1967 IMP Aztec -- Resto Underway again Suggestions please

[rrumba]

Re: 1967 IMP Aztec -- Resto Underway again Suggestions please

thanks OOPS!.... gotta plan on how to fool the materials into thinking it's warm out.... I do have a 10x20 tarp structure with a almost useless blue tarp over it then a brand new silver heavy duty one over that, that i picked up a year ago at a swap meet. Is sure keeps the light out and gets awfully warm in there when i was just doing minor work with the temp around 60 outside.

All this time i could have been glassing away and had it almost done........:redface: i feel dense now.......

 

[Burglary5%]

Re: 1967 IMP Aztec -- Resto Underway again Suggestions please

I have been watching both of your builds and they look great. I was wondering where you are getting your resin and other supplies from, I have been looking around Atlanta and cant find a supplier of resin and cloth. I am at the point in my project that I will have to do something shortly. I know about US composites but would rather be able to pick up. I appreciate any info.

 

[oops!]

Re: 1967 IMP Aztec -- Resto Underway again Suggestions please

hi....welcome to iboats !

the idea that you guys in the states cant find any glass suppliers down there really irks me......they are every where around here......but you really gotta look for them.....it is a pocket industry and not something that you will see advertised in the local flyers.

look in the yellow pages for plastic suppliers and fibreglass supplies in your town. if you cant find any....then look for boat repair or fibreglass repair...(even auto) call them and sak where they are getting there resin and glass from......the will bark about 3 suppliers.....

another way is to call composites one. ask them where the local dealer is. comp one is everywhere.....and they will have retail outletts that they supply to in your area.

you just have to know how to look for them.....but they are out there.

unless its a really small repair....stay away from the :kits: they sell at the big box stores.....very little useful stuff for what we are doing in them.

hope that helps you......good luck

oops

 

[jasoutside]

Re: 1967 IMP Aztec -- Resto Underway again Suggestions please

The folks at US Composites have always been good to me. Great prices and fast shipping, lot better than driving all over the place to get what I need.

 

[Jbird5363]

Re: 1967 IMP Aztec -- Resto Underway again Suggestions please

Glad to hear your son is ok. I have worked with mekp for years and it burns like a sob in your eyes and cuts it will also ruin a good contact as well.Its good stuff seeing the young ones helping with the boat i can assure you they will remember it when there older and appreciate the time spent with them and the skills you are teaching them. I spent a lot of time with my dad restoring an old jeep and working on guns. And i still thank him for it from time to time. keep up the good work that boat is going to be super sweet when you guys her done.

 

[rrumba]

Re: 1967 IMP Aztec -- Resto Underway again Suggestions please

I have been watching both of your builds and they look great. I was wondering where you are getting your resin and other supplies from, I have been looking around Atlanta and cant find a supplier of resin and cloth. I am at the point in my project that I will have to do something shortly. I know about US composites but would rather be able to pick up. I appreciate any info.

i found a distributor in Lawrenceville but they will only sell in bulk. for the resin and MEKP that is fine, but for the 1708 and 1.5 CSM or others they will only sell you a whole roll and that gets expensive especially if you only need some. I have tried craigslist, called the boat repair shops and marinas. None of them get them locally but from FL, go figure, even around both lakes up here. there have only been 2 repair places, auto or marine that i have been able to say they will sell you supplies, but they charge more than getting it shipped. I make a lot of trips to the Tampa area and have found a good place down there to deal with, http://www.fiberglassservices.com/index.htm, hope that didn't break any rules. cost for 5 gallons of resin was 99.00 to ship it will cost another 25 for hazmat, so getting it locally from composites one is about the same cost. West marine will also match prices with just about any online or storefront shop as well. so if you go the Epoxy route, you can get that from them the same cost as US composites.

let me know if i can help you out with anything else, and welcom.............

 

[rrumba]

Re: 1967 IMP Aztec -- Resto Underway again Suggestions please

hi....welcome to iboats !

the idea that you guys in the states cant find any glass suppliers down there really irks me......they are every where around here......but you really gotta look for them.....it is a pocket industry and not something that you will see advertised in the local flyers.

look in the yellow pages for plastic suppliers and fibreglass supplies in your town. if you cant find any....then look for boat repair or fibreglass repair...(even auto) call them and sak where they are getting there resin and glass from......the will bark about 3 suppliers.....

another way is to call composites one. ask them where the local dealer is. comp one is everywhere.....and they will have retail outletts that they supply to in your area.

you just have to know how to look for them.....but they are out there.

unless its a really small repair....stay away from the :kits: they sell at the big box stores.....very little useful stuff for what we are doing in them.

hope that helps you......good luck

oops

not sure why that is OOPS!, but it seems as though they have closed up shop around here. there are a lot of boat repair shops and dealers closing the doors around here. I would have thought that having 2 large lakes around and a larger boating community then i thought that getting materials would have been easier than it has been. Maybe i am looking things up by the wrong names, dunno. I keep trying to find it locally though. Oh and the one US Composites that was here closed up.

