do I need to re-seal the outside of my alum boat?

[jtrom]

After stripping the paint off my classic Starcraft I see that the seams are sealed with a brown sealant on the outside. Do I need to re "caulk" with 5200 if I'm using Gluvit on the inside or just remove it?.......

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: do I need to re-seal the outside of my alum boat?

Don't remove it, and I'd recommed using some thickend Gluvit on the outside on the seams.

 

[Yamikaze]

Re: do I need to re-seal the outside of my alum boat?

Woodonglass: How do you thicken Gluvit. I will soon be sealing my rivets and seams with West Marines G/flex 650 I plan to re-hit the rivets first, seal it with g/flex then Gluvit the entire outside of the hull below the waterline.
Sorry Jtrom I didn't mean to high jack your thread. Post some pictures I would love to see your boat as you progress along with the rebuild, especially the painting.

 

[jtrom]

Re: do I need to re-seal the outside of my alum boat?

Its really old and flaking and peeling. Can't I seal it from the inside?

 

[jasoutside]

Re: do I need to re-seal the outside of my alum boat?

Short answer, nope. Do those seems leak? Yes? Then maybe you should seal them up if you cant from the inside. Cheers!

 

[jtrom]

Re: do I need to re-seal the outside of my alum boat?

Let me re state the question: The boat was never sealed from the inside...only the OUTSIDE seams had sealer on them that I presume was done from the factory in 1959. I am completely sealing the boat from the INSIDE with gluvit on all seams and rivets. Now, since I'm sealing from the inside do I need to re seal the outside????? I'm leaving the bottom paintless and this old sealer is nasty looking and cracking/peeling.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: do I need to re-seal the outside of my alum boat?

Nope, don't need to seal from the outside if you have sealed from the inside.

That brown goop you see is sealant from the factory that has ooozed out from the two mating surfaces. When the factory guy sealed your boat up it was done during construction with sealant on the two surfaces then riveted together. Not riveted then sealed. Does that make sense? At least I think this is the case, yours being a 59' it's pretty early model. Maybe they did things differently during that era. Post up some photos of your seems so we can check em out, eh!

Now, if you want to for extra leak insurance, sure! But, if you have sealed from the inside it wouldn't be necessary.

 

[jtrom]

Re: do I need to re-seal the outside of my alum boat?

Yes that makes sense...thanks Jas. I'm gonna remove it with a brass wire brush.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: do I need to re-seal the outside of my alum boat?

I had a whole bunch of that brown adhesive sticking out of this seam right here...

It was painstaking work to scrape it away but to have it look nice with the bare alum I kinda had to do it ya know.

 

[jtrom]

Re: do I need to re-seal the outside of my alum boat?

Yep that's it. Will a brass wire brush work? I don't want to muck up the aluminum to bad since I'm also leaving it bare like you. and what did you do to get such a nice surface of your bare alum?

 

[jasoutside]

Re: do I need to re-seal the outside of my alum boat?

Lots of elbow grease!

To get the brown stuff otta the way I used a small SS brush, a razor blade and a variety of chemicals to get it off.

Now, I went the "brushed" alum look vs. the "polished". You'll definitely want to decide what direction you want to go ahead of time.

If you go brushed you can check out my jet thread. If you go polished you can check out hoss' or KellyC's thread.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: do I need to re-seal the outside of my alum boat?

Yup inside seal Gluvit "can" be used outside however inside is better. Sounds like a fun project.