1964 Starcraft Jet Star Renovation

[lakelover]

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

I got the splashwell out by drilling out a lot of rivets where the drill barely fit, straightened a damaged section and started in with the stripper (Kleenstrip from Home Depot).

I definitely prefer the Kleenstrip to the "friendly" spray I was using. It was more friendly to the paint, and took too long to work. Give me the old fashioned brush-on type any day!

 

[lakelover]

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

A little more work on the transom board...I decided to give a little boost to the water-tightness of the holes drilled through by dripping some polyurethane into each hole. I figured that dripping it through with a straw would get enough in there to fully coat it. When I get to assembling everything, I'll also use 4200 or 5200 to seal everything that passes through.

Beyond that, more sanding and JB Weld repairing of the dents & holes in the splash pan. It takes JB several hours to cure fully, then it's so hard that the sanding is quite tedious and slow.

 

[lakelover]

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

Woo Hoo! Score!

Today I bought a 1987 galvanized tilt trailer for $250. It was listed on craigslist for $295, and I went to look at it at lunch time. Looks to be in pretty good shape, lights work, needs one tire, very little rust (mostly on axle) and lots of accommodation for adjustments. Has 10" wheels, winch works well, and roller bunks. Overall it looks lightly used, but a little bent. The wheels spun and turned freely, no grinding or anything. Will be no problem fitting it to my boat, it had a 17 footer on it before.

 

[lakelover]

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

More sanding lately, after patching with JB Weld. So far I've been using 150 grit sandpaper & an orbital sander.

My ultimate goal is to paint with Pettit Easypoxy. I don't plan to strip to bare metal, just paint over the existing paint where it is sound, and re-prime where I've gone down to bare metal. I know the point is to get everything as smooth as possible, & use etching primer on the bare spots. I haven't checked the specifics for the Easypoxy yet but will follow their recommendation.

Besides lots of holes drilled by PO, I've found a fair amount of small chips in the paint, & some small pitted spots under the paint too. These add a lot to the sanding time.

 

[lakelover]

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

Sanding-sanding-sanding...My goal is to get all these layers feathered, with no visible "sharp" edges. I have lots of layers, and where the paint is sound, I'm just roughing it up, but a lot of places require going down to the bare aluminum.

The paint layers from top to bottom are burgundy, gray, orange, red, aluminum, the red being the original paint (you also see some gray JB Weld in this photo).

If all the edges end up smooth and diffuse-looking after the final sanding, then I use a high build primer before the paint, it should look fairly smooth. The boundaries between the red and orange don't look smooth here, but feel very smooth. It's almost impossible to get them to not look streaky. So far this is with 150 grit.

 

[lakelover]

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

Spent more time sanding today on the interior. I've bought Rustoleum Marine topside paint and primer to paint the interior. I have the anti-slip additive that I'm going to add when I do the plywood on the floor. I opened a can of the "battleship gray" paint and the color looks good.

Here's a tip on the paint: If nobody near you carries the Rustoleum Marine, I went to the DoItBest.com website and ordered it on line. If you have an affiliated Do It Best hardware store near you (you can find out right there on the website), you can get the paint shipped there for free, and they'll call you when it comes in. Prices are pretty good too.

 

[lakelover]

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

I spent some time sanding the interior and two days later, my lungs aren't right yet.

I heard others say it, but now I believe it & I'm passing it on, if you're going to sand using a palm sander, at least wear a mask of some sort. I've felt like crap for two days, slowly getting better. I figured since I was outdoors, and wind would carry away the dust, but not enough. I also wasn't using the dust catcher because I was doing some tight spots.

I applied Gluvit last summer, and noticed that toward the back of the boat, where the tarp doesn't quite cover, the UV that did manage to get in has affected the Gluvit because I hadn't painted it yet. Some spots are cracking and peeling up. My next step will be to rough up the surface of it with a Scotch pad and chip away the damaged parts, then apply a second coat all around.

After that, I'll rough up the second coat and prime, using etching primer on the bare spots and then Rustoleum Metal Primer all around. Then paint and get the floor in. After that I'll continue on the exterior prep.

As someone else mentioned before, I found some etching primer for metal spray for about $10 at NAPA.

