Old Starcraft Chips/Nicks/Etc

[bleedredandblue]

Hi all --

Been lurking for so long, and stealing so much wisdom, I figured I finally oughtta come out of the shadows. (Okay, and I also need some help.)

Picked up a 1970 Starcraft Fisherman Deluxe (at least that's my best guess). Interior's been redone nicely. Exterior actually looks pretty good for its age, but it does have a few chips/cracks/nicks/etc. I'm a complete and utter novice when its comes to boating, much less boat repair, so I thought I'd run a few pics by you guys to get your take. Hoping these repairs are Marine-Tex-easy, not fiberglass-101-easy. (First four pics are below the waterline, btw, while the fifth is well above.)

Sorry if the pic quality is a little shoddy -- taking 'em in a garage at night probably didn't help...:facepalm:

Thanks again, guys, for all the help, and for all the help you've already provided to others that the rest of us have found so useful. God bless.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Old Starcraft Chips/Nicks/Etc

Ayuh,... Welcome Aboard,... Yer Right, yer pictures suck....

From what I can see,...
Sure, gouge 'em out abit, 'n marinetex 'em up...

 

[bleedredandblue]

Re: Old Starcraft Chips/Nicks/Etc

Thanks, Bond-o. Any tips on the best tool to use for the gouging? Dremel? Angle grinder? Common knife and sandpaper...?

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Old Starcraft Chips/Nicks/Etc

If she were mine, Id use a RO sander with 40 grit paper and sand pic 1 through 4 down till i hit glass. Wash with acetone and then I would fill and fair with 3M Premium filler and final sand with 180 grit and then either paint or roll on some gel coat. Final sand with 220, 400, 800, 1200 and buff. For pic #5 I'd clean it real good with a wire brush and acetone and mix up some thickened gel coat then sand 220, 400, 800, 1200 and buff.

 

[bleedredandblue]

Re: Old Starcraft Chips/Nicks/Etc

Thanks, Woodonglass. Seems like a good approach. You prefer the 3M filler over Marine-tex? Also, is there a downside (i.e., UV exposure) to not painting/gelcoating after patching? The boat is housed in a garage when not on the water, and pics 1 - 4 are below the waterline. It's getting nice and warm in my part of the country, and part of me would like to put off a re-paint/re-gelcoat till the fall. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Old Starcraft Chips/Nicks/Etc

Re-Gelling can be done with a small roller in about 15 minutes. This entire repair should not take more than 2-3 hours total. The 3M filler will set up in 15 mins. Initial sanding about 30mins. Final fairing and sanding an hour and mixing, painting and sanding the gel coat another 30 minutes. Heck If I was there I would come over and drink a beer or two and we'd have it done in no time. DON'T forget to wash it down with ACETONE before applying the filler.

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Old Starcraft Chips/Nicks/Etc

Hi all --

Been lurking for so long, and stealing so much wisdom, I figured I finally oughtta come out of the shadows. (Okay, and I also need some help.)

Picked up a 1970 Starcraft Fisherman Deluxe (at least that's my best guess). Interior's been redone nicely. Exterior actually looks pretty good for its age, but it does have a few chips/cracks/nicks/etc. I'm a complete and utter novice when its comes to boating, much less boat repair, so I thought I'd run a few pics by you guys to get your take. Hoping these repairs are Marine-Tex-easy, not fiberglass-101-easy. (First four pics are below the waterline, btw, while the fifth is well above.)

Sorry if the pic quality is a little shoddy -- taking 'em in a garage at night probably didn't help...:facepalm:

Thanks again, guys, for all the help, and for all the help you've already provided to others that the rest of us have found so useful. God bless.

Welcome to Iboats.. .

Talking to a fiberglass guy should like talking to your lawyer.. TELL them Everything ! hehe..

Did somebody hit something ? Those cracks dont look like normal cracks..looks like impact.

I say from what I can see in your pics that It looks like you need to grind and put a layer or two of mat/resin on that first repair.

The others can be Texxed if you like..

When you see/feel that " Erm..I might want to talk to somebody that knows something " .. then its probably time to glass.

IMO..just looks like somethings leaching out of the cracks..its not cosmetic from the pics I see.

YD.

 

[bleedredandblue]

Re: Old Starcraft Chips/Nicks/Etc

Thanks, guys. Wish I could comment on the source of those first two cracks, Yacht Dr., but it's an old boat I only recently acquired. Could definitely have been a knock at some point. Also could've just been superficial cracking and then sat out in the Arizona sun in some guy's backyard for 10 years (which is what happened with the boat, I think), causing it to bleed/fade/etc. Wishful thinking? I guess I'll just go at with the grinder and get down in there to see if I can get a better idea of what I'm facing.

Woodonglass -- would this be a good combo if I go the filler/gelcoat route?

Filler

Gelcoat

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Old Starcraft Chips/Nicks/Etc

Filler is right, gel is paste you can use that for the above water line gouge. You need plain gel coat to cover the filler. It's almost like paint.

I was leanin towards tellin you to grind out that big one too, like YD, but then I thought about what you said and realized she was and old boat and you wanted her out quick so this might not be the absolute best way, but it WILL work, it is safe, and you'll be on the water quick.

http://www.westmarine.com/1/1/98739-gelcoat-701490-wax-white-qt.html

 

[bleedredandblue]

Re: Old Starcraft Chips/Nicks/Etc

Ah, so the plain gel coat will have roughly the same consistency of paint then too? Re: YD's suggestion vs. the gel coat, you hit it spot on -- she's an old rig, obtained a good price, and I don't need her back to factory or anything like that. Which isn't to say that making sure there aren't structural problems isn't worth doing. Just that, assuming it's not structural, something a little quicker seems to suit my situation best.

