At the gelcoat stage - help needed!!!

[morebass 17]

Re: At the gelcoat stage - help needed!!!

Thanks for the compliments folks, just remember it's your replies and comments that gives me the motivation to carry on. I've wanted to give up so many times but this thread is what makes me carry on with it. I don't want to let you guys down lol.

I've not posted in a while as I have not had much progress to post, Its just sanding , sanding , sanding and more bloody sanding.

But anyway, sorry to say but once again I'm nowhere near where I wanted to be, The cap is gelcoated (3 coats and sanded between coats) I'm still on the sanding steps though to bring out the shine. I had to start with 240g and in some areas I had to go as low as 150g to knock down the worst of the orange peel. The good thing is though, the rest of the grits don't take long at all once the orange peel is gone so HOPEFULLY i'll be in the thousand grits by the weekend, I'm only at 320g just now but almost finished with this grit.

Ive sanded through on a couple of small areas but rather than do another full coat of gel I will just attempt some repairs on these areas.

Here is a couple of pics but not much difference apart from it is all white now.
I'll try and post back with some decent updates soon.

 

[Outback Jack]

Re: At the gelcoat stage - help needed!!!

As usual you are doing a fine job and I always drop in on your project when I get a chance.

Cheers

 

[DrEvil]

Re: At the gelcoat stage - help needed!!!

After reading from beginning to end I couldn't help but find a lot of great tips (Thanks everyone) and a stimply shocking similarity.....

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: At the gelcoat stage - help needed!!!

Well done MB .. see now that wasnt so hard

Good thing about the gel..is you can do some fine detailing Whenever you want Whenever you want lol.

Service her well mate..

YD.

 

[morebass 17]

Re: At the gelcoat stage - help needed!!!

Sorry for the lack of updates recently, been really busy but unfortunately didn't include much work on the boat.
Just back from Florida, it was my first time in the U.S. and I must say I really like the way of life over there, I managed to find a boat shop over there, and when I walked in my jaw dropped, I was amazed at the size of the shop, and the selection of boats,accessories & parts where unbelievable, I wish we were as big on boating as you guys.

But anyways the boat is coming along since my last update but again I'm nowhere near where I wanted to be, but whats new eh. The cap is gelcoated and polished up, it wasn't my best gelcoat job but it will do. The cap is now in place on the boat but still to be screwed down. I'm just working on the upholstery for the inside of the cap, (its giving me a bit of practice before I attempt to upholster the seats. The tv surround is temporarily in place too, some minor adjustments needed then I can secure that in as well. Im sure there are other things ive done that ive forgot to mention but I'll let you guys play spot the difference with the photos I'm about to attach.

Next job once the upholstery is finished is fitting the windows/frames. Then I have to get a sheet of stainless steel and get someone to bend it for me to make a transom plate, for the outboard mount. Then I can fit the outboard (once I paint it & tidy it up) then hopefully get to start it within the next few weeks.

Thanks for all your compliments and a big thanks to YD, Oh YD I might be gelcoating my outboard hood, either a dark blue or black, any tips i should know in advance, or is it just a straight forward gel job once I add the pigments.

Nearly forgot, can anyone recomend a good type of glue to use for sticking foam to vinyl, ive tried fabric spray adhesive, while the results are not bad its really messy to work with and im sure i will end up covering the boat with the stuff when I go to stick the foam to the cap, So a glue I could apply with a brush would be better me thinks, Any ideas ??

Anyway folks here's the pics : -

 

[morebass 17]

Re: At the gelcoat stage - help needed!!!

And some more : -

 

[Tail_Gunner]

Re: At the gelcoat stage - help needed!!!

And a screen....Ok nice job very nice job..You need to calm down with the tech.Hmmm Touch screen maybe....

 

[morebass 17]

Re: At the gelcoat stage - help needed!!!

And a screen....Ok nice job very nice job..You need to calm down with the tech.Hmmm Touch screen maybe....

LOL, You read my mind Tail_Gunner, i'm looking at a small 7" touch screen for the helm so I can get GPS through the laptop and I would be able to control all music and videos from my seat too, Maybe not untill part 2 of the resto, Ive got so many ideas but they wont be even attempted for a good while.