 

[lakelover]

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

OK, I just got the second coat of Gluvit on. I used the second half of a small size can that has been open since about a year ago and it mixed well and worked fine, same as the first half, so I guess it has a pretty good shelf life. In fact, I had some left over, so in order to use that expensive stuff up, I put a coat on my transom board. Next comes the primer, then the top coat.

Made a good score yesterday at JoAnn Fabrics. I went online and found a 40% off coupon and bought a couple yards of marine vinyl to use in the inside of my dash tray. It was also near the end of the roll, so they gave me the last part of a yard free. Got 2+ yards for $16.

I sprayed the interior bare aluminum areas with the etching primer, then applied the Rustoleum metal primer today everywhere I'm going to lay down the gray paint. I want to get the floor finished to protect the Gluvit from UV. Also have the transom board all primed and ready for paint.

 

[lakelover]

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

I put the first coat of paint on the interior and it looks kinda like crap. Or I don't know, maybe it's OK for the first coat? I applied the Rustoleum Marine Topside paint with a roller, and brushed it on the tight spots. I didn't thin it. The whole job, transom, sides and took about 2 hours and 1/2 qt. of paint.

Maybe it will even out all right when I put the second coat on. It's really amazing how much crap is blowing around in the air that you're not aware of until you see it drop in your wet paint.

Next day I went over the first coat with a scotch pad & laid down a second coat and it looks a lot better. Sure is glossy stuff though, wish I could have found something with a flatter finish for the interior. I have the non-skid additive that I'm going to use on the plywood floor and that will tone that area down some.

 

[lakelover]

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

From Home Depot I got 1" pink insulation for under the floor & at Lowe's, 1/4" plywood. I was able to measure & cut out the pieces in short order and lay them our for eyeballing. After I get further along, I'll add foam under the gunwales and up under the front top deck too. My next goal is to get the plywood installed in the floor so I can flip the boat and get working on the prep for painting the hull. My original floor plywood was so rotten when I got it that I couldn't use it for templates, it only came out in small chunks, but before pulling it I made paper templates the best I could. I'll just double-check the fit on those and tweak the size & shape as needed.

More work on the floor:

A final check of the template I made and I had to tweak it a little but it was pretty close. I decided to just go with a butt joint instead of a scarf joint between the front and back pieces on each side as it will be under the full-width rear seat board and shouldn't suffer too much stress.

Because of the width of the sections, I needed a total of 3 sheets of 1/4" exterior ply. For the front curved pieces, I used clamps to carefully clamp two sheets together so I only had to cut once to make mirror images. It worked pretty well, and when dry-fitting them afterwards, I only had to make small adjustments to one of the pieces, the other fits perfectly.

 

[lakelover]

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

So far, not too impressed with Rustoleum Marine paints.

I put the second coat on the interior 8 days ago and it has been drying/curing since then, and we have had mostly all 85-90 degree days, so it's been good and hot. While I was fitting the plywood, I bumped the gray in a few spots and it took chunks of paint off. I also put a couple pieces of masking tape to mark certain spots during my planning, and forgot to take them off. I carefully peeled them off and with one of them, a big chunk of paint over an inch square came with it.

I used Rustoleum Marine Metal Primer over old paint that had been sanded & scuffed. It was applied exactly according to the directions on the can, as was the Topside Marine gray. It was new gray paint that came up with the tape, not the primer. I keep it covered with a tarp when I'm not working on it, and when I take it off, I can still smell the paint pretty strong.

I would have thought it would be beyond that fragile stage by now.

A little help from others:

On your rusto, How long did you wait to put on your second coat?
Not sure exactly...the second coat was between 24-36 hours later I'd say.

What method of application did you use?
Used a roller mostly, and a brush in hard to reach places.

How Thick of a coat did you apply?
"Normal" thickness, meaning not too thick and not too thin. Don't know how else to describe it; each roller-full covered maybe between 1-2 sq.ft.? Just a guess.

Did you use any kind of thinner? You might want to try Direct Sunlight.
Nope, didn't use any thinner, and it did have at least 2-3 days of direct sunlight within that 8 days. It has been very humid most of the time however and I wonder if that has something to do with it.

