the fourth coat.  Again it's hard to tell from the photo, but areas where the varnish is thicker are much smoother.  So I'm going to spray on at least one or two more coats, without sanding between coats.  It may be passable after that.  I'll need to keep track of how many coats so I can apply the same number on the doors and galley hatch.

I'm hoping this will provide decent results.  Later in the fall or spring, when the weather is cool again, I can sand the whole thing smooth and apply a couple coats with the roll and tip method.  One thing: all this varnish is going to give the shell a heck of a lot of UV protection!

NOTE:  After reading and re-reading articles from CLC, Interlux, and Jamestown Distributors I have decided to sand the entire shell smooth (there'll still be plenty of varnish on it) then add one or two more coats using the roll and tip method.  I didn't want to do this because I had been advised by a couple boatbuilders to spray it, and because I was not getting very good results on the inside bulkhead using a roller or brush.  I'm hoping the addition of the 216 Special Thinner will help it to go on more smoothly.  At any rate, NONE of the articles recommend spraying.  They all recommend slightly different roll and tip methods.  If it's still not perfect, well I guess I can live with it.  Or I might decide to paint it instead, there are a few flaws in the fiberglass that are visible through the varnish so far.  If I do decide to paint it, pretty sure it'll be the good old Interlux Hatteras White.