I will have to ask composites one that question as they are not that far from me.

 

[rrumba]

Re: 1967 IMP Aztec -- Resto Underway again Suggestions please

Glad to hear your son is ok. I have worked with mekp for years and it burns like a sob in your eyes and cuts it will also ruin a good contact as well.Its good stuff seeing the young ones helping with the boat i can assure you they will remember it when there older and appreciate the time spent with them and the skills you are teaching them. I spent a lot of time with my dad restoring an old jeep and working on guns. And i still thank him for it from time to time. keep up the good work that boat is going to be super sweet when you guys her done.

Thanks Jbird. that gave us quite the scare when he yelled he could not see. I am hoping that they will all remember the good parts and not the bad ones like the eyes, itch and grinding. this one we picked up so that we could all work on it and pass her around between the kids so they could all take their future families, friends now and each other out for some fun.

 

[KC4ZQZ]

Re: 1967 IMP Aztec -- Resto Underway again Suggestions please

rrumba, what did you mix with the resin to thicken it for the fillet around the new transom? (the dark color) I've been following your rebuild and collecting info. Nice work BTW. I'm restoring (very slowly) a 1974 Ouchita bass boat that I've owned since it was new. Charles.

 

[rrumba]

Re: 1967 IMP Aztec -- Resto Underway again Suggestions please

KC4.....thanks for dropping in, by the way is that a HAM call sign? just curious..

I followed the recipe that from OOPS! Hull extension thread. if you have not read that one, long read, but a TON of information in there. I used cabosil and 1/4" chopped strand fibers. one thing i found was that it does not take a lot of the fibers, if you add to much then you end up with air pockets, had to grind some out, thankfully i found my mistake early and did not do a lot on the first batch. Also, found that once i found the right mixture, you will be able to tell as you are mixing whether you have to much or to little, that the PB consistency would allow for a nice filleting and tooling of it so that you do not have to grind down the fillet if it hardens before you can get glass on it. I did both ways, not by choice mind you, and it was MUCH easier to do the filleting then lay down the CSM, waited a bit for some of the heat to dissipate then layed the 1708. the cheapest place i found for the chip brushes was at harbor freight, a box of 36 i believe it was, 2 inch was like 9.00 on sale. I also used the foam rollers form them and they work pretty good for the wet out and 2 coats of resin to soak into the wood. they were cheap as well and you go through a lot, or at least i did, doing all the pre-glass work. when i started the glass work i used the rollers with 1/4" nap from the depot and it worked better for getting down into the cloth and spreading it better plus there was not a lot of waste left in the rollers as there was with the foam ones.

i will tell you not to scrimp on a respirator or eye protection. I have to say the full face respirator is still by far the BEST purchase and my FAVORITE item that i have purchased for this restore. I use it for grinding, the acetone wipe and glassing. with a bandana on it helps keep the sweat out of my eyes but i never have to worry about the eye wear fogging up and my nasty hands touching it and i do not smell anything. I need to find a good suit now cuz the tyvek is ok but keeps ripping on me. i like oops! setup basically a bio hazard suit, full blown

 

[KC4ZQZ]

Re: 1967 IMP Aztec -- Resto Underway again Suggestions please

Thanks for the info. The reason I was asking was I mixed something with some resin that I thought was cabosil along with 1/4" chopped fibers and it came out white. I'm wondering if I've got some microballoons instead of cabosil -- Leftovers from my kayak building days. It's just too far back to remember.

 

[KC4ZQZ]

Re: 1967 IMP Aztec -- Resto Underway again Suggestions please

Oh, yes it is a Ham call sign. However, it was supposed to be KC4ZQT but when the new cpu was set up it was entered wrong so I just left it instead of trying to figure out how to change it.

One other question, I see people here using 2% cat, is that because you're working in cold temps? USComposites only recommends 1oz/gal. If my math is right that calculates out to .78%. Am I missing something? Why so much mekp?

