Century Coronado restore

[89 resorter]

GM, maybe I'll get the old Iron Horse compressor working by then and borrow your big DA........ When one runs out of air I'll just switch to the other until it runs out and switch back and fourth between the too to keep on sanding (LOL). Just kidding of course. My experience with borrowing tools is that I usually end up buying a new one for whoever lent it to me after I break it so I have learned to just buy my own now.

 

[gm280]

GM, maybe I'll get the old Iron Horse compressor working by then and borrow your big DA........ When one runs out of air I'll just switch to the other until it runs out and switch back and fourth between the too to keep on sanding (LOL). Just kidding of course. My experience with borrowing tools is that I usually end up buying a new one for whoever lent it to me after I break it so I have learned to just buy my own now.

Seem we have very similar experiences. Usually when I borrow anything, I first have to fix it and then use it and take it back. And the person would be amazed it now works. I use to rent out boats before I owned my own. And every time I rented one out, I had to rewire the trailer to get all lights wired to a standard setup with new wires and bulbs. But I would never ever get the same boat and trailer twice. I guess they wanted me to refurbish all their equipment. :facepalm:

I haven't borrowed a tool in decades. I just buy them if I don't already have it. Cheaper that way for me.

 

[harleyman1975]

LOL I just know that your boat is going to be one of those projects that turns out way better than factory. We have a regal 20 ft that is a very good craft and it will last more than long enough for you to finish the century (and even have time to play with it a couple of summers before you get the bug again and need to sell to finance your new dream! That sir is the day I am waiting for! Keep it up it is looking very good from where I sit in Northern MN.

 

[89 resorter]

Thanks Harleyman. Good to hear that you are covered with a boat until this one is done (less pressure on me that way lol). I have been without a boat for three summers but have enjoyed working on this old girl just about as much. The wife and daughter are not as patient as we are and thank goodness my grand daughter is not old enough to talk yet or it would be three women grilling me on how much longer.

 

[gsxrdan]

Hell of a job so far, well done!

 

[89 resorter]

Thanks gsxrdan. Your doing a great job on your Wellcraft too. At the rate your going you will be done in no time. My boat is at my camp 50 miles from where I live so I only get weekends to work on her so it looks like my project will be going well into next summer since it will soon be too cold around here to work with FG. That's ok though.... I got lots of sanding to do on the hull and that can be done at any temp.

 

[89 resorter]

Had a minor setback with the grinding this past weekend. Once the Admiral saw how much dust the initial bit of grinding caused, I ended up spending most of the day building another tent. But once that was done, the sanding commenced and I have determined that the 36 grit did a better job but that this is still going to be a Sloooooooooooow process! I ordered some 36 grit for my inline board sander with the hopes that it may do better than the DA.

My new gelcoat dust containment contraption


Results of 3 - 4 hours sanding (why, oh why did I not pick a smaller boat?)

 

[mickyryan]

pfft with struggle the rewards are sweeter "says the man sitting at his dust free comfy desk typing "

 

[gm280]

WOW you did take it to bare fiberglass. How rough is the finish now? If you are looking to do that to the entire hull, you are in for a ton of work. My hat's off to you. :yo:

I used the 80 grit and just removed the dead gel coat and paint down to good solid material and am using the remaining gel as my starting point. Seeing how hard it is attached to the fiberglass and sanding off, I don't see it coming off any time soon. JMHO

 

[Baylinerchuck]

Wow that is a lot of sanding!!! Good luck man, good to see the progress.

 

[harleyman1975]

I know that it comes off faster if you tip the pad a lil bit...BUT MAKE SURE TO FAIR IT OUT and get it totally flat before you move on to the gelcoat...that "gelhog" can do a lot of damage when not held flat...as a matter of fact I think if I was you I would give the hull a skim coat of PB with micro balloons and block it out before I sprayed gelcoat just to make sure it is flat/fair/true...you follow, right? One more thing. the 8" orbital is much faster than the board file.

