More Time Than Money

[Jeff-n-Gail]

I finally got what I thought was the last coat of paint on and I have to admit, even after it dried, it still looked pretty good for a rookie. I got busy with the clean up which turned out to be a bigger job than I ever imagined it could be. The green tape did its job to create a sharp line but after each coat it lifted on the edges. After the first coat dried, I was able to get the lifted area's to re-adhere. That didn't work as well as I have envisioned, as the edges let loose almost immediately. It turned out to be nowhere as bad as I expected but I still had some red paint to clean off of the aluminum trim I was trying to protect. This time of year it takes a bit of time to cure enough to do even some preliminary cleanup and detail. By the time I got it dry enough to finish all the minor sanding and scraping of the excess paint I realized that when I do get this in the water, I will ultimately be dealing with water spots and an occasional mixed drink ring on the pretty red finish. So I decided to remask all the aluminum again and give the whole boat a good coat of lacquer clear. Back to remasking everything all over again, putting up the paint booth, and wiping it all with tack cloth a couple times again. My garage floor has a pretty red dusting of overspray to compliment the already white area's so I took the kinda late opportunity to cover the floor prior to sealing it all in permanently with the lacquer clear. I am hoping to get the clear coat complete tomorrow then I'll let it cure for a few days while I do spring yard work. If all goes well, I hope to start reassembling by Sunday

 

[Watermann]

Sounds nice but ... ahem you forget something? hoto:

 

[Jeff-n-Gail]

No Title

Was getting late and the photo part wasn't playing fair

 

[ezmobee]

Looks awesome!

 

[Watermann]

Was getting late and the photo part wasn't playing fair

Yeah it was worth the wait, super nice and I like that shade of red :thumb:

 

[kcassells]

Wow...Nice work and nice look. .

 

[Big Gee]

That looks great! :thumb:

 

[pckeen]

Shiny! Looks like new.

 

[strokendiesel002]

Holy Smokes that's pretty!

 

[Jeff-n-Gail]

Thanks guys, appreciate the kind words. It has been a bit of a trip especially since this is my first attempt at a gloss finish coat using oil. I did get the clear coat on tonite like I wanted. 1 quart wasn't enough to do the whole boat, and not knowing how the thin lacquer would spray, I sprayed the sides 1st. It was actually easier to spray and get to lay down than the paint, although, it was quite a bit thinner than my enamel. I ran out on the top so I cleaned the sprayer with mineral spirits and was just going to finish tomorrow when I got more clear. It happened that O'Reilly's was still open so I ran and picked up another quart tonite. (Did you catch the part about cleaning the sprayer with mineral spirits) Well, when I opened the sprayer to dump out the spirits, it was full of stringy, gooey slime that I'm sure would have made the balance of my spray job a nightmare. The wire screen, tube, sides of the quart container and inside the sprayer itself. Luckily I had some acetone and after pulling all the slime I could get to I was able to get the acetone to open the sprayer and ended up able to give the top a respectable clear coat. If I'm not the only person who didnt know better, I am happy to share my lesson with you. Sunday will start the next part of this trip.

 

[strokendiesel002]

Years back, I offered to help my then gf's little brother shoot a hood and bumper for his car. 3 days i struggled with horrific orange peel before realizing what was causing it... cleaning the gun with mineral spirits instead of acetone. First cup would just be horrific, but the 2nd and 3rd cups were wonderful. I initially just thought I was screwing up the mixture, but when I went back for more paint, I shared why I was back for more and the guy chuckled a little and handed me a small container of acetone "on the house" under the condition that I only shoot 1 cup after cleaning with that and bring him a picture of the cured product before wasting any more paint. That man saved my arse!

 

[Jeff-n-Gail]

:lol: Some of our best lessons are learned the hard way.

 

[strokendiesel002]

And how!

 

[Jeff-n-Gail]

No Title

Had a wonderful relaxing mans version of what my wife would call sale-ing, (as in rummage) I got access to a boat bone yard and went seeking "gauges and stuff". I actually found "exactly" what I had envisioned would be the perfect style to be inset into the polished aluminium dash I made. Then I once again found exactly what I envisioned would be perfect but they were the exact opposite of what I think I had envisioned. (When I was younger, I would actually intimidate myself for being this way to me) anyway I decided to ask for opinions(not help) on what I should choose. Here it is...Black face w/ white letters and chrome trim or black face w/ white letters and chrome trim. ( just checking to see if you are paying attention) White face w/ black letters and black trim. I know what I was originally thinking of, but now I actually think I need some opinions to help me decide.

 

[Watermann]

The mercruiser tach won't work with an outboard so was the white face tach from an outboard boat? I don't like the way the needle on it is stuck, normally the needle is below the 0 line and jumps when powered on and settles back to the 0 line.

Man I wish I had a boat bone yard to rummage around in.

 

[Jeff-n-Gail]

The mercruiser gauges did actually come from an inboard now that you mention it. Also the white face tach is just one of two I picked up. I'll take that into consideration prior to deciding. I just had a notion that maybe I could mix the gauges and use the white face Tack and Speedo and mix them with a black face gauge's as in " small black face/ Tach/ small black face/ Speedometer/ small black face. Just thinkin out loud.

 

[Jeff-n-Gail]

In response to access to a boat bone yard, I bowl with several guys who have keys and permission to get me in. I will admit, its a lot like shopping with someone else's credit card. When I think back on my 35 Ford Street Rod build, I probably enjoyed the hunt just as much as the build......THE MOST STRESSTFUL OF DAYS CAN BE REDUCED TO NOTHING IF THE PROPER THERAPY IS UTILIZED.

 

[BWR1953]

I'd say to take the gauges outside in the bright sunshine and see which are the most visible there. Might help you decide.

 

[Bayou Dave]

I vote for white face and black numbers.

 

[Big Gee]

The mercruiser tach won't work with an outboard so was the white face tach from an outboard boat? I don't like the way the needle on it is stuck, normally the needle is below the 0 line and jumps when powered on and settles back to the 0 line.


When it came to gauges, I had always heard that "AC Lies and DC Dies".

Meaning that when power was removed from an AC gauge they stayed at their last reading and DC gauges went to zero.

Is the Tach AC or DC?