Thanks for the compliments m8.

 

[fishfeatures]

Re: At the gelcoat stage - help needed!!!

WOW Morebass , you have done one hell of a job there. Congrats! Will it be able to handle the scottish weather ??

 

[morebass 17]

Re: At the gelcoat stage - help needed!!!

WOW Morebass , you have done one hell of a job there. Congrats! Will it be able to handle the scottish weather ??

Thanks mate, Its a real sturdy boat in the water, it'll be fine for loch's & canals, the sea on the other hand is quite doubtful, but I may give it shot. But not sure if it will blow away or not though when we get our scottish gale force winds lol.

 

[Trooper82]

Re: At the gelcoat stage - help needed!!!

Not sure how I missed this thread..awesome job on resto...looking very good..

 

[morebass 17]

Re: At the gelcoat stage - help needed!!!

Thanks for the compliments Trooper82. Still work in progress but I'm getting a little closer to the finish line. Good to have you onboard.

UPDATE TO FOLLOW : -

 

[morebass 17]

Re: At the gelcoat stage - help needed!!!

Seems like forever since my last update, Its been all little things that have been done recently and not much of this deserved an update in itself. But here goes I'll try and not bore you with these recent updates.

The fist thing I done was installed the windows, This was quite time consuming because there is 8 sections of frame for each window, the glass was sealed to the frame and once cured the full assembly was sealed to the cap, the inner sections of frame add extra support in keeping the window secured to the cap. I still have a bit more work to do to the wndows, but at least they are in now. I used Sikaflex 291 sealant to bond the windows, there probably is a better product out there for this job but I have used this stuff for a while now and it has great bond strength and easy to use. here's a couple of pics of the windows : -

 

[morebass 17]

Re: At the gelcoat stage - help needed!!!

The next job was making a new fuel filler cap panel. I was'nt happy with my first attempt so I decided to make another one, I replaced the cap with a nice stainless steel one and the panel is shaped better to suit the space so it looks as if it should be there. I made a modified warning circuit for this too. Which tells me when the fuel tank is full, this prevents overfilling and fuel spilling everywhere. A problem I had with the old circuit was that when the tank was full the led's would stay on untill the fuel level dropped - this could be distracting. also when the fuel was just at the level where it triggers the sensor the led's would flicker on and off when the fuel is sloshing about which would be even more distracting, so I installed a reed switch to the panel and a small magnet to the cap, so the circuit is only powered on when the filler cap is removed, I also fitted a chaser circuit, So i can have different flashing / chasing sequences, best way to explain this would be to compare it to the front light ring on the front of a xbox 360, if this makes sense, ARE YOUS BORED YET lol.

here's the pics : -

THE OLD ONE : -

THE MODIFIED ONE : -

 

[morebass 17]

Re: At the gelcoat stage - help needed!!!

I have also made a start on the seat upholstery, again its time consuming but im getting there, I have modified the front seat because it was always a nightmare lifting it to get to the storage compartment, the seat couldn't be lifted because of the back rests and it couldn't be pulled forward either because of the centre seats, so I had to lift the centre seats so I could slide out the front seat. I have cut the front seat into 3 sections, the outer 2 sections will be fixed to the storage compartment mod I made and the centre section will be hinged and on gas struts, it easily clears the back rests now.

The cap upholstery is on hold, it was a nightmare trying to find a glue that would stick the vinyl to the foam, I tried all different types of spray glue but none of them could resist the plasticiser in the vinyl, so it would start losing adhesion after a couple of weeks, I had numerous conversations with 3M technical, They recomended 3m 80 spray adhesive which is meant to be specifically meant for plastics and vinyls and is also meant to have great plasticiser resistance, but this glue was the worst of them all, I have done a test piece with 3M 90 spray adhesive and so far after 4 weeks it still appears to be holding up but I am just going to paint the inside of the cap and maybe through time I will upholster it once I have done some more research, I have a sample of some contact adhesive that might do the trick (3M 1099) it is quite expensive though but 3M technical insists that it will do the job so I may use that product when I decide to upholster the cap.

Anyway here is a couple of pics of the seats, still loads more to do though : -

 

[morebass 17]

Re: At the gelcoat stage - help needed!!!

