1974 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB refit

[dozerII]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB refit

MP, the boat is starting to look like you are nearing the end of the stripping process, I bet that makes you happy.
Glen

 

[MichaelP]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB refit

Here is what I have ahead and the tools I'll use. First will be the pressure washer. I think alot of this old paint will pop right off. I tried it and had good results. The plan is to use aluminum brite to treat the corrosion (comments here). The areas under the trailer bunks look no worse. How could it?:facepalm:

Between breaks from stripping I managed to do some transom work.

I want to thank my wife for the help pressure washing the house and let me focus on the boat. Well she actually did most of it herself, what a trooper! She would have finished the whole house but I broke the gun. :facepalm: I was doing the gable ends and had to drop it before I slid off the metal roof and it snapped in half. Besides the sawzall that pressure washer is probably her favorite tool!

 

[MichaelP]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB refit

Yep - Very glad to put that job behind me. The rest of the paint removing should go pretty darn quick.

 

[MichaelP]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB refit

More progress this weekend. Transom is epoxied. Hatch stripped. patch plate ready to install and rivits sealed. Went with Coat It for the rivits, mixed the whole batch and it started to kick before I could finish but I didn't waste much and there are only a few rivits I didn't hit. I did get the most critical ones covered and might hit the others with 5200 when I install the transom this week (hopefully). I still haven't seen any signs of corrosion or loose rivits in the bottom. I used the 4 1/2" angle grinder with a cup wheel to clean the rivits and seams. Man that thing will grab and kick from time to time. Both knee caps got it and 1 pair of jeans ruined. I'm walking a little funny today.:facepalm:

The patch plate cleaned up OK. I used some stripper to get most of the crap off then Zylol with scotch brite to clean up the glue. I was tempted to make a run for some googone but made do with what I had.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB refit

Hull looks great, solid job on the transom pieces, your work is excellent Michael!

 

[MichaelP]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB refit

Now that I'm about ready to slap this transom together I have an important question. How should I treat the corroded stern before I close it in forever? I'm planning to clean it with Alumanex and bond it with 5200; but should I coat everything with something or leave it bare for adhesion? See pics above.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB refit

Tim Fives POR15'd his and it was badass.

 

[bouttime007]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB refit

Just stopping in to say youre doing a heck of a job on the old girl MP.

Cant wait to see her all done up! (not as much as you I bet though) I really like the style of that boat, it just looks cool and there looks to be a ton of room to customize. Shes a blank canvas right now, just waiting for brush and thought.

 

[MichaelP]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB refit

EZ - Thanks for the lead.
007 - Its getting exciting for sure as I'm about to enter a new chapter in this project. Lots of thought going on about the next steps.

I'm leaning heavily on using Alumiprep then Alodine on the bare aluminum. When I assemble the transom shmeer the 5200. The paint is a ? Here I'm leaning toward Rusto clean metal primer because I can get quarts and want to use a spray gun. Rusto Etching primer seems to only come in rattle cans and not sure if I really need the etch with the Alodine. I could hit it with a dusting of the Moeller ZC spray bomb but again, not sure if its required.

I can really use some feed back here. I screwed up the last paint job and want to have zero problems with this one. My mistake last time was lack of prep and timing between coats.

 

[boatnut74]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB refit

I was talking with a buddy of mine who used to paint aircraft and he said to use alodine and zc. I'm not sure if it's necessary as airplanes have totally different uses but it's just a thought. I havn't decided if i'm going to use alodine or not. A lot of guys seem to get by just fine without it.

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB refit

Some of the pros here at iboats recommend using the alodine, I'm not sure if I will go to that length myself.

I have always heard that you should also use zinc chromate after the alodine, I'm certainly no expert, just what I've heard.

 

[MichaelP]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB refit

Thanks for chiming in gents.
I have a serious corrosion issue that I want to address properly. From my research It's recommended that it be cleaned and a conversion process done before painting otherwise I wouldn't fret to much about this. You might have noticed on a couple of my pics the paint on the bottom is flaking off exposing bare exposed aluminum. So at this point the plan is.... Alumiprep, Alodine, Dust ZC, Prime & paint.

 

[MichaelP]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB refit

Here's the catch. Cannot get Zinc Chromate into the state of Maine. :facepalm:

Anyone ever try this stuff?
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cspages/preKote.php

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB refit

You can probably get this http://duplicolor.com/products/selfEtchingPrimer/ I got mine at Pep-Boys pretty reasonably.

 

[MichaelP]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB refit

Thanks EZ. Yes I can get etching primer in rattle cans. Just hate the thought of using those, rather use a spray gun.

 

[MichaelP]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB refit

Looks like I'm pretty much dead in the water. I was hoping to flip this weekend but the prekote I ordered got damaged in shipping so I can't install the transom yet. Guess I'll go mow the lawn instead.

The plan for paint I'm now thinking of for paint goes like this:
Clean with vineger/H20
Prekote
Prime with Awlgrip 545
Top coat with Rusto

 

[MichaelP]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB refit

Finaly got around to completing the 90 Rude. The decals really make it. There is a bit of mismatch near the front medallion but that's the way they were made. Also did a dry fit on the transom and collected all the hardware. Knees aren't healed yet but at least the kids don't run away any more when I wear shorts.:facepalm:

 

[KellyC]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB refit

That motor is looking sweet Mike, looks brand new buddy. And that transom is looking good as well.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB refit

Awesome!

That OB is a beauty man!

 

[yooperangler]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB refit

Motor looks great and great progress. I know there is a paint thread somewhere with a lot of discussion on the alodine or vinegar methods seems I recall either way the idea was that you use zc before painting .
Found it http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=288451 glad to see I wasn't losing my mind din't realize I had multiple pages of subscribed threads so couldn't find it at first:facepalm: