Seamanship: How To Maintain A Ship Or Vessel, And Painting

A Deck Cadet on board the ship or vessel must clean to maintain everything on board; all of those previously painted surfaces must be washed except the hull part of the ship should be used by a soda to remove all dirt and grease. Those paint blisters should be scraped off.

Cleaning those glass windows and port can be washed and polish with Chamois Leather, but using a cleaner window crimp cloth. Thus cloth is boiled before use and when almost dry can also be used for polishing the glass.

Chipping and Scaling Plates covered in rust should be scraped and must

be wire brushed. There are two metal primer are then applied before the top coat is put on the area chipped should wiped over with a wood soaked in boiled linseed oil before knocking off.

That Wood Sheathed Deck can be clean with caustic or any of the special chemical preparation such as Atlas or Climax. And when washing off with hose, then care must be taken not to splash in the eyes and sea boats and oilskins should be worn to protect the clothes.

Paints are like those make-up kits of a lady to make her self looked more beautiful, and since those ship or vessel is considered as a “Female” then it should be painted or re-painted.

Paints are stored on the paint locker which is usually kept under the forecastle head.
Drums are stowed on dunnage

and are periodically turned up-side-down to allow the contents to mix thoroughly.

The most common kind of paints found on board the ship or vessel are the following:

Metal Primer is a red lead, red oxide and yellow chromate are the main primer coat which are applied to a base surface to give protection against rust and to act as a key for the next coat to be applied.
Under Coats are a white lead, white zinc, and titanium, and Whites are use over the primer, before the top coat paints.
Finishing Coats colors will depend on share used by the shipping company.

Signal Red is used for the port side light and for lifebuoys and fire appliances. Port means “Left” or left side of the ship.
Signal Green is used for starboard side light and for lifebuoys and fire appliances, totally opposite to Signal Red since the meaning of starboard is “Right” or right side of the ship.

Silverine Paints is a heat resistant paint used for radiator pipes, etc.
Hull Paint – needs a sufficient quantity of paint is always carried on board the ship to paint the hull.