I won't be working inside the boat again for several days, so I'll let it age and see how it is then. I believe that painted stuff generally takes longer than the mfr. says before it's really ready to use.

 

[lakelover]

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

Double-checking my transom height...I might have to reshape my new transom board & shorten the height slightly to ensure proper mounting height for the Johnson 50.

 

[lakelover]

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

Hey LL,

I re-read everything and I got another question. Is this the PRIMER you used.

http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=397

If not then this MIGHT be the problem. Aluminum needs to have a Self Etching Primer to ensure proper adhesion.

I'm just sayin...

Nope, I used this, but I was applying it over previous sound paint (or in some spots, self etching primer), not bare aluminum:

It's solvent-based, not latex.

Followed the directions on the cans. What peeled off with the tape and the nicks were just the new layers of paint, not any of the primer I put down. The primer was surprisingly solid.

 

[lakelover]

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

My Starcraft is getting further and further away from original.

Today I was measuring and fitting for seats, controls, etc. and when it came right down to it, I'm going to have to leave the dash tray out permanently. Kinda disappointed after stripping all the paint & old glue, sanding smooth, & buying vinyl. I'm pretty tall and my knees bump against the tray. There's just not enough room for me once I get the seats and steering wheel and control situated. I have the 10 degree Teleflex mounting adapter that I'll use anyway just to give a little more knee room.

I bought a BRP replacement control for my 50 and those newer controls take up a lot more operating space than the old 2-lever speed & shift controls. I tried every which way from Sunday to convince myself the dash tray would fit in the plan, but in the end, there's just not enough room for comfort.

 

[lakelover]

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

I spent the day fabricating a new board for the control and cutting out seat boards. The control mount board had to be completely redesigned and adapted to fit the newer controls, made larger and thicker. I screwed up the first time and cut it wrong. Then I got my act together and remeasured, cut drilled and glued. I needed to increase the thickness for clearance for the lever travel, and the high idle lever to operate. I'll apply some epoxy to waterproof and then plan to cover it with vinyl.

Cutting the seat boards was very frustrating, until I finally figured out what was going on. I measured and re-measured and measured again, thought it was right, laid out the cuts and cut the front board out. It was way off and I was out of 3/4" exterior by then, so I had to hook up the trailer and make an excursion to Lowe's. Got back and started in again, and darned if I didn't keep coming out with a different measurement every time. Unbelieveable, I didn't think I was that bad at it. I was using my measuring tape and an excellent 4' T-square that I use for cutting mats for photographs. After my umpteenth calculation, measurement and transfer to the plywood, it was screwy again. OK, really started thinking and checking things out and here's what I discovered.....my !&%#}*! 4' T-square is only 47-7/8 inches long!!! Never noticed it when measuring from the right end! So watch out for stuff like this!

You wouldn't think it would make that much difference, but I was using them interchangeably, having to measure certain distances from the center to the edges etc. Well, from now on, it's only a square, not a ruler too.

So after figuring that out, the re-cut went really smooth and it fit right in, and the measuring & cutting of the rear seat board did the same. Notice that I made the rear board deeper front-to-back so I could set the seats back a few inches to avoid the front & back seatbacks bumping each other.

When I bought this boat, I didn't realize at the time just how much of a rebuild it was going to be, but as I got into it more and more, it turned into a lot more work than I imagined. It was enjoyable, but some days I wondered "What was I thinking?". I didn't really have a clear vision of whether I just wanted something to get on the water, or wanted to do a more thorough update & resoration. It's a good idea to decide that before starting!

 

[lakelover]

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

Epoxy-weird experience Nothing serious, but strange.

I was finally back at it today putting more epoxy on, second coat for the floor and first coat for the seat boards etc. I mixed & applied one batch (US Composites 3:1 type) and all went well. I mixed a second batch & put on a fresh roller, and after about 15 minutes, my plastic paint tray got hotter and hotter, and then after I had dipped the roller and started to roll it out, it just suddenly gelled on the floor board in big stringy gobs instead of rolling out. I quick got a piece of cardboard and squeegeed off the gobs so I wouldn't have to do a ton of sanding after it cured. Then I went to pick up & discard the tray and roller and the tray bottom had begun to melt and the mixture was smoking. Outside temp. was 78 and weather dry & sunny.

