I got a (new)question for you Starcraft guys, Officially a Project

[dozerII]

I wish I would have been the neighbor, standing on his deck with a beer watching you flip the boat. Seeing how I have done this myself numerous times I know there were some funny parts to watch.

Sometimes a guys gotta do what a guys gotta do

 

[TruckDrivingFool]

Thanks guys, maybe it's beginners luck but it went smoother than I thought which will probably be all gone when I try to flip it back over to leak test it after the stripping is done. Though I suppose watching me push it off just to winch it back on was worth a head scratch and a few giggles for the neighbors.

In all honesty my one neighbor is awesome and always willing to help. If it got out hand I'd of called him.

GA She'd just sniff me out then I'd be trapped, prefer to be out in the open with room to run in that situation. :laugh:

 

[TruckDrivingFool]

Well there appears to be three coats on the bottom too (makes sense since three top side) light grey/white/cream. (factory) The overnight orange stank took the the top two off but didn't touch the cream. So I made hay yesterday after work.

The short -
Stripping progress made





The ramblings -
It must be a different types of paint thing as it seems the Kleenstrip applied over spots with all three coats destroys the top two coats nearly instantly but seems to be absorbed and lifted off the factory layer. It does work on the factory paint if applied directly to it but it must be left alone for a while. It seems to work better in a thinner coat but is still kind of hit and miss about weather it strips to bare metal or not, so once scraped going back over it with the scrub brush dabbed in stripper is still required to get to bare metal everywhere. This works everything into a slurry that I've found that I have about 2 hrs before I need to powerwash off or it will start to dry out start sticking back down.

Final plan is to leave the center bow plate natural and polished. I keep going back and forth about weather to paint the entirety of the rest of the hull or to just paint down so far. Since I know the bottom paint will get scratched up fairly quickly I'm leaning towards leaving the bottom bare but not sure of a good cut off point.

Found there is a small fillet of sealer st all the seams any ideas - remove it (how?) leave it and paint it? (will this cause paint adhesion problems?)

 

[GA_Boater]

On the cracked up putty/seam sealer goop, someone here cleaned out what they could and used 3M 5200 to re-fillet. It looked good and 5200 is paint-able.

I hear ya about where to polish and where to paint. I've thought about polishing below the spray rail and the front cap. Paint the rest. Someday.

 

[bonz_d]

I can feel the pain of stripping. Long ago after I got out of the USAF I worked at a marina for awhile and over that winter we stripped a 20' mahogany planked boat to be refinished. Stripped to bare wood, there was an area on the sides that had a white painted stripe that the owner wanted removed. Of course the paint had gotten into the grain so it was a complete pain and took a lot of work to get it were they could stain and varnish that area.

When I get around to painting the Sea Nymph I'm not going to strip it all the way down as the paint is in pretty good shape and should make for a good base. I plan on just touching up the bare spots and then sanding the existing paint.

As to a paint scheme I too have mixed feelings about painting the bottom of aluminum boats. On some it looks really good, others??? I also worry about the durability of paint on the bottom.

 

[g0nef1sshn]

I had the same cracked/leaky seal in my bow area. I didnt remove it but tried to sand it as smooth as I could and hit the leaking area with gluvit to soak it. Then primed and painted. Worked good and following leak test showed no leaks.

Also, once kleen strip got my easy coats off, i would use my paint stripping disk on the tougher coats while the stripper was still applied. worked great but flung little burning gobs of stripper all over.

 

[TruckDrivingFool]

Obligatory progress pics

Transom and half the bottom panel done, lost the warm weather for the week so who knows how soon I'll get more done.





I know it (the hull in general) at very least weeps but want to get it stripped before leak test so I don't know where it's coming from yet. I'm hoping that it's just the way the factory cleaned up the squeeze out during assembly and there is sealer inside the seam and that I can get it cleaned up without causing a leak.

Though now that GA mentioned it I do remember seeing that one so if need be I can go that route and a paint scheme something like this would hide most of the seams anyway it wouldn't be too noticeable.

Polished bottom, whiteish/cream to the gunnel with hopefully a smoother arc than I can draw in paint to tie it to the shape of the bow plate.



Bonz I cringe at the thought of trying to get any kind of paint out of wood grain

Gone, I'm laughing with you at the thought dodging the burning gobs of goo. :lol: Was the filler on yours hard enough sand? This stuff in places is like silicone caulk that has lost it's grip and wavy and flappy. Also did you do the gluvit on the outside?

 

[64osby]

Gluvit works best on the inside, it is not stable to UV exposure and must be painted if sunlight can get to it.

 

[g0nef1sshn]

There was no dodging it. I was in shorts and bare foot. I hunkered down and grit my teeth and drove on. Every now and then when it was unbareable id hose off. It was hard enough to smooth out but not exactly solid material. Thats the only area i used glovit on the outside. And only where i had marked leaks at on that bow seam. I figured that it would soak in good and be primed and painted.

When i say sand, it was more the stipper disc and wire wheel.

 

[TruckDrivingFool]

I too was fool enough to be wearing shorts while working and when I got careless slopping the stripper on well, as the kids say "It was at that moment that I knew........"

Thanks that clears things up for me.

 

[TruckDrivingFool]

More stripping progress made,





Lessons learned today -
1. It's better to leave a thick layer of goop since it stays "wet" enough to be power washed off.
2. Even though it will be watered down because of residual water from trying to wash the hull off, you can go back over the thin layer of goop with the scrub brush dipped in stripper and the Kleenstrip will still have enough juice to loosen it so it can be power washed off.

Looking at the dings and scuffs today the paint scheme may have changed to being painted from the spray rail up as it looks like it takes almost as much abuse as the side and top rub rails.

Plan is to finish the bottom of the port side and the full side on the starboard in the next session, then in another session go back over the entire thing and do any spot stripping of missed bits. So hopefully the weather stays warm enough to get two more sessions and the bottom will be done so I can flip her back over and start fitting a floor and building some fun stuff. If I'm really lucky I'll get the topside stripped but I'm not to worried about that as it should be a breeze after the larger spaces of the bottom.

 

[Decker83]

She is looking nice and shinny.

 

[TruckDrivingFool]

Thanks Decker, it shouldn't surprise me but I'm still taken back how shiny everything under paint is compared to every ding and scratch that now shows as a black patch of tarnish.

 

[GA_Boater]

Thanks Decker, it shouldn't surprise me but I'm still taken back how shiny everything under paint is compared to every ding and scratch that now shows as a black patch of tarnish.

That's normal oxidation at the scratches, TDF. The paint keeps oxygen from the tin so it will keep the shine. Well it used to until you stripped the paint. :smile:

 

[TruckDrivingFool]

That's normal oxidation at the scratches, TDF. The paint keeps oxygen from the tin so it will keep the shine. Well it used to until you stripped the paint. :smile:

:facepalm: Oh I pooched it. :laugh:

I had thoughts of just stripping the carp paint jobs off and sanding the factory on the sides but that sounded like extra sanding so decided to just start fresh. We'll see how that decision works out for me.

 

[GA_Boater]

If there was a way to remove only PO applied paint, life would be good. SC's factory paint sticks pretty good. Oh the compromises. LOL

 

[bonz_d]

Most OEM paints adhere pretty good which is why I'll just be sanding mine and leaving it as a base coat. There are only a couple of small places on mine that have pier rash that has worn thru the original finish.

TDF your are doing a fine job and your finish should come out very nicely.

 

[TruckDrivingFool]

Thanks Bonz, I have faith you guys will get me through painting when it's time.

 

[bonz_d]

Thanks Bonz, I have faith you guys will get me through painting when it's time.

Sad to say it but I think we're in the same boat!
I think I have the basic technic but I'm by no means an artist as some are. Though I'm sure with what we have learned here we both will do just fine.

 

[GA_Boater]

Thanks Bonz, I have faith you guys will get me through painting when it's time.

I'll help paint, but no stripping for me.

It looks like you're almost ready to give the paint a try, TDF. Have you decided on a method - Spray, roll & roll, roll & tip, brush, or have someone paint her for you?