Gluvit on hard to reach rivets?

[GPinFlorida]

I bought a 1988 14' MirroCraft Jon boat with a 15HP '85 Evinrude. I love it but it does take on a little water. Have to hit the bilge pump once in a while.

So I've bought the can of gluvit. Looks like there was previously 5200 or caulk on the seams / rivets on the bottom. My plan is a wire brush to remove paint / caulk and then use Gluvit. I put some water in the boat and it seems there is a little that comes out beneath the two bottom "rails" on the bottom of the hull. They're probably not called "rails" but as this is my first boat... I'm still learning. They're the two protective ribs or rails that the bottom of the boat would actually sit on if it were sitting on the ground.

The bench seats in the boat are solid and go across the width of the boat and thus hide any rivets at that spot for the bottom rails.

Any ideas on getting the rivets under the rails covered? My brother thinks we can use the gluvit to completely seal around the rails thus keeping the water out. I don't think gluvit is designed for that. There's probably an 1/8th inch gap at spots between the rail and bottom of boat.

Maybe gluvit on accessible rivets / seams and 5200 around bottom rails? Or just live with it?

Any thoughts? Thanks.

Gp

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Gluvit on hard to reach rivets?

Gluvit is typically applied to the inside of the boat so it can run down into the nooks and crannies and seal them, then it has to be painted over or otherwise covered to prevent UV breakdown.

Gluvit can be applied to the exterior of the boat... but be warned, it is a runny drippy mess and still needs to be painted over.

Follow the preparation instructions to the "T" before applying for the best results.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Gluvit on hard to reach rivets?

You should re-buck (reset) any loose rivets or remove them (drill them out) & replace w/ a closed end blind rivet.

I don't think Gluvit or other material bridging an 1/8" gap will be a long term solution, it will be temporary at best. Which is why it leaks after clearly having caulk or other materials used in an attempt to stop the leak, which didn't.

Pix of the chine that's pulled loose might help......

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Gluvit on hard to reach rivets?

You should re-buck (reset) any loose rivets or remove them (drill them out) & replace w/ a closed end blind rivet.

I don't think Gluvit or other material bridging an 1/8" gap will be a long term solution, it will be temporary at best. Which is why it leaks after clearly having caulk or other materials used in an attempt to stop the leak, which didn't.

Pix of the chine that's pulled loose might help......

I agree.

It's not the chine that's leaking, it's the rivets holding it on and filling the gap won't fix the problem.

 

[GPinFlorida]

Re: Gluvit on hard to reach rivets?

Gluvit is typically applied to the inside of the boat so it can run down into the nooks and crannies and seal them, then it has to be painted over or otherwise covered to prevent UV breakdown.

Gluvit can be applied to the exterior of the boat... but be warned, it is a runny drippy mess and still needs to be painted over.

Follow the preparation instructions to the "T" before applying for the best results.

I like the idea of using the Gluvit on the inside rather than the outside. I'm a little stumped though around the seats. There are two bench seats that span the width of the boat. on each side at the bottom are a channel, or small cut out for water to flow to the back of the boat. I'm stumped on how to get in there to remove paint and get it down to bare metal to apply the Gluvit. Any thoughts on that?

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Gluvit on hard to reach rivets?

I wouldn't worry about the rivets under the benches right now. Gluvit all of the rivets and seams that you can get to, and then paint over the gluvit.

Take the boat out and test it to see if the leaks have stopped. If the boat still leaks, then you'll need to address the rivets under the benches.

If the rivets under the benches need to be addressed, I'd remove the rivets and replace them with closed end blind rivets like in this video:
1989 Sylvan Boat Rebuild Part 4 - YouTube

Everyone that owns an aluminum boat should have a rivet gun and a selection of closed end blind rivets anyway, they come in very handy.

You can buy the rivets and setting tool here:
closed end blind rivets

You only need the big heavy duty setting tool for 1/4" diameter rivets and you should only need 3/16" dia. for your boat, so you can use the smaller (cheaper) setting tool.

 

[GPinFlorida]

Re: Gluvit on hard to reach rivets?

I wouldn't worry about the rivets under the benches right now. Gluvit all of the rivets and seams that you can get to, and then paint over the gluvit.

Take the boat out and test it to see if the leaks have stopped. If the boat still leaks, then you'll need to address the rivets under the benches.

If the rivets under the benches need to be addressed, I'd remove the rivets and replace them with closed end blind rivets like in this video:
1989 Sylvan Boat Rebuild Part 4 - YouTube

Everyone that owns an aluminum boat should have a rivet gun and a selection of closed end blind rivets anyway, they come in very handy.

You can buy the rivets and setting tool here:
closed end blind rivets

You only need the big heavy duty setting tool for 1/4" diameter rivets and you should only need 3/16" dia. for your boat, so you can use the smaller (cheaper) setting tool.

Great advice. Thanks. I believe that's exactly what I'll do. Next question(s) Is it ok to just wire brush off the existing paint on the inside seams? After the Gluvit, do I need to get special with the paint or can I get some spray enamel and be done with it? Thanks for all the help.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Gluvit on hard to reach rivets?

Wire brushing the paint off is a must, a kinked carbon steel or stainless steel cup brush in an angle grinder will make short work of it. Don't use a brass brush, brass and aluminum don't mix well at all.

You'll probably want to use a zinc chromate self etching primer or the Rustoleum aluminum etching primer paint first, then you can paint with anything you want. Bare aluminum requires the ZC or aluminum primer paint to stick. I suggest this incase you have bare aluminum that didn't get Gluvit on it.

You'll want to follow the Gluvit prep instructions on the can to the "T".

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Gluvit on hard to reach rivets?

Wire brushing the paint off is a must, a kinked carbon steel or stainless steel cup brush in an angle grinder will make short work of it. Don't use a brass brush, brass and aluminum don't mix well at all.

You'll probably want to use a zinc chromate self etching primer or the Rustoleum aluminum etching primer paint first, then you can paint with anything you want. Bare aluminum requires the ZC or aluminum primer paint to stick. I suggest this incase you have bare aluminum that didn't get Gluvit on it.

You'll want to follow the Gluvit prep instructions on the can to the "T".