1987 Glastron Restore

[Merrymeeting]

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

I have the stringers out in the sunlight today. i am hoping that it was too cool the last 30 some hours and that is the reason it didnt dry. My wife was happy because she actuallly go to see me yesterday since I am at a standstill.

Will keep you guys updated. the resin is getting really tacky now and hardening up in a few places.

 

[tevans720]

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

I'm doing some glassing now. You must have mixed it wrong cuz mine starts to harden in about 15min and tack free after 2 hours it should cure overnight.

 

[Merrymeeting]

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

Yeah I dont think that I added enough hardner. I wonder what it will do If I go over it again? chemical bond????

 

[ondarvr]

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

You mentioned you were going to use epoxy, but didn't say which brand or which resin from that company. Epoxy is very sensitive to ratio's and thorough mixing is very important, it's not uncommon for a batch or two to not cure well when you're first starting out. You must have had a little resin left over in the container, or on the brush, did that resin get hard?

As for what to do with all the coated wood, the correct thing to do would be to start over with new wood, but removing as much of the old stuff and recoating them would work. I don't like that I just said that.

 

[Merrymeeting]

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

Ok the glass baked enough in the sunlight. I got the stringers in place and performed a little experiment with the resin. I followed the directions and everything went much better. I laid two pieces of glass and the resin set up in about 15-20min. I almost didnt have enough time to get the second piece in because the resin started hardening. It is going to look good I will take some pics and get them on here no later than tomorrow. I wish I would have stripped the entire boat instead of just where I am laying glass it kinda makes it look bad. Oh well as long as they hold.

 

[Merrymeeting]

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

That sure is a sexy yamaha. I still cant beleive how clean it is. Do you think I got a good deal for $500 or should of I bought a boat that didnt have the problems this one does?

 

[tevans720]

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

15 - 20 min sounds about right. It dont matter what it looks like as long as it holds and has a good bond. Plus its under your decking and whos gonna see it anyways. I wasted alot of resin my first time around I didn't expect it to set up that quick.

 

[Merrymeeting]

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

Not getting as much done today as I wanted to. Had to go get the JEEP inspected and found out that I need new brakes. I thought they felt a little weak when I pulled the boat home. Though it was only goign to take about an hour to put new pads and rotors on but everything is all rusted up thanks to the great winters we have here in Maine. Get back on the boat after the brakes are done tomorrow.

 

[NickAndJena]

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

Thanks for posting your questions in this thread.

I finally have all I need to get most of my fiberglass work done. We got the last shipment this evening. Because of this thread, I got a small (for gallon size I suppose) paint mixer to ensure I get the resin mixed really well. It is basically a small drill-bit / beater type that you put in a drill and then insert into a paint can. I figure if I keep the drill at low rpms, it should do a great job. I also ordered some of those large tongue depressors to make sure I get all of it mixed up (e.g., scrape the walls of the mixing container). I'm sure I'll have some nice photos after tomorrow's work.

Anyway, thanks again everyone. I'm going to mix and mix some more... and then mix a few more times.

I suppose after all that mixing, I'll need to move fast before it cures. haha We'll see how it goes. First timer coming up

Cheers,
Nick

 

[tevans720]

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

you know that resin is gonna stick to everything so all of your mixing tools and containers are going to be ruined. I would suggest using some scrap bowls or something homemade and like a paint stir stick. You will NOT get that resin off once it starts to set. IMO

Also you will only have 10-15 min of working time so don't go mixing a shi* ton of resin or you will be wasting alot of it.

 

[Merrymeeting]

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

I second that reply from experience. I thought I had everything that I needed untill I realized there isnt really a way to clean up the tools you use. I have been using quart size paint buckets from home Depot. I reccomend thses beacuse they are a buck a piece and they have the pint markings on the side to measure. I have been using three at a time. pour all three of them up to the pint mark with resin and have the MEK standing by. This is nice if you run out of resin in the middle of a piece of glass so you can pour in the mek and stir and finish it up before the other sets up.

I Have also been using paint brushes (inexpensive...Big lots) to apply the resin. These are most likely a one time use item. i tried putting them into a cup of aceton but didnt have any luck.

As far a stirring stick I have been using a pencil. It works fine and every batch it gets a little bigger. I had a carpenters pencil sitting on my bench when I started so that is what I used.

I think the most important part is to make sure that you have everything as clean as you can. after that Have all of your glass laid out where it is going to go. Dry fit everything before you start mixing so you dont run into any surprises when you have time to fix them.

 

[NickAndJena]

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

I second that reply from experience. I thought I had everything that I needed untill I realized there isnt really a way to clean up the tools you use. I have been using quart size paint buckets from home Depot. I reccomend thses beacuse they are a buck a piece and they have the pint markings on the side to measure. I have been using three at a time. pour all three of them up to the pint mark with resin and have the MEK standing by. This is nice if you run out of resin in the middle of a piece of glass so you can pour in the mek and stir and finish it up before the other sets up.

