1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

[JDA1975]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

I used the Bondo Fiberglass Resin Jelly, cost me just shy of 20 a quart, and worked well, had a pile cure up on me too fast and the hammer could hardly chip it. make sure you sand and clean well, degrease, dewax etc before applying the filler so it will hold strong. And try to keep that stuff level and excess cleaned off hull cause sanding it is for the birds. Mixing the hardener right is key too little and it will not cure, so gums the sand paper...too much and you have no working time. Mixed right it is sandable in 15 minutes


PS: See told ya my mistakes would come in handy

 

[fmjnax]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

Well, I have some progress. I suited up and went out with the grinder to work on the bow. I don't know what I was thinking, but I forgot the gloves and now my hands are itching like crazy! HA!

I sanded down through most of the gelcoat and it was STILL rough in spots. I guess I'm just going to have to make do with the PO's "repair" the best I can. There was one spot, about the size of a quarter, where I sanded clean through his repair, so I'll fix it/beef it up with fiberglass from the inside when I pull the stringers out. I've pretty well decided that that method will likely be my best alternative to fix it and still have it fairly smooth on the outside.

I tried to lay down the filler as thin as I could, but it ended up not being enough to allow me to sand it smooth and feather it in with the rest of the hull. Have I mentioned before just how poorly the PO "repaired" the bow? I put down enough filler to allow me to sand it and feather it. It doesn't give me much joy knowing that I'm going to have a lot of sanding and re-filling ahead of me, but I'm determined to fair the bow as best as I possibly can.

I ran out of daylight so I'll have to hit the first pass of sanding tomorrow. For now, here is where I stand:

BEFORE

And AFTER

 

[fmjnax]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

I'll update with pictures later (posting from my phone), but I'm making progress. The PO made it challenging to fix his mistakes, no doubt about it! I've just about got the bow faired smooth, but the stern section is not cooperating with the sander. I may have to use the grinder on it (that's my task for today).

I'm obviously going to hit the entire hull with the sander while prepping for paint, but do I need to sand down/build up all of the scratches that are deep enough to fill? How well does the Rustoleum or Valspar Primers build up for small surface scratches? It would be easier for me to just scuff the hull, prime it, and then sand it all smooth at the same time if the primer has enough build up potential.

 

[JDA1975]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

I ignored a few scratches, and even after 2 primer coats and 4 topcoats it shows through. If you care about the bottom nobody sees, then fill/feather them all out. Personally did the best job I could on the bottom for the pure sake that it was practice for someone who has never done this type of stuff before. by treating the bottom as important I learned alot so it will make the cap come out that much better.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

Primer does not build very well. SEM makes a High Build Primer.

Just use it on the rough and scatched areas then do a full coat of primer on the entiire boat. Sand it before the final coat of primer and then sand again before the first coat of Color.

Are you spraying or rolling?

 

[fmjnax]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

Thanks guys. I will try and fair it the best I can with the filler. I'm going to be spraying with a 1.3mm HVLP. Lucky for me the cap is basically perfect as are the sides of the hull. The big scratches are on the bottom.

 

[fmjnax]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

Ok, while the filler is drying on the stern section, I figured I would update with the progress on the bow. I wish I had taken better "BEFORE" pictures so that it proves just how much of an improvement this is, but oh well. It's not the prettiest fairing job, but I think the pictures will speak for themselves. I MAY decide to go over it again and see if I can make it perfect, but for now I am calling it good enough (unless you experts disagree).

First, the ugly pictures. From these angles, it doesn't' look good at all (don't mind the circled spots. That's how I identified the low spots after sanding for the second coat. As they sit now, they are faired with the hull) ...

But then we get to the eye-level angle viewing down and keel and we're looking pretty good...

You will notice on this picture that the left side of the keel has some "dents" in it. This is where I MAY go back and try to bring it up some more, but for the most part, this part is out of the water so I don't think it will make much of a difference. Also, what the pictures don't show are some minor low spots, but nothing that I am going to concern myself with right now (maybe I will later, it's hard to say)

 

[fmjnax]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

I know it's a broken record with all of us, but I HATE sanding!!! I got the stern problem all faired up and looking pretty good; maybe 90% good. I also sanded the entire left side of the bottom of the hull (pictures later or tomorrow). Pretty much all of the scratches I had questioned about earlier were minor enough that they could be sanded down, so I'm happy about that.

