Sunday paint crew: Sue, Allison, Mike, Shane, Andrea, Jack and Lynn.
Family, friends, friends of friends, and even a new friend discovered online took time from their Labor Day weekend to come out to Graves Ledge and paint inside the lighthouse.
We had sandblasted all bronze, iron and steel surfaces inside. We covered the bronze with clear protectant and painted the iron and steel with a special marine-grade green-gray primer. That work was done by a professional crew.
Over Labor Day weekend, a hardy group of volunteers from all walks of life visited Graves and, with paintbrushes and rollers, carried out the difficult task of applying a thick epoxy urethane paint as a secondary primer to bond with the first. This is the same kind of primer used on oceangoing vessels and oil rigs.
The two-day midcoat primer job was followed by a topcoat job on Monday, to apply black paint to cast iron stairways, rails and other surfaces.
Here are some of the pictures of our Labor Day weekend paint party. We are really, really grateful for all the enthusiastic and devoted help.
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- Sunday paint crew: Sue, Allison, Mike, Shane, Andrea, Jack and Lynn.
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- Mike and Lynn take a break from painting on September 1, the 109th anniversary of the first lighting of Graves Light. Lynn’s hand shows that she was painting black that day.
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- Keeper Dave rows the dinghy out to the boat after a long day of painting. Kat is in the bow; Josh and Carolyn are astern.
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- Saturday paint crew: Mike and Carolyn (standing at top), Josh (seated at top), Kat and Dave (hanging off right side), Keith and John (standing).
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- Monday paint crew: Chris, Mike, Lynn, Ken (crouching), John, Jack, Dave.
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- Larry doesn’t stop until the whole steel ceiling is painted.
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- Ken and Chris apply white finishing paint to the interior of the watch room.