 

[sphelps]

Any reason your taking all the gell off ? I'm no expert but I think you can just take it down to clean gell then apply over that as gm mentioned
Would save a bunch of time and fairing just thinking ...
Or was the old gell crazed everywhere ?

 

[mickyryan]

id removed it to good and recoated as well but then you probably have reasons that we aren't aware of?

 

[89 resorter]

Thanks for all the input guys. It is turning out to be a lot more work than I had imagined and I am very concerned, and being very careful not to get a wavy surface which is probably another reason it is going so slow. Visually and by touch there is very little difference between the 36 and 80 grit. I ended up keeping with the 6" sander as it does not appear that my compressor has enough omph to power the 8" sander. I have to admit that I don't really know the actual reason for removing the gel down to the glass other that that was WOG's reccomendation in post #126. I am surprised that he has not weighed in yet ..... prolly still partying hard celebrating his retirement (lol). I think I will PM him and ask if he can weigh in.

 

[gm280]

Thanks for all the input guys. It is turning out to be a lot more work than I had imagined and I am very concerned, and being very careful not to get a wavy surface which is probably another reason it is going so slow. Visually and by touch there is very little difference between the 36 and 80 grit. I ended up keeping with the 6" sander as it does not appear that my compressor has enough omph to power the 8" sander. I have to admit that I don't really know the actual reason for removing the gel down to the glass other that that was WOG's reccomendation in post #126. I am surprised that he has not weighed in yet ..... prolly still partying hard celebrating his retirement (lol). I think I will PM him and ask if he can weigh in.

I do realize it is your boat and project, but honestly I see absolutely no reason to sand all the way down to bare fiberglass. If you remove the chalked out gel coat to good solid material, there is no reason to keep sanding to bare glass. You will gain nothing doing that and the extra sanding isn't doing anything towards a great new finish. What you are trying to do is remove dead worn out gel coat and preparing the hull for a good starting place to prime and paint. And since it is taking that much effort to remove the gel coat material, that would have been your base starting point. I just hate to see you doing all the extra work for nothing. However, that is just my uneducated opinion. And we all know about opinions. So carry on.

 

[Woodonglass]

I can't remember what the overall condition of the GC was prior to your start however...If it was not spidercracked a bunch, and was adhered quite well then I think all that's required is to ensure that all the contaminants that have accumulated over the years are removed. TSP is one of the best hull cleaners around along with Oxyalic Acid. I would then follow up with a good sanding with 60 to 80 grit. The only areas that need to be removed down to the glass would be Spidercracking,
Water Pox, and or flex cracked areas. Where this is necessary you'll need to feather the gel into the area to yield a smooth surface. I may have mislead you in a previous post indicating removal of All the gelcoat was required. It's NOT. Only in the above mentioned scenario's Again,and Old Dumb Okies ramblings to consider that!!!!:sad::thumb:

 

[89 resorter]

Thanks Wood, that will make things go much easier. The GC, while badly stained, is otherwise in good shape with the only spider cracking being in the areas where the PO damaged it running into the dock (those areas need fixed anyway). It does have some water pox along the water line that I will have to take care of but the vast majority of the hull is in good shape gel coat wise. My sore arms and back have confirmed that the GC is well adhered lol.

Thanks

 

[sphelps]

You can V -groove the spider cracks with a dremel tool then fill and sand ...

 

[fibersport]

Resorter 89 - I've been reading and re-reading your restoration with great interest. I have an 84 Coronado Cardel that needs EVERYTHING. It's interesting how different the inner structure is between the two models even though they have the same hulls. I was planning on not putting in foam but after seeing how it's really made and your posts, I think I've reconsidered and will most likely use foam. I'm sure I'll have more questions as time goes on, in the meantime, keep up the great work.

 

[Woodonglass]

Yup sphelps is spot on. dremel worls great on those spider cracks. Gelcoat paste (Mix some cabosil in the GC to thicken it) will fill em' in and the roll or spray on the finish layers.