1958 Lonestar Malibu (Aluminum) Advice

[cknadroj]

I'm in the planning stages for refreshing my aluminum 1958 Lonestar Malibu. Pictures posted here:<br /><br /> http://www.shareaproject.com/pages/projectThumbs,p,145,00.html <br /><br />I'm going to remove all paint from the inside and the outside of the boat. I don't look forward to doing it by hand with stripper - looking for opinions on have it media/bead blasted or dipped in a tank by a commercial outfit...<br /><br />Thanks for your opinion/experiences/advice.

 

[swimmin' for shore]

Re: 1958 Lonestar Malibu (Aluminum) Advice

Alright! Another Lonestar. Read back through the posts by a couple, and see my posting on rebuilding an aluminum runabout. I'm sandblasting mine. The comparison is as follows:<br />I did a 12' aluminum(little rowboat) with a gravity feed blaster like you can buy at Sears or Home Depot. They're dirt cheap, but blasting that 12 footer took a solid 8 to 10 hours and about 600 lbs. of sand.<br />I'm working on a 16' Lonestar now. It's deeper than yours, I think. I did one side of the bow yesterday, which would be about the square footage of that entire aluminum boat. It took an hour and 10 minutes and 125 lbs. of sand, give or take. The blaster is on ebay. It's just a cheapy from central pneumatic, that cost me 140 dollars, including shipping. I put it together in 45 minutes or an hour. <br />In either case, you'll need to use silica sand or another media. The silica is probably the cheapest. 6 dollars or so per 100# bag at Home Depot. <br />If you are planning to use a blaster like this, you need a good air compressor. Mine is 7 hp, 80 gallons. It doesn't quite keep up, but I just take a break every 15 minutes, and I still went down that side in an hour and 10. <br />There are a couple of random ideas. You can do that boat by hand, if you choose to, but I promise that you won't like it. And the better the method that you choose, the happier you'll be by far. Good luck.

 

[cknadroj]

Re: 1958 Lonestar Malibu (Aluminum) Advice

swimmin' for shore, can you please give me a little more to go on for the 'blaster' you found on ebay? I checked ebay but don't really know what i'm loking for.<br /><br />I don't understand the difference between it and a gravity feed one.<br /><br />I do have a 6HP 33 Gallon compressor rated for 7.2CFM @ 90 PSI - might work OK.

 

[swimmin' for shore]

Re: 1958 Lonestar Malibu (Aluminum) Advice

Sure. Here's a link to one that's similar to what I bought. I won't advise you on the capabilities of your compressor, but I'd contact your local paint store, hardware store, or a seller on ebay to find out if your compressor is powerful enough. Like I said, my blaster works great, but have no doubt that it draws my 80 gallon tank down in about 10 minutes if I'm running straight through. It's so fast, though, that I don't feel to put out to have to take a break to let pressure build back up again. I'm still moving 10 or 15 times as fast as with the gravity fed blaster....on that note...<br />the gravity fed blaster is just a bucket, usually on wheels. There's a fitting on the bottom that goes to a hose. The hose then goes to the gun. The gun takes sand through that hose. A second hose attaches the air hose to the gun. As air runs through the gun, it creates a vacuum and draws sand. Simple idea. Think of it like cigarette smoke in the car. Crack the window, and the air from outside creates suction as you go down the road, effectively drawing that cigarette smoke out...that's all my science for one day. Heres the link:<br /> cheapy ebay sandblaster

 

[cknadroj]

Re: 1958 Lonestar Malibu (Aluminum) Advice

Swimmin' for shore - thanks for the help/info so far.<br /><br />Good news, a pal of mine at work has the exact blaster you pointed me to on ebay that I can borrow - he's had it for two years - still brand new in the box and never been used.<br /><br />Looks like I'll be blasting the Malibu and so I have a few more questions for you:<br /><br />Did you use the Home Depot silica sand or something else?<br /><br />What air pressure did you use - I've read elsewhere on the web that you have to be careful with the pressure and the angle of attack when blasting aluminum to avoid making holes, warping the panels, etc.?<br /><br />Please bear in mind that I don't plan on painting the outside of the boat so I want to end up with as nice/smooth of a surface as possible.<br /><br />Thanks

 

[swimmin' for shore]

Re: 1958 Lonestar Malibu (Aluminum) Advice

For a smoother surface, you may want to use an aluminum oxide abrasive. I don't play with my air. 125 psi, all the way. I've never had a problem with warping, cutting through the hull, or anything else. You shouldn't, either. Personally, I used silica, from Home depot. 6 bucks a bag, and that pressure blaster goes fairly easily on the sand. I did the outside of my 16' boat with 3 1/2 bags, which isn't too bad. Whatever you use, that blaster should allow you to keep the nozzle at least 12 to 18" away from the boat, and you'll clean a nice swath with each pass.<br />If you want a smooth finish after silica, you can use steel wool. That will smooth it out, but it's a lot of hand work. There are attachments for your drill that will work the same. There's been some study on "shining or polishing aluminum". Do a search for that. I try this and that now and again, but I use my boats in salt, so paint works better for me. Good deal that you can borrow a blaster. Then, you can decide if you like it or not before you spend a bit of money on your own.

 

[cknadroj]

Re: 1958 Lonestar Malibu (Aluminum) Advice

Started in earnest on the resto-mod of my Malibu.<br /><br />Here is a before sandblasting picture from last fall.<br /><br />

<br /><br />Here is an after sandblasting picture from last Sunday.<br /><br />

<br /><br />Special thanks to swimmin' for shore for advise and confidence building.

 

[samo_ott]

Re: 1958 Lonestar Malibu (Aluminum) Advice

So what happened on refinishing the boats? I just bought a '59 LoneStar Malibu yesterday. The paint is also peeling. any ideas? What worked best to get it off? Thanks