My question today is this. How much do I have to sand the gelcoat down in preparation for primer and paint? I've knocked it down to where it doesn't feel glassy and isn't as reflective, but it's still not a really dull finish.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

What Grit are you using?

 

[fmjnax]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

I'm using a good quality 60. I couldn't find 40 here locally.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

60 is perfect. Scuff it good, then Wash her with warm Tri Sodium Phosphate solution and a scrub brush. Let her dry then Wipe her down really well with Acetone. She's ready for Primer.

 

[fmjnax]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

Awesome. Thanks WOG!! What should the hull look/feel lkke after the scuff? I'm sure I've got it good, but I don't want to take any chances.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

I'm sorry. I really left out 2 very important sanding steps. Not sure what I was thinking. After the 60 grit scuff, you need to sand her with 150 and then finish with 220 and Then do the cleaning and Acetone wipe down. I am so sorry, OldTimers must be setting in. When you're done you'll see some minor scratching but should be very minimal and shallow. Should FEEL pretty darn smooth. Two coats of Primer should take care of most minor scratches if not you will need to sand it off and fill em. Remember once it's in the water only YOU will know they are there.

 

[fmjnax]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

No sweat WOG. I have 150 and 220 paper and was already planning on hitting it as such (i do a lot of woodworking, so a good sanding job is no stranger to me. I'm still looking at a good week or two before I am ready for primer as I am going to prep and do the trailer at the same time.

Your knowledge has been highly valuable to me WOG. Thank you for taking the time to share it with me!

 

[fmjnax]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

Cooler weather is FINALLY rolling in to Texas... I normally welcome the changing of the seasons here, but not so much this year. I may have missed my window on being able to 'glass the boat before next spring (isn't it recommended to be above 50 degrees?)... unless I spring for a heater in the garage.

Anyway, no updated pictures as I really haven't done much. I'm still just sanding away, but it's getting close. Well, I take that back. I still haven't touched the sides of the hull (I need to raise the hull off the ground first). I'll give the bottom one final pass with the 60 paper and wipe it down with acetone. I'm HOPING that most of the surface flaws were sanded away as they currently appear, but anything that is left I guess I will fill in. My wife, bless her heart, "surprised" me with another can of filler the other day. I had decided I wasn't going to worry about the small surface scratches on the bottom since they wouldn't ever be visible, but I guess she went out to look at the hull and probably assumed that I didn't fill them because I was out of filler... so when I got home from work, she busted out a new can of filler. HA!

 

[JDA1975]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

If i had to do it over again, I would have held off on painting the sides until I flipped it back over and took care of the rebuild....now I have to worry about scratching my paint every time I get in and out with tools/materials! I will just drape an appliance/moving blanket over the side for now i think, but still more hassle. I cant say for certain on the temps, but perhaps Oops or one of them others from Canada can chime in, because they work year round and its a lot colder there than in Texas!

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

40-50? is about as low as you want to go. The substrate and the resin need to be at the same temp. Using a Tarp and a small electric heater in the garage, you should be able to manage that with little problem. Get an outdoor thermometer to put under there and you should be able to being the area being glassed up to temp pretty quickly and maintain it for the amount of time the resin needs to cure. 1/2 hour to get everyting to temp 1/2 hour to lay the glass, 1/2 hour to cure. Done!!!

 

[JDA1975]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

found this, has a section on cold weather, might help ya might now, but I found it a pretty interesting read, the cold weather part is in appendix A.

http://westsystem.com/ss/assets/HowTo-Publications/Fiberglass-Boat-Repair-and-Maintenance.pdf

 

[fmjnax]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

Thanks guys!

Still no new pictures, but I finished filling in in all the scratches and chips on the bottom. Tomorrow should be my last day of sanding the bottom. I started to look over the trailer and found a significant crack in the weld on both sides of the forward-most cross member. There's not much rust at all on the trailer, but the cracks are a problem I wasn't prepared for. Now I'm going to have to find a welder (my wife thinks that my bro-in-law has one... but he is an hour away) and see how good I am at making coin rolls. It's been about 15 years since I last touched a welder. SIGH!

 

[JDA1975]

Re: 1984 Skeeter Champ 16' Restore

just weld it to hold then grind it down to look good!