72 Thunderbird Formula w/twin 165hp Mercs

[kcassells]

LOL! gnight!

 

[archbuilder]

Hmmm weird, both of mine are like the one you have on the motor.

 

[Mark72233]

Arch, that one would have have fine with mine if I would have made my wood motor mounts in the boat an 1 1/2" lower I could have used them. They won't adjust down enough to work. So I have to use the old ones.

 

[Mark72233]

I have a paint hardener question. I finally had time lightly sand down that first coat of paint to prep it for the last coat. It's been sitting for 6 days. The paint seemed to sand off very easy, I expected it to be a little harder. The mix I used was 250 ml of paint, 125ml mineral spirits, 125ml acetone and about 4 to 5 ml of hardener. What do the paint pros think.

 

[Mark72233]

I am trying to make my calculations. Should I have used 15ml of hardener per 250ml of paint. On woods recipe it calls for 1oz of hardener per 2 cups of paint. I am assuming that is 2 cups of mixed paint. So really only 1 cup of paint and the other ingrediants.

 

[Mark72233]

Well that was a complete failure. Mixed it at an amount of 230ml paint, 150ml reducer, 80ml mineral spirits because it was 91*. 15ml hardener. Let it cook for 30 minutes stirring every 10 min. Setting was wrong obviously. Too much paint, runs everywhere. It will all have to be sanded down flat again no part of the transom looks good. I don't know what happened, I couldn't seem to get the adjustment right. Covered a large piece of card board with spray doing test spots and pattern but couldn't get it to adjust right. Not happy right now. Seems like another week wasted. 1 step forward 3 back. I hate boats right now.

 

[zool]

Youre thinning too much Mark, the normal for enamel is 15%, a little more is ok, but no to exceed 25%+-...your mix is 1:1..or 100%

try it around 35ml total reducers to 230ml paint.

 

[Mark72233]

Thanks for the response Zool. I will certainly do that. Doesn't make sense. The first coat was 230ml paint, 115ml acetone and 115ml Mineral spirits with about 5ml hardener and it went on great. The only concern I had today was maybe last time I should have used more hardener because when I sanded this down after sitting for 6 days it sanded down pretty easy. I used reducer this time instead of acetone and used a little less MS and 10ml more on the hardener. You're right though it came out to much paint and ran everywhere.

 

[zool]

You prolly got away with it, because it was the initial tack coat, over sanded primer, now youre hanging paint on sanded glossy paint. ...don't get discouraged, keep tweaking the mix til you get it where you want for the tip size in your gun, its basically the final coat that matters.

 

[Mark72233]

Here is the cardboard. .
And the runs if you can see them in about 10 different spots.

 

[Mark72233]

That makes sense Zool about putting it in primer versus the paint surface. Still sucks and still here kicking myself in the arse. Ok back to the motor for now.

 

[zool]

Yea, you got some serious drapes going on there, sand it all down level with some heavier grit, you will want to flatten down most of that peel now anyway before the final topcoat, then lay a new semi dry tack coat, then a progressive series of semi wet coats to gloss.....you can wet sand between each coat to keep it level.

 

[Corjen1]

Mark, here is a troubleshooting guide I got from Zool..

http://www.martinsenour-autopaint.co...otingGuide.pdf

From the looks of your card board and the runs, I agree the gun is set up wrong. You are putting down too much paint and maybe your movement is too slow.....next time close all settings on your gun, Set it up just like the video link I showed you earlier.

Like zool said, the good part here is its all fixable. Sand it smooth again. get gun set properly and you will be good to go. You should not get runs on the cardboard...

You will get it, no doubt......

 

[Mark72233]

Listen Cor when you get your boat done, just trailer it down here to Panama City for a vacation and while you are here drop by and paint mine. Your boat is looking awesome Cor. You guys are right on the money. I got a little cocky and rushed into the second coat. Lesson hopefully learned

 

[Corjen1]

Mark, Since we have the same gun, mine is set like this... (should get you in the ball park). Its also critical to hold the gun properly (just like in the videos) if you are not, the tp of the fan spray will be very light, and the bottom of the fan will be very heavy....or the other way depending on the angle you are holding....

Top ( needle/material flow) - just over 2 turns from closed

Middle (fan spread) - 1/4 turn from full closed

Bottom (air flow) 4 turns from cull closed

We are planning to go to Destin/Ft Walton Beach next summer....I spent 18 months there and loved it. Been trying to talk the admiral into moving there ever since...she is not biting yet tho...

 

[Mark72233]

Thanks for the info Cor, heading out there now to see where it is set at and make the corrections for the next time. Destin/Ft.Walton area has a different feel then Panama City as in I think it is a lot nicer in that area. If you do make it down here next summer call me, the boat will be in the water by then and we can go fishing and drag the kids around behind the boat on the tube. I'll buy the gas and you buy the beers.

 

[Mark72233]

Some of the settings were close and some way off. Top on mine was 1.5 turns out not 2, mid was .5 open not .25 and bottom was only 1 turn open not 4. I reset my gun and we will see next week. Thanks again for the tips

 

[nurseman]

I feel your pain with the paint... Hang tough and keep tweaking things till you get it set right! (and then don't $#%% with it).

 

[Mark72233]

Not much going on with the Formula 233. I corrected the front motor mount issue and adjusted it to the correct height.
This weekend I will sand down my messed up transom paint job and give it another shot. Besides all the runs and drapes I like the color and it looks smooth. Can't wait to get a clean coat on it.

 

[Mark72233]

Not tackling this right now but I need to work on it before I paint anymore of the boat. The old aluminum rub rail. It has seen better days but I don't want to replace nearly 70 feet of rail. Something in the range of $400 plus. Nor do I want to take out an estimated 209 bolts plus any rivets.
Can I sand it knocking down some of the bigger ruts and then start using finer sand paper and rubbing compounds. Would that have the desired effect.