The boat restore , the project, the nightmare, and wheew when its done

[stew6371]

yes ribs are what i was asking about. will paint hold up as well as gel-coat as far as scratches and such. I plan on doing a complete color change.

[Nickk]

Great job, you should have your own TV show.

[NRG]

yes ribs are what i was asking about. will paint hold up as well as gel-coat as far as scratches and such. I plan on doing a complete color change.

Paint is not as scratch resistant as gel coat .. put it holds up well.. unless your dragging chains over the side of the boat .. it will last if done correctly for 10 yrs or more.. but even gelcoat will scratch, the main thing about gel is that most scratches can be wet sanded out .. it is a thicker application than paint.. but with gelcoat unless your doing white or black , your color selection is limited . such as pearls , candies, etc are not available in gelcoat .

Gelcoat needs to be wet sanded after application and cure.. paint clear coat can be wet sanded ( color sanded ) or left like it is if you want a absolutely smooth finish like a new gelcoat just out of the mold boat you must wet sand.. other wise it will have a slight texture like a car.

Painting of a boat or gelcoat for proper application requires big air compressor 60 gal - 80gal .. and a dump gun for gelcoat. can be done with a regular gravity feed hlvp spray gun with a 2.5-2.8 tip, but gelcoat you have about 15 mins to spray and get the gun absolutely spotless other wise the gelcaot will harden in the gun... the gun is then trash.
If you use a dump gun you dint have that issue, dump gun cost is 100-150 bucks, plus the disposable cups.

Paint.. and gelcoat prep is the same..clean it thoroughly, degrease it all, then wipe it down twice with wax and grease remover.. then sand if your old gelcoat is cracked from the sun.. you need to sand the cracked areas smooth removing all grease and dirt from cracks, then fill the cracks with fairing compound or body filler, then use a air da sander with 80 grit down to 220 .. then blow off all the dust.. wipe down again with wax and grease remover, the better the prep work the better the finish job will be with either paint or gel coat..then if your going to paint .. prime the areas to be painted with epoxy primer.. then base coat, then 4-8 coats of clear.

If gelcoat.. after filling and sanding imperfections.. prepare the gelcoat to be sprayed.. get a gelcoat thickness guage to keep it even, you dont want too thick or too thin.. then after all has cured. then wet sand the entire area sprayed.. you will have to wet sand the boat starting with 220, 400, 800, then buff out the remaining with a good wool compounding bonnet and a heavy compound, then go to medium and finish off with fine glazing compound then wax .

Neither is quick nor easy .. but over paint is easier, and has many more color options, you can buy gelcoat in about any color you want .. but custom colors are very pricey , 120 per quart .. but you dont have to buy primer/base/clear the choice is yours .. I choose paint because I like paint better easier all the way around.. but they both have draw backs

[NRG]

Great job, you should have your own TV show.

You offering ?  Im game

[jwfflipper]

WOW!!!!!!! This thread is AWESOME!!  We need an update!! NRG you did amazing work on this boat! This is the best thread I ever read!
JEFF

[NRG]

WOW!!!!!!! This thread is AWESOME!!  We need an update!! NRG you did amazing work on this boat! This is the best thread I ever read!
JEFF

Aint much to update, the boat is done .. Im still tweaking bits on it .. but as the weather has degraded on me.. and time and funding as well .. Im doing good to even go fishing at the moment.. Im about to change the motor to a 89 xr2 highly modified should push this boat at around 80 mph adding foot throttle and hopefully hydro steering.

I grew up in Morgantown, WV by the way ..moved here to Chattanooga, TN back in 89 ..all the boat knowledge I have is self taught, picked up from the internet, and local sources.. Ive been doing this for around 10 yrs off and on.. I love rebuilding bass boats .. started out as a way to get a low cost boat.. soon turned into a side business.. I had opened my own shop first part of 2009, but the buis fell off so drastically that I had to close up at the end of November .. If I can come up with the 5-7k cash to build a garage here at home I will do it here at home with out all the over head of a rented building, separate utils etc

I wish I could find a builder that I could trade the work out for a building .. may still happen just havent looked to hard yet.

I will take some more photos soon as it quits raining here long enuff to get the boat on the water .. river here has been running at flood stage for over a month .. rain rain and more rain.. we even saw a couple inches of snow a couple weeks ago .. Ive lived here 20 yrs and have never seen any snow in Dec that I can remember .. we rarely see snow at all .. and I cant remember ever seeing such a wet fall .. its been just about non stop raining since sept..sheesh 2 plus years of drought and now it wont quit raining lol

[fishyrascal]

that is 1 hell of a job glad to see you got her finished u need to move back to wv and build 1 for me that was absolutely amazing bring her back to wv in april we will hit the kanawha for some big smallies besides this state is in desperate need of a damn good boat mechanic

[NRG]

that is 1 hell of a job glad to see you got her finished u need to move back to wv and build 1 for me that was absolutely amazing bring her back to wv in april we will hit the kanawha for some big smallies besides this state is in desperate need of a damn good boat mechanic

You couldn't pay me to move back to WV .. Ive got some of the best Smallmouth and Largemouth fishing in the country at my back door lol
I moved away from the mountains of snow, -20 temps almost 21 yrs ago . not to mention lack of jobs.. well even here that is an issue at the moment lol well the job part
Im sure there must be some good boat people up there some where !>?
Not to mention no body wants to pay what it costs to get it done right .. If I charged to do all I did on this boat youd be looking at 6-8k .. but still cheaper than a new boat.

Why dont you just move to Chattanooga, TN

[PickensTJ]

NRG,

I am new to Ultimate Bass and just found your thread about the boat restore. Kudos to you my friend. You are a patient and talented guy. I am so impressed. There will be great satisfaction to pull that five pound smalley over the side of your (practically) hand made boat.

Tim