For some reason, maybe a mixing error or temperature conditions(?), it suddenly started to cure superfast. No serious consequences, but never had this happen before, using the same materials & technique. Very bizarre!

After removing gobs:

Tray:

 

[lakelover]

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

After all the reading I've done on the paint subject, I've decided to go with the Easypoxy paint. But I want to mention that the durability issues I had with the gray Rusto Marine on the interior seem to have abated since the paint has aged significantly.

I learned a couple things about working with vinyl today, applying it to my fabricated plywood control board with Weldwood contact cement.

1) After you apply the cement and are waiting for it to set up, the vinyl gets pretty soft and stretchy, and you need to be more careful of wrinkles.

2) When you apply the cement and walk away to do other stuff while it's setting up, the edges of the vinyl tend to curl up onto themselves and get stuck.

3) It's harder than it looks to figure out where to make the cuts for wrapping a shape other than flat and geometrical. My board has two curved corners and single and double thickness.

In the end, with a lot of messing around and "custom" hacking and cutting with scissors and a stanley knife, it came out not looking too bad for a first try. At least most of the mistakes are on the back and in more obscure spots.

That will probably be the extent of my vinyl work. I had planned to use it in the dash tray, but decided to leave that out to make more knee room for myself.

I also made progress with primer and paint applied to seat and floor boards and the transom board.

 

[lakelover]

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

Last weekend I got a couple more coats of paint on the backside of the floor plywood, seat boards & transom board. All these coats of paint are running my paint bill up because when I was figuring how much to order, I underestimated how many coats I was going to apply. Also needing a lot more foam rollers. For the final couple of coats of Rustoleum on the top of the floor, I have the anti-slip additive to mix in. I'm curious to see how well it works.

I made a template of the dash for further work and checked out the fit of the new Teleflex rack steering, it's going to work out OK.

More progress on the floor... I laid out the foam and fitted in the rear pieces, after putting marks on tape on the sides over the centers of the ribs, and marking down the center of the floor. After marking out where the rivets would go and drilling carefully thru the plywood and aluminum, I injected a hefty dose of 5200 into the hole before putting in the rivet.

A bendable aluminum yard stick helped in lining up the marks along the cruvature of the hull for drillling.

Afer putting in the first few rivets on the first piece and moving around on it, I knew right away that the excessive squeaking caused by the movement of the epoxied and painted plywood against the foam would drive me crazy. So I drilled out the rivets I'd put in and started over.

I came up with the idea of putting 4 mil clear plastic between the foam and plywood, and it has totally silenced the floor. I think it will hold up well protected from the UV, since this is the stuff that never rots buried in landfills. As long as it doesn't break up into little pieces and clog up the under deck drainage, it should be OK. I was surprised how well it worked.

Next step is to continue with the front decking pieces. After they are in, I have to work on the seat boards and supports, and then I'll be painting the floor.

 

[lakelover]

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

First day of retirement!

and the floor is done. It's not perfect, but considering this is my first rivet job ever, it's not too bad. Getting the front sections in place with that bend made me sweat a little, but it worked. The thing that pleases me the most is that I overcame that horrible foam-squeaking and it's completely quiet when I walk on it.

I'm going to put vertical supports under the centers of the seat boards for added strength, so I gorilla-glued two pieces of 1/4" ply in place to fasten them to. I'm going to stabilize the bottoms using aluminum right-angle stock screwed to the supports and floor, so that total 1/2" floor thickness under the supports will give something more substantial for the screws to grip.

A while back I purchased some SS nuts, bolts, washers & screws for the seat brackets and reassembling the transom, so I have to mention this great source. I got them at Boltdepot.com where you can order almost anything you might need in any quantity with reasonable prices and shipping. They come in small zip bags, completely labeled, sent exactly what I ordered and I was impressed that the count was exactly right. Quick service too.

 

[lakelover]

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project

Dry fit of the seat boards & supports...they are pretty solid and will withstand a good amount of weight and will also stiffen up the hull.