87 SS180 First Rebuild

[astor]

Glen- cool place to work as a kid, I would have loved to do something like that....

Willy- these guys use lots of tools, the rivets are mostly flush and tiny compared to our tin boats rivets. not all are done with a pneumatic riveter, some are in tight spots where they just use a squeezer. All the holes on these kits come prepunched, but need dimpled and deburred buy the builder. deburring really important to prevent fatigue cracks.

GA- yep, $2k in tools is probably bout right. The Van's kits are really cool, and probably the most popular, I was at Airventure a few years back and was surprised at the number of Van's vs other kit planes. Would be kinda cool to have a mini get together with some of the guys on this forum and their boats, sort of like the fly-ins, but not as easy to pull off with boats.

JB- thats awesome,is that a pic you found on the web, or someone you know? Reskinning that old tin boat looks like new.

 

[jbcurt00]

Guy I 'know' on another boat forum, yep rebuilding a huge portion of it from flat stock. The interior seat pans and backs are really amazing, but it is all really high caliber fab work.

My biggest take away from his rebuild, after shock and awe, is the wing nut 'clamp' clecos, for drawing gaps closed. I'm sure several of the Starmada could use a few...

 

[Tnstratofam]

I certainly could have used some to re attach my knee brace when I redid my transom.

 

[astor]

A bit frustrated polishing the boat, can never seem to get all the micro-scratches out from the buffing wheels. I know its a bit nuts:der:, as it will get plenty of scratches and oxidation during use.

It looks great from a distance, but when you get close you see the polishing scratches. Been reading the caswells polishing forum, and an airstream forum and it seems to be a common problem with aluminum and especially certain alloys of aluminum.

time to move on to the next stage- painting.

 

[Watermann]

Yeah that's a mirror now, jeeze what a shine!

I enjoy the painting most of all, mainly because once that's done things start going back together pretty quickly. Interior paint, so what colors do you have in mind and scheme?

 

[jbcurt00]

I don't think the Hubble's mirror has anything on that hull's shine ^^^ :facepalm:

Wait, I think I can see a reflection from here in WV..... Wait, it's MY reflection..... :faint2:

Nice work :encouragement:

Micro scratches :twitch: jeez.... OCD much? :der:

The fish won't mind, we promise....
Now get to paintin' so ya can get to the :fish2:

 

[64osby]

Next up polishing the Islander.

Looks fantastic from here.

 

[astor]

Next up polishing the Islander.

Looks fantastic from here.

Thanks 64osby, but no way am I ever polising another boat, next one gets paint only. You'd have to be nuts to polish something the size of the 26' Islander-

I don't think the Hubble's mirror has anything on that hull's shine ^^^ :facepalm:

Wait, I think I can see a reflection from here in WV..... Wait, it's MY reflection..... :faint2:

Nice work :encouragement:

Micro scratches :twitch: jeez.... OCD much? :der:

The fish won't mind, we promise....
Now get to paintin' so ya can get to the :fish2:

LOL JB, yep lots of fishing is the plan for next summer.....OCD is what my wife is calling it..

Yeah that's a mirror now, jeeze what a shine!

I enjoy the painting most of all, mainly because once that's done things start going back together pretty quickly. Interior paint, so what colors do you have in mind and scheme?

Thanks Waterman, the paint is gonna match my truck, I think Chrysler calls it flame red, its a maroon with a lite metal flake. then black/blue tape stripes maybe 1.5-2" to separate the polish from the paint and some new starcraft decals. The interior gets no paint other than the splashwell, it'll all be nautolex deck and gunwhales, and upholstered side panels.

 

[Weep'n Willy]

Whoa, had to dim down the screen........that is some shine ya got going there. Your paint scheme sounds great. So let's get on with the paint!

 

[dozerII]

Wicked polish astor, micro scratches Ya right:clap2:

 

[classiccat]

Looks like that Polish job is Starmada-Approved Astor! Wow! Nice job!!!

 

[cj8mule]

That's some shiny tin! You must've spent at least 100 hours on that.

 

[InMotion]

Looking fantastic Astor! Really nice work there... that really is some nice shiny tin there!

Looking forward to what you do next!

Jim

 

[astor]

Whoa, had to dim down the screen........that is some shine ya got going there. Your paint scheme sounds great. So let's get on with the paint!

Thanks WnW! If I can do the paint half as nice as your's I will be happy.

Wicked polish astor, micro scratches Ya right:clap2:

Yep, polishing is evil, ...very dirty:grumpy:, black fuzz all over the shop and me, and it looks good, but never perfect...arrrgh! I was just gonna sand and repaint until I saw your holiday and Inmotion's polishing last year-
I was reading on an Airstream post that they switched from a 2024 to 5052 some 30 years ago, and the older ones using 2024 polished up better and brighter.

Looks like that Polish job is Starmada-Approved Astor! Wow! Nice job!!!

Thanks classiccat!

That's some shiny tin! You must've spent at least 100 hours on that.

cj8- Thanks, I think you are pretty close with the hours, but I didn't keep track, as it was spread out over several months.

Looking fantastic Astor! Really nice work there... that really is some nice shiny tin there!

Looking forward to what you do next!

Jim

Thanks, Jim, I didn't plan on polishing until I saw uour's and Glen's polishing jobs last winter, you guys made it look easy.


you can see some of the polishing marks in this picture.

 

[64osby]

So can you please mark in red the areas???

J/K I think it looks awesome.

 

[astor]

At the right angle under the right light you can see the polishing marks, it makes it look a little hazy, where if you look at the same spot from a different angle you don't see it very much.

 

[dozerII]

Astor, now I see what you mean, I had the same problem with the Caswell polish, that's why I went back to using Sonus on a fine black dimpled pad. It didn't matter what I tried I kept getting those marks.

 

[64osby]

Astor I was just kidding.

You know it is the bottom of the hull. The fish won't really care.

 

[astor]

Yep the bottom of the hull is not a concern for the microscratches. It is the bow, sides, and transom. I will be spending a few more hours focusing on those surfaces.

 

[Tnstratofam]

Ooooh. Shiny!!!!! I am always impressed when you guys polish your boats. I'm so lazy!!!
Looks great!