1959 Lone Star El Dorado "Project Texas Tornado" - Winner 2016 Resto SOTY Award

[Luke000]

Thanks for the great info! Some good things to think about, I like the free craigslist couch idea! there are always some around my area I can get a hold of, probably would need 2 for all 6 seats. I like the Home Depot foam too, there is one store about 20 miles away that stocks it and I will be out there next week and can stop by to check it out. The third option I am looking at is an upholstery wholesaler near me that supplies some of the big 3 and I was told they could be a good spot to check out for new foam and they would even cut it to size for me, another stop I am going to make next week when I have a day off.

 

[monriverguy]

Seat are looking good there Luke, Mine looked just like that on the inside too.... I was able to save the bottom seats at lease for the first year i did the backs but not as good as yours..... Your boat is going to look sweet!!! you all should google Lone Star boats on E *** the is a 1958 on there now pretty cool looking...

 

[Luke000]

Seat are looking good there Luke, Mine looked just like that on the inside too.... I was able to save the bottom seats at lease for the first year i did the backs but not as good as yours..... Your boat is going to look sweet!!! you all should google Lone Star boats on E *** the is a 1958 on there now pretty cool looking...

Thanks! I just looked it up and that sure is one pretty looking boat. Maybe mine will be worth that some day! :eyebrows: But I am sure most of that is in that pretty motor.

 

[Luke000]

I was driving home from school Friday night and sitting on the curb was a big foam sleep number pad, thinking I MIGHT be able to use it for my seats I grabbed it and threw it in the back of my car. It is about 3.325 inches thick, 60"X80", and doesn't have really any nasty spots or crawlies. Im not sure if this is the "right" type of foam to use on my seats, and it is fairly soft. But it was free and anything free is worth saving up for in my book. I figured I would take it and see what people here thought about using it as a foam source, worst case I throw it back out on the curb. I also am planning on going to the foam wholesaler tomorrow to see what they have and the price of it.

I have been E-mailing with UPD plastics this last week about getting a replacement windshield made and as of Friday they wanted me to send them my old busted up windshield so that they can confirm the dimensions to their mold. The windshield did get even more damaged when I moved the boat in the spring, so lets hope they can piece it back together enough to make a comparison. But if all goes to plan from here on out anyone with the Eldorado with a missing on incomplete shield can order one up from them!

​

 

[Watermann]

That's some high quality foam that I'm sure accidentally flew out when someone was moving. Go to their sleep number website and price the stuff, I bet it's crazy expensive.

 

[Woodonglass]

I'm afraid you'll find that foam a Bit TOO soft for use as Seat foam.

 

[Luke000]

I'm afraid you'll find that foam a Bit TOO soft for use as Seat foam.

That is kinda what I was thinking... I'm going to cut a piece and try it without stapling anything down tonight. I doubt it's much softer than the stuff that was in there though, that stuff was VERY soft.

 

[Luke000]

Boat seats are at the upholstery wholesaler right now getting the foam cut! Their prices were very reasonable, better than eBay and they will be cut to shape as well! Also dropped off the windshield at FedEx and it is on its way to Davie, Fl for UPD plastics to confirm dimensions on and recreate it! It should be delivered Thursday and then hopefully in a month or so I should have a new windshield!

 

[Luke000]

Got the foam back today and also had my class this evening canceled due to the snow! With a second set of hands from my mom, we got the two large cushions all assembled! I have to say for $17.60 the little Harbor Freight pneumatic 20ga wide crown staple gun was invaluable! Worked great on my little pancake compressor right there in the living room. The cushions turned out great, I hope to do another pair tomorrow.

 

[jbcurt00]

Mom gets an honorary iboats membership for helping and letting you work IN the house

Oh and lest we forget, theres that bit from your 1st boat build, about taking out one of her house's walls......

 

[Luke000]

Mom gets an honorary iboats membership for helping and letting you work IN the house

Oh and lest we forget, theres that bit from your 1st boat build, about taking out one of her house's walls......

I think she does! Plus mom has some nice watercraft of her own!

The 1st build with the little demo job was actually at my dads old house! I dont think mom would have let that one fly :lol:

 

[jbcurt00]

Oops

Faux pas..

Apologies @ wall...

 

[Corjen1]

Cushions look great Luke!!

 

[64osby]

That foam would work great for back foam, seat foam is usually a much higher density (firmer)

 

[Luke000]

A few quick updates, I just finished the semester at school yesterday so to celebrate I went to the shop, took the tarp off for the first time this season and did a little bit of work on the boat to get it one step closer to painting. I made a patch to fill a hole that a PO crudely punched in the deck to install a manual windshield wiper, I welded the patch in with a TIG and some 5356 filler rod, after I did that I decided to fill in a few other holes that the PO drilled nearby for other gadgets. After I grind them down and blend the metal the repairs will be invisible (I hope). After that we fired the crane out back up, lifted the stern off the trailer and I put in the final 8 rivets for the transom knee brace, and as you can see I did not go lightly on the 5200!

Next step is to pick out and go buy the paint and lift the whole boat up, rotate it on the side and start to sand and paint the bottom! I think I have the paint I am going to use picked out (no thanks to the people at my local Sherwin Williams) I am going to sand/scuff the entire surface, prep the bare aluminum spots with a self etching or Zinc-Chromate primer, then shoot the entire boat in SeaGuard universal primer (http://protective.sherwin-williams.com/detail.jsp?A=sku-26520:product-6944) then finish it up with a few top coats with SeaGuard 1000 Marine Alkyd Enamel (http://protective.sherwin-williams.com/detail.jsp?A=sku-26490:product-6936) Does this seem like a decent choice? Let me know your opinion on the paint!

 

[Watermann]

Whoa! That's some crazy overkill on that crane... I like it... a lot :heh:

Hey all I use is alkyd enamel on my boats and trailers. Be sure tho to use the reducer the paint calls for and absolutely use catalyst hardener.

 

[Tnstratofam]

Some people have the coolest tools! I'm envious of your crane as well.:hail: That knee brace looks nice and sturdy too.:thumb:

 

[Luke000]

Thanks! Having access to the crane is going to help painting the bottom a lot!

I talked to Sherwin Williams tech support and they said for this paint they do not recommend using a hardener.

". Luke,
There is no hardener available for the seaguard 1000, this is a single
component product. Just stir the paint up very well and apply."

Was the response when asking about a hardener. I plan to order up the paint hopefully within a week, I just need to measure out the square footage and get a color chip for the white and black colors.

 

[Watermann]

I'm sure the paint will turn out sharp even if you don't use any hardener. :encouragement:

 

[Luke000]

I'm sure the paint will turn out sharp even if you don't use any hardener. :encouragement:

Cool! I went over to the shop today and measured out the area for paint and came up that I will need roughly 300ft^2 worth of primer, 235ft^2 of white, 70ft^2 of orange, and only about 35ft^2 of black. I calculate I don't need a gallon of each paint. The SeaGuard primer covers 195-490 ft^2 per gallon depending on how thick it is put on (assuming 1 coat, and 2 to 5 dry mils of thickness) and when used with the Alkyd top coat they want you to stay closer to the 3 mil thickness giving me more than needed. The SeaGuard 1000 Alkyd covers 240-360 ft^2 per gallon (assuming 2 coats, 2-3 dry mils)

I hope to go up to Sherwin Williams tomorrow with some paint swatches and order up a few gallons of paint! I'm getting excited/nervous about to take the plunge of no return for paint, the part I have been dreading since I bought the boat.