Volatile Organic Compounds

I always have this hesitation before starting a project like this, like I’ve never done this before and I don’t know what the outcome will be.  In fact, I’m not really sure how to do this.  In the end, the stall tactics come to an end and it just has to be done.

This particular job was mixing two parts of epoxy coating together and then painting it onto the shower.  All the prep work was done, I even managed to stifle the slow leak in the shower valve by wrapping an old towel around it.  Now I’m staring at this box of two-part epoxy, knowing that, when it is mixed together, I have just a few hours to get the job done before the stuff hardens and becomes unusable.

After making really sure that this can would cover the entire shower with two coats, I did the deed.  I mixed the two parts together, which started the clock.  Here goes nothing!

It took a surprisingly long time to put the first coat on.  Starting immediately after lunch, it was almost 2:30 before I was able to step outside for a break and get some fresh air.  Spending that much time in a small bathroom filled with Xylene and Trimethylbenzene vapors gets to a person after a while.  Providentially, a light wind was blowing in the right direction, forcing a supply of fresh air through the open window.  I leaned back into the breeze often while I was working.

I was supposed to let it sit for an hour before the second coat, but I figured the first wall was was already at an hour so I dove into the shower again, determined to get it done before the paint hardened.

Quitting time is normally 3:30, I managed to finish just before 4:30.  I was in such a hurry to get out of the stink that I didn’t take final picture.  But now it’s done. This shower is a bit of a pig, given what it’s been through.  But this lipstick on the pig has it looking pretty good.  And I can add painting a shower to the growing list of oddball stuff I've done while on these projects.

And Deb quarantined my clothing when I got back to the RV because I reeked of Volatile Organic Compounds.  Even my shoes are spending the night outside.

Deb started cleaning this unit, as a new staff member is supposed to move in soon.  It may take a while, it’s pretty dirty.  We had a little discussion on Dutch clean versus Ranch clean and this unit will probably end up somewhere between the two.

And when we get home, we get to do this all over again.  A rental unit needs a complete paint job and it needs the tub reglazed.  And probably some cleaning.  After getting a stratospheric quote for this work, we figured we would do it ourselves.  So I guess we are practicing for it right now.