I Have also been using paint brushes (inexpensive...Big lots) to apply the resin. These are most likely a one time use item. i tried putting them into a cup of aceton but didnt have any luck.

As far a stirring stick I have been using a pencil. It works fine and every batch it gets a little bigger. I had a carpenters pencil sitting on my bench when I started so that is what I used.

I think the most important part is to make sure that you have everything as clean as you can. after that Have all of your glass laid out where it is going to go. Dry fit everything before you start mixing so you dont run into any surprises when you have time to fix them.

Everything went really well today. I am so relieved, I was nervous but all the good advice paid off.

In response to the comments on mixing tools, I just went to Harbor Freight and bought a box of spreaders (like bondo spreaders) so that was cheap. Also bought all of my other stuff from http://www.uscomposites.com/. They have a sleeve of 100 16 oz containers for 35 bucks. That's only 35 cents per container. I tossed out about 5 of those today and didn't have to think twice about it.

We also purchased a gallon of acetone from Home Depot and used some of that to clean off any tools that got resin on them (and there were a few of those). One key tool that obviously got resin on it was the mixing drill bit. I will have a photo of that tool on the site (see url below) later today. I must say, I hand mixed one batch to test with and it worked out well. However, we later tested a batch that was mixed with the drill bit and it worked even better. Once we were done with the mixer bit, we simply dunked it in a cup of acetone and it was cleaned almost instantly. I highly suggest using a drill to mix each batch.

The resin hardened well and it's still curing under clamps now. I mainly wanted to say thanks again. All this advice saved us today, no doubt about that...

ByTheWay: We used Epoxy based resin (not polyester)

Cheers,
Nick

 

[redfury]

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

Your boat looks strangely familiar, yet different. I'm in the grinding phase right now, I've got my boat in two pieces and have to buy my wood soon. I might look into getting it this weekend if things go my way ( they usually don't ).

As far as the seating goes, why not a captains chair and a back to back seat for the passenger side? Otherwise, yes, you can do a bench seat back there...it would work out nicely in your boat. If you are worried about fuel and batteries , you can just simply vent the area. Depending on how you build the bench seat, it'll allow enough air in there anyway. Besides, if you are venting that much gasoline into the bilge, you need to look at your tanks a little more closely.

The other option would be to get a built in gas tank that has a remote fill and breather. That would make it much more convenient to operate, and you could get a 12-18 gallon tank under there, so boating wouldn't have to be interrupted by switching tanks.

 

[Merrymeeting]

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

Your boat looks strangely familiar, yet different.

Yeah, One thing I like about mine is I only have two stringers to replace...lol. It is strange how similar the tri and vee hull are. Are you planning to replace your Foam or leave it out? I am having a hard time with this one

 

[redfury]

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

not sure. I have some foam under the gunnels, but I guess it will depend on how I end up configuring the boat as I plan to make some changes to suit my needs. I'd like to take where the two jump seats were on my boat and turn one side into a live well, the other side a cooler. But, doing that will remove the possibility of replacing that foam.

I think I'd like to foam under the floor to help deaden sound and add some rigidity to the boat, but I'm not sold on doing that yet either...

Like you said, it's a hard choice to make.

 

[tevans720]

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

I Have also been using paint brushes (inexpensive...Big lots) to apply the resin. These are most likely a one time use item. i tried putting them into a cup of aceton but didnt have any luck.

With the brushes push the brush on the bottom of your acetone cup get those bristles moving around so the acetone gets in the brush or the resin will just harden in the acetone. Doing it this way I can get a full day and maybe another day as well out of a brush. Remember acetone will eat through plastic so use something metal or glass. It will also eat through latex gloves very quickly. They are cheap also brushes but if your anything like me your always trying to save a buck or two.

 

[Merrymeeting]

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

Pictures coming tomorrow.

I dont think that I am doing a very good job glassing the stringers in. There seem to not be any way to get all of the air out. I have tried a roller and that didnt work. I am going to post pics tomorrow to see if you guys think that it will hold or not.

I am using 24oz mat. How many layers would you put in?

 

[redfury]

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

Pictures coming tomorrow.

I dont think that I am doing a very good job glassing the stringers in. There seem to not be any way to get all of the air out. I have tried a roller and that didnt work. I am going to post pics tomorrow to see if you guys think that it will hold or not.

I am using 24oz mat. How many layers would you put in?

That's probably the problem...I think you are using too thick of material. You should probably have used multiple layers of a thinner glass than trying to do it all at once.

 

[capri1600]

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

Do you have any pictures of your project?

 

[Merrymeeting]

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

I didnt get any pics today but it is going to be nice out tomorrow so I can get the boat out of the garage and clean it up to get some good pics. Thanks for the thoughts on to heavy of mat. I read in another post on here to replace it with what was installe din the factory.