1977 Starcraft restore

[zopperman]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Great thread, I've been reading all morning and I actually used it last night, but I feel like the resin should have started to thicken and harden after 30 mins of stirring?

I just checked the resin, but it's tacky on most of the wood. should I apply more resin to the smooth spots? It's definitely NOT wet. It set in and I can't leave a fingerprint, but it's sticky. The wood is darker than it was when we applied the resin last night. I'm going to finish the pre-coat with another 12 or 16 oz and make sure that everything really sets in so I don't get dry/ weak spots.

I was thinking, for strength, I was going to glass all 3 pieces of the floor together outside (on the bottom) then lay down my thickened epoxy on my stringers and put the whole floor in at once and screw it down. I want the floor to be as strong as possible since it's pretty flimsy right now and I think glassing over the seams will really help. Is that plausible?

 

[rickryder]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Might be difficult to put the whole deck in one piece.... I glassed mine in pieces and lapped the seams with 1708.... I did tape the seams with csm strips before laying the top layer of biax. You can always go to Wally Mart and buy a few bags of csm in the auto dept and cut it into 4" strips.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Hey, It's OKIE-HOME=A!!!!!

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Hey, It's OKIE-HOME=A!!!!!

Phew, at least now I get it!

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Might be difficult to put the whole deck in one piece.... I glassed mine in pieces and lapped the seams with 1708.... I did tape the seams with csm strips before laying the top layer of biax. You can always go to Wally Mart and buy a few bags of csm in the auto dept and cut it into 4" strips.

I AGREE 100% with ALL of this!!!!

 

[zopperman]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Rookie Glassin' time wish me luck!

 

[zopperman]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Well. Didn't get to start... Had to run and ran into a huge problem. The rain got my 1708 wet. How big of a problem is this? Can I put it in the dryer? SHould I lay it out and just use it tomorrow. I didn't have quite enough, so I'm using some bond-o mat for the underside of the deck. Is that OK?

What do I do about the wet cloth :/

 

[TruckDrivingFool]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Phew, at least now I get it!

Don't feel bad I was trying to find something, anything in the background, shadows and missed it too.

Zoop if you'r using the shot glass measuring cup from USComp use the cc scale. The oz. scale puts you short on the ratio of hardner. I'm a first timer too and had a lot of problems due to the same thing. I've been going 5cc/ml per pint. Oops even reccomends double that.

Sorry no help on the wet cloth from me.

 

[zopperman]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Double?! wow. I just let it cure overnight. TDF, what does your resin feel like after a day of hardening? I think mine actually turned out OK. I'm laying my first sheets of glass tonight. It's an ugly combo of BONDO and 1708 on the underside of the sole

 

[TruckDrivingFool]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

That's what happened with my very first shot at, when I was making the lam for the transom. It set up but I had to let it dry for a long time.

Just overnight, there's just enough tack that your finger drags a bit more than if if you ran your hand across say a counter top. Not enough to be sticky or glue like but enough that your finger doesn't glide quite the same.

I'd say so long as the bottom is sealed, looks don't matter.

 

[TruckDrivingFool]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

oh and good luck.

 

[zopperman]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Thanks! I think it went well. I'll post up a pick shortly. What do I do for resin on my skin? I've been washing it offwith water and blotting it, but it burns a little...

 

[TruckDrivingFool]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Burns like crazy in my book. So much so I usually have to stop as soon as I feel the first tinge and wipe it off w/ a paper towel. From there I just have to pick the last little bit out of the hair on my arm. Maybe a quick wipe of acetone on the really stuck parts.

 

[zopperman]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Water, acetone, and vinegar helped. I don't think it came out half bad for a bunch of rookies
This was the pre-cut glass. you can see the ugly bondo and the nice shiny 1708

As the resin is drying

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Well. Didn't get to start... Had to run and ran into a huge problem. The rain got my 1708 wet. How big of a problem is this? Can I put it in the dryer? SHould I lay it out and just use it tomorrow. I didn't have quite enough, so I'm using some bond-o mat for the underside of the deck. Is that OK?

What do I do about the wet cloth :/

Dryer NO HEAT
Bondo mat on Underside of Deck is FINE!!!!

 

[zopperman]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

So the wet cloth will be OK? phew. It's actually dried up quite well on it's own. Woody, how's the glass look!? is it normal to have some whiteness on the overlaps?
How long will it take to dry and set fully?

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Kinda hard to tell from your pics. did you increase the MEKP mix? You were a little LOW on your ratio. I assume you got that figured out now??? As long as the WHITE is not AIR POCKETS then yeah sometimes resin can cause that color variance. Better pics with more light would help to SEE better.

 

[zopperman]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

I increased it just a little.. I did 1/4 oz + 10 drops for the quart mixture Should I up it to TDF's suggestion? I really doubt it's an air pocket. i rolled everything HARD

 

[zopperman]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

So I woke up this AM and RAN to check on the glass! The bondo has a few air pockets which I expected.. I found it very difficult to work with. is this OK since it's on the bottom?

This is the bi ax, I think it came out pretty well, right? It feels pretty solid, but the ski locker piece of wood still has some flex to it.. It's a U shape and I'd expect the whole thing to move like a board if you pick up one side, but the other side flexes down a bit... A little concerned about this.

Also, A safety concern -- I have a fan blowing the fumes out of my garage, but it still stinks like resin and even in my yard I can smell it. DO I need a respirator once the resin has cured?

 

[zopperman]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

No rela new news today. Spoke to Rick about the safety issue and I can breathe easy again! The gas tank is FINALLY holding pressure so We're going to pop that back in the boat monday. Tomorrow is a rest day. TOday, cut panels for the new dash and glove box/cooler area. Plan on storing the aux. gas tank behind the driver knee panel and a small cooler behind passneger one under the glove box. We also removed the steering wheel and we're going to possibly replace it, if not, regrease the shaft. Made a STARTLING discovery today. SO below the deck fill, where the fuel fill hose and vent hose go, there's a hueg hole in the bow floor on the port side that leads straight to the foam and stringers. That must have been what killed this boat. That's where the most waterlogged foam was and the stringers started to show signs of rot. SO I found a way to seal the hoses off using some tupperware, 5200, and spray foam to keep the hoses from moving. It should work. My new fuel and vent hoses (all 10 feet of each) should be here Tuesday and the floor should be glassed in tuesday/wednesday and gelcoated thursday/fri/sat. Hopefully we'll splash her by my birthday on aug 7!!