1984 Bomber Scout Rebuild

[craigweaver]

Re: 1984 Bomber Scout Rebuild

That's a nice gel coat job right there man! I'm following just not posting a ton. I'm about to go down the gel coat route myself shortly on my cap and interior so and learned tricks, how to's or gotcha's will be appreciated.

 

[Bomber Goober]

Re: 1984 Bomber Scout Rebuild

That's a nice gel coat job right there man! I'm following just not posting a ton. I'm about to go down the gel coat route myself shortly on my cap and interior so and learned tricks, how to's or gotcha's will be appreciated.

Honestly man, I really think the whole shooting gel coat thing is just as easy as paint. I used the harbor freight 2qt pressure pot with the cheater valve at the bottom of gun. (extra $6 at HF) I tuned the gun the best i could with water.

Sand, fair and acetone wash just like a FG layup. I thinned about 10% or less. adjusted the gun one final time against some cardboard and just went to town. I started with the fluid control pretty turned in(less fluid) and opened it up little bits while spraying and bumping the gun air pressure as I got more comfortable and could judge how it was laying down. It was low 70's out and I was more or less in the sun and even mixed at 2% I got it all out of the pot with out having to rush. I have no other experiences to base it on but the PVA definitely seemed a lot easier than dealing with a wax additive. I used less than 1/2 gallon(PVA) on hull and had a nice even coat that lifted right off. And don't worry if you miss any pinholes, the gel will clearly point them out as soon as you start spraying. :facepalm: I only have a few that are showing and I haven't figured out exactly how I'm going to deal with them. I think I'll just start sanding and before I buff if I can still see them I might just mix a little gel into a cup and dab over them to fill em in.

 

[Bomber Goober]

Re: 1984 Bomber Scout Rebuild

Just a little update. I have been pretty fortunate through this build not to make any major mistakes, until now:facepalm:.

Best I can tell I didn't thin my gel enough before spraying. While I got good coverage on the hull, I also got a lot of orange peel. I know this is normal for spraying gel, but I have more than I can sand out. I haven't sanded the whole hull yet but the area I have done I can't get it all out without taking off a bunch of thickness.

I'm going to take this as a learning experience and just drive on. It's going to cost me some more cash, but it's a lesson learned for the next boat.

My plan of attack to make this all right:
1. Continue to sand rest of hull to 400g
2. Mask my stripe
3. Mix more white gel thinned more(thinking 20%)
4. Shoot and unmask, let cure.
5. Mask off white and respray stripe.
6. Should only need a sanding from 800g to 1500g. Hopefully.
7. Buff and have a smile.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1984 Bomber Scout Rebuild

As mistakes w/ gel go, better then some... At least it didn't cost ya pressure pot &/or gun & hose....

Learning experiences are good, hope it doesn't kick ya in the wallet too hard.

This is when the sitting & thinking chair comes in handy. Well, that & a frosty libation

 

[Bomber Goober]

Re: 1984 Bomber Scout Rebuild

As mistakes w/ gel go, better then some... At least it didn't cost ya pressure pot &/or gun & hose....

Learning experiences are good, hope it doesn't kick ya in the wallet too hard.

This is when the sitting & thinking chair comes in handy. Well, that & a frosty libation

I made sure to get the gun cleaned quick, no issues there.
I figure it will set me back about $100, I dont think I'll have enough white gel to redo it, so I gotta order more.
I have plenty of the blue, even with the respray, I should have a gallon and half to do the cap.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1984 Bomber Scout Rebuild

Hang on a sec., All is not lost!!! How Thick do you think your Gelcoat is? You're supposed to try for the thickness of a penney (20 mils). Our respected member, ondarvr says that when you get a lot of OP in your Gelcoat, just mix up some more and use a Bondo spreader to screed the gel over the dimpled surface to smooth it out. Then come back and sand it down. He says it works like a charm. You might want to PM him to get all the facts and details, but I've seen him post this several times.

 

[Bomber Goober]

Re: 1984 Bomber Scout Rebuild

Hang on a sec., All is not lost!!! How Thick do you think your Gelcoat is? You're supposed to try for the thickness of a penney (20 mils). Our respected member, ondarvr says that when you get a lot of OP in your Gelcoat, just mix up some more and use a Bondo spreader to screed the gel over the dimpled surface to smooth it out. Then come back and sand it down. He says it works like a charm. You might want to PM him to get all the facts and details, but I've seen him post this several times.

I have roughly 115 sqft of hull surface. 14 sqft of that being the stripe. I used about 1.5gal of white and about a quart of blue. So I should have about a 20 mil thickness over the entire hull assuming I got even coverage. I'm basing this off of what JB had mentioned in an earlier post of getting about 70 sqft/ gal for a 20 mil thickness.

Thanks WOG I'll do some searching through the archives first to see of I can find a detailed description of this method before I send a PM. Thanks.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1984 Bomber Scout Rebuild

http://forums.iboats.com/boat-restoration-building-hull-repair/newbie-gel-coat-588663-3.html

Post #60

 

[Bomber Goober]

Re: 1984 Bomber Scout Rebuild

It's been a very long 2 weeks for me. I have spent every free minute of my time including my lunch break trying to get the hull right. quick breakdown of what I did:

1. sanded the real bad orange peal spots with 180g and got almost all of it out
2. after a good wash down I remasked the stripe and mixed some white gel thinned about 20%
3. shot that, pulled the tape and shot the blue (thinned about 20%)
4. PVA'd the whole thing and left it for the night.

