1977 Starcraft restore

[Woodonglass]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Hmmmm... Just remember Poly resin is worthless without mat. Paint MIGHT work for a while but I can't recommend it. You MUST coat the top of the deck with resin first and then wet it out again with resin before applying the 1708. Yeah it's stronger and MORE expensive so it makes him MORE MONEY. I do NOT recommend Just the 1708 only. I don't think you need the 1708 at all except for the tabbing. Thats the only place you need the Strength. It's your boat so do what you want but If you're gunna gelcoat the deck you don't need to 1708 the whole thing. Just my EXPERIENCED opinion.

 

[zopperman]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Yeah, it seemed like overkill to me too -- but the tech said it's much easier to work with and will tak ethe corners much better than the CSM and this way I only need one layer so it's the same price as doing the CSM. Does that make sense? Or should I do one layer of CSM + Gelcoat? I don't wnat to do the second layer because that means another bunch of resin... He also said that the gelcoat adheres better to the 1708.. ???

and I should probably poly the bottom of the deck too, right?

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Ok If that's the way you are going to go then...
precoat all the wood with resin. Let it dry. Then coat the bottom again and lay ONE layer of CSM. Let it dry.
Flip it over to the top. Wet it out and Lay the 1708 and make SURE to wet it out GOOD and use a bubble buster roller on it and get ALL of the Air Pockets out of it. There will be Some. You will need to do it in sections. With this heat there is No way you can do the whole deck at one time. Do a bout a quart at a time. Use a 6-7 " roller and roll it out and then use the bubble buster to make sure it is laying down good and tabbed up on the hull at least 6". Make sure and fillet the gap between the deck and the hull with PB so the glass will lay down nice and smooth with no air pockets.

 

[zopperman]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

So I should lay the pre-coated deck down, screw it in place, lay down resin, lay down PB, lay down biax and roll it smooth?

PS -- I called up lowes about the wood, they have aruco and exterior grade fir.. either of those would be better than PT wood?

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Don't forget the Mat on the bottom side first. Then install and PB the gap. Then wet out the top of the deck and lay the 1708 and then put more resin on after you lay it . Wood has to have wet resin on it before you lay the 1708 and then you put MORE resin on the Top of the cloth to make sure it is completely saturated with resin. NOT too much but eough that it is completely soaked. That's why I said do a qt at a time so you can see how much area it will cover. It's better if you have help.. One guy mixing and the other guy laying. you Only have about 15 minutes to get it mixed and layed down. Make sure the mat/cloth is cut to fit an ready to go before you mix up any resin. You can't afford to WASTE any.

Arauco is probably the Best wood to use.

 

[zopperman]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Thanks again wood

I have plenty of manpower.. just little time and money

Today i picked up a new fuel gauage and sending unit. the old one worked, but it was so corroded I couldn't get the nut off and it was all bent out of shape. The old gauge worked too, but barely and was also corroded. I figured out how to wire thema nd I'm going to install them soon. We also cut the sheet foam into pieces and shoved it between the stringers. had JUST enough to make it useful.

DO i have to paint the gas tank since I sanded it down? or wtaer proof it in some way?

 

[rickryder]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Nice to see you getting it done You'll be splashing her before you know it

No paint on the fuel tank!

 

[zopperman]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Thanks Rick! I hope you can see that foam is getting used well. It was just enough to do the whole boat. DId one gallon of Gelcoat do 2 coats for your deck? I'm hoping to be able to get by with that. Which wax did you use? Can I re-use a roller rover? I wasn't kidding hwne I said I had no idea -- I'm counting on all of you to help me through this! I'm placing my order from US composites (finally) tonight or tomorrow -- whenever I can scrounge up the money. I'm ordering the resin, layer of biax, layer of csm on bottom, rollers, mixing tubs and cabosil and chopped fibers... anything I'm missing? DO I need a squeegee? How much over lap can thgere be between the sheets of biax?

I know it's a lot of questions, but as a complete fiberglass rookie, I really appreciate the help.
Thanks everyone

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Make sure and order a Bubble Buster roller. You will use a 6" 1/4" nap paint roller to roll out the resin with. With the Biax cloth on the deck a 10" Plastic putty knife is kinda nice to drag the resin around and as you say squeegee out the air bubbles. The bubble buster roller will also come in handy for that. For the deck seams I'd recommend no less than 3-4" overlap on the seams.

 

[zopperman]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Will the overlap be hiden by the gelcoat? or by the resin on top? Can I use the same roller for everything? or do I need to change it once resin has dried on it...?

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

You need to keep a small cake pan of Acetone on hand to keep it CLEAN so the resin does NOT SET-UP on it EVER or it will be RUINED. Keep it rinsed off and wiped down OFTEN!!!!

Over lap WILL Show!!! You Don't HAVE to overlap. You could do butt joints if you want since you're using 1708. It'll be plenty strong and you won't have any noticeable seams once the gelcoat is rolled on.

 

[zopperman]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Great! Hopefully finally placing the order tomorrow!

Would it make sense to make my joints like puzzle pieces, almost? like notch them together almost like a flat dovetail? to minimize the overlap? I'm going for no noticable seams and hopefully just 2 coats of gelcoat -- one with wax and one without. does that sound reasonable?

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

No need for Puzzle making. Just lay it and coat it.
Once again, Make sure to Pre-coat the wood first and Pay attention to the edges.

 

[zopperman]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Great! I should have my US composites shipment hopefully by monday/tuesday and the floor in by next friday is my goal. I'm going to post up some pics of my floor - plan ideas tomorrow. Incorporating my ski locker has proven to be very difficult and I'll need some advice. I'm going to work on cosmetics and furniture and wiring my new dash while I wait for the order to come. -- speaking of my dash, I'm going to glass/gelcoat that to match the floor and the new gauages and steering wheel.

 

[rickryder]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Man you sure are a busy guy I see Wood has you on the right track! I'll try to add what I can when you get to the ski locker area.... Time to head off to work...... Gonna be a long hot day today at Giants Stadium...... I'll be breaking down the U2 360 Tour stage ..... We put it up on Tuesday for last nights concert.

 

[zopperman]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Jeez Rick you have a busier day than I do... Just got up, about to get some exercise and then start cutting! I'm going to cut out all my plywood pieces for my furniture and side panels and such. Taking a trip to home depot to pick up my carpeting for the sides and bow.. should need about 20 ft worth and at 52 C a foot, how an I go wrong!? Will post up some pics when I quit for dinner

 

[zopperman]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Will one QT or resin/cabosil mixture do the sides+ tabbing? each side is about 8 ft long

Help me before I place my order!!!

 

[rickryder]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Depends on how close you make your deck fit......I would say 2 qts would be closer.

 

[zopperman]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Yeah the cabosil is cheap... will get a tub of it. Cut ALLL the wood for the boat today... cushions and panels and such. Long day in the 100 degree weather with teh googles and respirator

Placing my order for the glass right now... how exciting!

 

[zopperman]

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Re: Floor fiberglass help.

Too hot to do any real work today... got a ton of supplies from HD... started doing my electrical.. well planning it out and playing with wires and fuses and such and that's all ready to go!