There has been more work done but no more visible work, I had more electrical work to do, which I am pretty sure is all finished now, I calibrated the warning circuits I made so the circuit enclosures can now be sealed.

I also had some problems with the vga lead which connects the laptop to the front screen, First of all I couldn't use a standard off the shelf lead with fitted ends because the cable ends were too large to fit through the holes I drilled for all the wiring, so I decided to make my own lead, I used cat5 network cable and soldered the ends to the cable once it was routed, This seemed fine but I was getting some interference on the display, I thought this was due to the cat5 cable being unshielded and was picking up interference from other electrical wires that was routed next to it, So i tried cat6 shielded high quality cable and done the same again, but I was still getting a small amount of interference, After hours of faultfinding it turns out the culprit is the universal 12v laptop charger I purchased, I scrimped on the cost of this thinking that there was no point spending more for a better quality charger, I am left with 2 options now, either I can move the universal charger to a different location and hope that this sorts the problem or I could just use the original AC charger and wire it to the inverter.

But anyway folks the next update will hopefully be in a week or two when the upholstery is complete, after this there is not much else to do, just little things here and there, but its the little things that seem to be taking longer to do. Once the boat is complete (in 2 or 3 months hopefully) it will be getting moved outside and wrapped up for the winter because work on the outboard will be starting, I will include some of the outboard restoration on this thread but I will start a dedicated one in the engine section of this site.

 

[Trooper82]

Re: At the gelcoat stage - help needed!!!

Great progress! I see no reason you could have been keeping us going all along...but glad you gave these updates!

Your VGA cable....I use something called Rapid Run cables at work...they make cables for just about anything...and have modular ends...so might fit through your small hole you mention...

I have been meanig to ask...Are you glad you went with gelcoat or do you wish you would have went with paint? I am at that crossroads on my rebuils...and looking for pros/cons...


again...great work you are doing!

 

[morebass 17]

Re: At the gelcoat stage - help needed!!!

Great progress! I see no reason you could have been keeping us going all along...but glad you gave these updates!

Your VGA cable....I use something called Rapid Run cables at work...they make cables for just about anything...and have modular ends...so might fit through your small hole you mention...

I have been meanig to ask...Are you glad you went with gelcoat or do you wish you would have went with paint? I am at that crossroads on my rebuils...and looking for pros/cons...


again...great work you are doing!

Thanks again Trooper82, yeah I should have kept you's all updated, but to be honest I thought the progress made was not that much untill all the little things added up and the boat started looking different, then I realized I actually had quite a bit to tell you guy's.

Thanks for the advise on the VGA cable. I'll keep it in mind for future reference but it turns out the cable is fine, just a little intereference from the cheapo dc charger I shouldn't have bought.

PAINT Vs GELCOAT ??
Great question and also an easy answer. 100% glad I went with gelcoat, I just wish I had used it for my colour scheme too, but that will be getting done at a later date. On a previous post we went into more detail comparing the 2 finishes, and although there is a valid points on both finishes by the members here, I personally think Gelcoat is the way to go. Even on my first attempt ( which was far from good ) I got a great finish, far better than any finish I personally would have got from paint. Durability was also a deciding factor with the gel, I would have to have sprayed a 2 part paint (not recomended unless you know what you are doing - loads of safety issues involved) to get a similar finish with good durability.

There was alot more points that influenced the decision, but overall gelcoat won by a mile.

If you need any info just ask the question, If I can't answer there are loads of pro's on this site that will.

 

[Outback Jack]

Re: At the gelcoat stage - help needed!!!

Well I am impressed at your work. I have been away for a bit dealing with some other matters that took me away from my project. I am getting anxious to get back at it after seeing how good yours is coming out. I have decided to turn mine into a winter project and have it on the waters next summer. Again fine job and keep us posted .

Cheers

 

[morebass 17]

Re: At the gelcoat stage - help needed!!!

Cheers Jack, its starting to come together now, all the hard work is starting to pay off. Mines is a winter project too , well the outboard will be, i'm hoping to be finished the boat itself before our winter really kicks in - which is just around the corner. Please feel free to post a couple of pics on here of your progress, your doing a great job too mate, keep it up and you will get there in no time.