Re: 14' Larivee restore
Work done...4 hr. nap done....so I'll give ya what I know before crawling back to slumberlandville(I'm really tired!). I can't believe it took me about a month just to get this bottom/keel ready, but my bleeding fingertips & buying stock in sandpaper paid off. I can honestly say only 2 spots(small...maybe 3mm-5mm) didn't get fared out completely. Otherwise, all the "prep" paid off. So, despite hoping to try my hand at spraying, I wimped out(hah...wimped....don't feel like it today) & rolled to bottom. I let my son talk me out of spraying for a couple reasons: a)he rolled his & has yet to "finish" out his orange peel & the fish don't seem to mind & b)I figured this, I knew how to do. Just tired of sanding & didn't want to mess with any mistakes from inexperience or curing in the gun. That being said...I am extremely happy with how it turned out. I started yesterday with finishing a couple touch-ups, getting the boat out from the back patio, around front for a bath, then next door to an unused/vacant garage that I happen to have keys to.(insert-free paint room here). Weather was...sorry jb....perfect for temps but high winds so very grateful I had the vacant garage. Probably around 72 degrees after starting the day at 65. Got her in the garage around 1:30pm & started the process. My son, when gelcoating our last rebuild, used acetone to thin. I decided to try Styrene this time, just because. I thinned it out at about 10%-11%(I was told I could go up to 15%). Pretty thin, but was experimenting, since it was only what the fish would see, trying to minimize orange peel as I would not be sanding/finishing later. Very pleased. Those damn lapstrakes/ribs are a pain in the rear!!! So hard to get good coverage. I applied pretty near continuously for 5 or 6 thin coats, no wax. Only let it tack or so, then re-start. Coverage really stunk, especially on raw glass areas, I'm sure because of thinning. But I was patient & kept going. Toward the final coat(s), I reduced the styrene & final 2 coats back to back, with wax, less thin, covered fine. I took a few pics when I got home today but some shadows were on it & they offered nothing to curious minds afar. I will try again to show the finished bottom. Sooooo...my next goal(after more sleep & hunting down the first-born of whomever ran over me yesterday) is to finish prepping the sides. I have a couple days off this week so cautiously optimistic that I can make quick work of this as there is no raw glass or keels to impede my progress. If so, I hope to gel the gray next Saturday. I hope it is quicker than yesterday's 11 hr. marathon. Sam...glad you like the name...I will consider your suggestion, but pretty partial to "Light or Lite". JB....if you only knew how beautiful today was. Cold(60's this morning) but not a cloud in the sky with a cool 73 all day. Chamber of commerce day for sure. I hope old man winter eases up on you guys soon. Doesn't he know there are boats to rebuild & splash? Oh, & further, although I was properly protected, that garage was purty near flammable, for sure. My son came over around 6pm & said he could smell it in our driveway next door. When he tried to enter the garage to take a quick look to give me either the thumbs up or down, the fumes chased him out real quick. But not before he said, "This looks good, mom!" Ah, offspring approval!