All I can say is wow and I'm so glad I re-sprayed the re-spray.

After I washed the PVA off I started sanding with 400g. It didn't take much sanding at all to get it leveled out. Hit it with 800g and then 1000g and started buffing. I'm using this Meguiar's stuff mainly because it was given to me for free. It works pretty good so far. I have a few spots that need a little touch up sanding and repolishing. You can't really see the scratches unless you are about 6in away but I would still rather fix it.

By no means do I think this competes with some of the awesome gel sprays I have seen on this forum, but it more than satisfies me and I did the best I could with the no experience I had doing this. Heres the Pics. I stilll have to polish and wax so this isn't the finished product but pretty close.

I'll be trying to finish it up this week along with getting the trailer ready for paint. NASCAR next weekend so I won't have any time to work on the boat.

 

[Watermann]

Re: 1984 Bomber Scout Rebuild

Damn wicked good work there bomber! I challenge anyone to do better work in their driveway!

 

[Trooper82]

Re: 1984 Bomber Scout Rebuild

I see the thinning helped alot, especially if you were starting the sanding with 400g!

How much gel would you say you used this way vs the 10% thinning?

B1/320 FA...hoooaaaaahhh

 

[Bomber Goober]

Re: 1984 Bomber Scout Rebuild

I based all the estimates for thickness off the actual amount of gel and not the total after thinned. I used acetone to thin and figured on it flashing off before the gel even started to kick. The first shoot was just under 1.5 gal. The second time I used the remaining .5 gal. My boat is also considerably smaller, But the coverage vs. usage worked out above 20 mil. Given all the sanding on first coat I still think I'll be good. The second shoot I covered the whole boat twice plus a little before running out.
I don't think I had a thickness issue as much as I had a orange peel issue. Had I tried to sand it all the way out, I think I would of had to get more gel.

BTW, Any dope can slide down a rope, but it takes balls to fall
Currently attached to 1/504 PIR and will be at 3/319 AFAR in a few months.

 

[Trooper82]

Re: 1984 Bomber Scout Rebuild

BTW, Any dope can slide down a rope, but it takes balls to fall
Currently attached to 1/504 PIR and will be at 3/319 AFAR in a few months.

I don't think my old unit is in Bragg anymore..if they even exist...seems the last time I went looking I didn't find much...

 

[Bomber Goober]

Re: 1984 Bomber Scout Rebuild

Pretty sure they are at Campbell. Seem to remember a kid PCSing there not to long ago, hence the air assualt crack which I guess doesn't really apply any more.

EDIT: just checked and they are still active, 3BCT 101st

 

[GT1000000]

Re: 1984 Bomber Scout Rebuild

Hi BG...man oh man, I am sorry it has taken me so long to post up here on your thread, but I have been lurking in the background...
You have done an absolutely excellent job on this Bomber...and in record time I might add...
Every thing you have done could easily be believed to have been done by a professional, I honestly believe your craftsmanship has been that good all along...
Amazing!
Thanks for sharing and most of all...
Thank you and your wife for your sacrifice and service!
Best regards,
GT1M

 

[Bomber Goober]

Re: 1984 Bomber Scout Rebuild

Hi BG...man oh man, I am sorry it has taken me so long to post up here on your thread, but I have been lurking in the background...
You have done an absolutely excellent job on this Bomber...and in record time I might add...
Every thing you have done could easily be believed to have been done by a professional, I honestly believe your craftsmanship has been that good all along...
Amazing!
Thanks for sharing and most of all...
Thank you and your wife for your sacrifice and service!
Best regards,
GT1M

Thank you for the kind words GT.

 

[Bomber Goober]

Re: 1984 Bomber Scout Rebuild

A little mid weekend update. Got the new tongue for the trailer welded in and a coat of primer on everything. Oh yeah and a little paint as well

Covered the new bunks with carpet and probably going to get them mounted tomorrow.
Still need to order new wheels and tires for the trailer, but I'm going to wait until I'm a little closer to completing the project before I do that.

 

[GT1000000]

Re: 1984 Bomber Scout Rebuild

The ride for your boat is looking real sharp! Nice Job!
BTW, just a tip...when you are ready to do the bunks, you could taper the edges to help prevent the carpet from wearing through as fast, and help the boat slide on and off a little better...



After I tapered the edges with my circular saw, I went over all the edges with a D/A and some 40 grit to soften everything up, then glued and stapled (with Monel Staples) the carpet on...

 

[Watermann]

Re: 1984 Bomber Scout Rebuild

Ahh yes, the unsung boat chariot rebuilding work. It was very unrewarding and more like a chore than the actual boat work, at least for me. This must mean your getting ready to flip the hull right side up. Looking good Bomber!

Hey GT that's a great idea for the bunks. Did your trailer come with that many bunks or did you add them?

 

[GT1000000]

Re: 1984 Bomber Scout Rebuild

Hey GT that's a great idea for the bunks. Did your trailer come with that many bunks or did you add them?

Thanks Watermann...Somewhere, somehow, picked up the idea through Iboats...the original thought was to just bevel the end that the boat first rides up on, I decided it couldn't hurt to bevel all the edges and I added an extra small piece of carpet layered under the receiving edge to add just a touch more cushion, plus they looked really cool...
Yeah, the trailer did come equipped with all those bunks...it was a trade in at Bass Pro during one of their big boat sales...I think it was originally designed for their Nitro line of bass boats...fit like a glove under my old Glasstream, after a bit of freshening up, that is...