 

[rrumba]

Re: 1967 IMP Aztec -- Resto Underway again Suggestions please

thought it might be... my pops was a radioman in the Navy and into ham in hawaii

from the US comp website they list 1 quart = 1 oz and 1 gallon = 2oz, so that would be about 1.7%, but like oops! says it is easier using metric 2 ml MEKP per 100 ml resin. i found that getting some of the large kid dose syringes from Kroger that are 10ml works out perfect for me, besides i have them for the kids anyway. i just wrap a good piece of clear packing tape over the numbers so the MEKP does not eat away the scale.

 

[KC4ZQZ]

Re: 1967 IMP Aztec -- Resto Underway again Suggestions please

I think 1 quart = 1 oz and 1 gallon = 2oz is just telling how much cat they send with the various amounts of resin. Here's the info they (USComposites) have in their "Catalyst Mixing Info". I also checked with a local boat repair shop and they use the amounts listed below too.

AMOUNT OF RESIN OR GELCOAT HARDENER AMOUNT
1 OUNCE 10 DROPS
1 PINT (16OZ) 1/8 OUNCE
1 QUART (32OZ) 1/4 OUNCE
1/2 GALLON (64OZ) 1/2 OUNCE
1 GALLON 1 OUNCE

 

[rrumba]

Re: 1967 IMP Aztec -- Resto Underway again Suggestions please

KC, not sure........ i just went out and read the label and it says 1% MEKP but when i talked to them on the phone they told me that was for hotter temps, at the time it was 95+, and for the lower temps to go up to 2%.

i know that with the 2%, from what i can tell, it all looks and feels like it came out fine.

Maybe we can send out a bat signal and get oops!, ondarvr, YD or someone with more knowledge than i have to confirm this for us????

 

[KC4ZQZ]

Re: 1967 IMP Aztec -- Resto Underway again Suggestions please

rrumba, ok, that makes sense that temp variations would come into play. i'm aquainted somewhat with epoxy and the ratio stays the same no mater what the temp. You either speed up or relax depending on the temp. I debated epoxy or poly for a long time before I started and decided to keep the boat all poly. Now I have to (get to? - naw .. have to) learn something new. I'd much rather be fishin' than workin' on my boat! Yes, its been pretty hot here too, but I'm too old to go out and play when its over about 80*

 

[rrumba]

Re: 1967 IMP Aztec -- Resto Underway again Suggestions please

my choice for the poly was that i wanted to gelcoat it, so no option for epoxy there, and it is A LOT cheaper, might not be as easy to work with, but i think i will take the cost savings instead

i would rather be fishing as well and i look for water when the temps get that hot, you up by jax? i go through there a lot on my way to tampa.

 

[oops!]

Re: 1967 IMP Aztec -- Resto Underway again Suggestions please

KC, not sure........ i just went out and read the label and it says 1% MEKP but when i talked to them on the phone they told me that was for hotter temps, at the time it was 95+, and for the lower temps to go up to 2%.

i know that with the 2%, from what i can tell, it all looks and feels like it came out fine.

Maybe we can send out a bat signal and get oops!, ondarvr, YD or someone with more knowledge than i have to confirm this for us????

this is kinda tricky......

the actual window for manufacture specs on most poly resins is 1.7-2.5%
however......some types of mekp have been sucessfully tested and found that optimum stregnth was at .7%....... however, stiffness suffered.

at .6% the stregnth of the product was siginificantly weakend without the usual drop off curve. and again,,,loss of stiffness

the ratio that had the best results for both stregnth and stiffness was 1.7-2.5.

to hit a .7 or even 1% with any accuracy.....is allmost impossible, as some of the mekp still remains in the measuring cup after pouring it out......kinda trying to get that last drop of beer out of a can.

you can go less than the 1.7 but conditions must be perfect.....both humidity and ambient temp of both the substraight and outside temp.
because excellent results were achieved with both strength and stiffness of the composite in the 1.7-2,5 window......this is the preferred, rate for poly based resins in general.

as i have mentioned before.......irreguardless of the temps i mix at 2%......and adjust the temps around me, by opening doors....or heating the areas with a light or propane heater, depending on the season.

hope this makes sense....i havent had my first cup of coffee yet !

 

[KC4ZQZ]

Re: 1967 IMP Aztec -- Resto Underway again Suggestions please

Thanks Oops! sounds good to me, I wonder why the manufacturers don't raise the ratio a little or at least explain things the way you did. It sounds like you've been at this a long time.

rrumba, I'm in Lake Butler, abt 50 mi sw of jax. Where in Ga are you? I used to do a lot of land clearing around Lakeland.

 

[rrumba]

Re: 1967 IMP Aztec -- Resto Underway again Suggestions please

i am on the south side of lake lanier........


thanks oops!