So when I grind it w/ an RO sander, that'll make a grind area significantly wider than the actual cracks/chips, correct? Bring it down enough to the hit glass, hit it with acetone, build back up with filler, go through the sanding/resanding process, gel-coat, then sand/buff? Sound about right?

Again, thanks so much for the help guys. I probably can't offer much boat-related assistance in the future, but should you find yourself in the Phoenix area, I'd be happy to at least pay you back with a few cold brews.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Old Starcraft Chips/Nicks/Etc

You got it! Post some pics when yer dun so we can all BRAG on ya!!!

 

[bleedredandblue]

Re: Old Starcraft Chips/Nicks/Etc

You got it, Wog. Thanks again!

 

[bleedredandblue]

Re: Old Starcraft Chips/Nicks/Etc

Hey guys, bringing up this thread after finally getting around to the repairs. Overall, not too terrible a process, particularly for a newbie like myself. Found the 3M marine filler to be very easy to worth with, though I had to work quickly as the warm weather in AZ made it begin to cure pretty quick. Found the gelcoat a little less user-friendly, though not terrible. Overall, I think the patches came out well.

At work right now, but I'll try to snap a few pics to post as proof of my efforts

Quick question, though -- is the filler waterproof in and of itself, or are the patches made waterproof b/c of the gelcoat? I only ask because I found one or two more nicks I'd like to fill but I'm low on gelcoat. Was wondering if I could just patch 'em with filler for now, hit the lake this weekend, then come back to finish it off with the gelcoat later. Thoughts?

Thanks again, all!

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Old Starcraft Chips/Nicks/Etc

3M Filler is 100% waterproof. GelCoat is slightly porous but does offer some waterproofing and UV protection. Post up them pics so we can BRAG on Ya!!!

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Old Starcraft Chips/Nicks/Etc

Hello again Redandblue ..

I can say for your current "nicks" do not fill them with anything. Ride your weekend out and Correctly repair when your good and ready ( boat wont sink ).

If you fill them now then Yes you have a possibility of having water intrusion in that Patch putty your using. No need to fill at the moment.

Secondly..If I read correctly.. you basically filled your Main repair ( the one in the first pic ) with 3m filler. This was Not the recommended way. That 3m ( Yes I know its vinylester based and below the waterline stuff ) is basically overglorified Bondo..

Use it for now..but you Might have to re-repair were you filled with putty. That was a glass crack..not a simple Stress crack IMHO from your pics.

I just wanted to state my mind in case some other member reads this thread thinking that 3m filler is a good idea with .. lets say more severe cracks than meets the eye.

YD.

PS. Im not bashing you and please dont take it that way

 

[bleedredandblue]

Re: Old Starcraft Chips/Nicks/Etc

If she were mine, Id use a RO sander with 40 grit paper and sand pic 1 through 4 down till i hit glass. Wash with acetone and then I would fill and fair with 3M Premium filler and final sand with 180 grit and then either paint or roll on some gel coat. Final sand with 220, 400, 800, 1200 and buff. For pic #5 I'd clean it real good with a wire brush and acetone and mix up some thickened gel coat then sand 220, 400, 800, 1200 and buff.

Hello again Redandblue ..

I can say for your current "nicks" do not fill them with anything. Ride your weekend out and Correctly repair when your good and ready ( boat wont sink ).

If you fill them now then Yes you have a possibility of having water intrusion in that Patch putty your using. No need to fill at the moment.

Secondly..If I read correctly.. you basically filled your Main repair ( the one in the first pic ) with 3m filler. This was Not the recommended way. That 3m ( Yes I know its vinylester based and below the waterline stuff ) is basically overglorified Bondo..

Use it for now..but you Might have to re-repair were you filled with putty. That was a glass crack..not a simple Stress crack IMHO from your pics.

I just wanted to state my mind in case some other member reads this thread thinking that 3m filler is a good idea with .. lets say more severe cracks than meets the eye.

YD.

PS. Im not bashing you and please dont take it that way

YD --

Thanks for the input. I did indeed use 3M Marine Filler, per the advice of Wood (above). After grinding out the crack in Pic 1, my (admittedly untrained) eye couldn't see any damage to glass -- really just seemed to be paint/gel cracking. Maybe this is revisionist history, and I'm just trying to make myself feel better about having gone the 3M route, but it's my story and I'm sticking to it

But let's play Devil's advocate. Suppose there was some glass damage. I've now gone and filled it with the marine filler and gelcoated over the top. How long can I expect that type of repair to last? When it "fails", what will happen -- filler crumbles/degrades, additional cracking appears, etc.? Mind you, the biggest of these chips/cracks couldn't have been more than 1 - 1.5" x maybe 1/8" deep. Sorry, more mental soothing...

Anyway, managed to snap one pic that turned out half-way decent in my darkened-by-night garage. Haven't bothered sanding/buffing the gelcoat yet, as it's not like the rest of the exterior is glimmering anyway (let's be honest -- it's a late 60s fishing boat; it's got the sorts of scratches, fade, etc. you'd expect out of a 40 year old boat. I figure a proper paint job is in the works this winter.)

As always, thanks for the help, guys. Always much appreciated.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Old Starcraft Chips/Nicks/Etc

BRB

You're FINE!!! Not to worry. LOT's and I mean LOT's of us iBoaters use the 3M filler to do these repaire exactly the way I descrived it to you and the way you did it, with GREAT success. Your issues were NOT that severe. IF they HAD been I would have given you other directions. Sand her smooth, put on some paint, and hit the water. Nothing to worry about here!!!!!

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Old Starcraft Chips/Nicks/Etc

Im sure everything will be fine.

Its just that I never use any Bond-o type fillers unless its to fill pinholes in glass repairs prior to gellin' ( Ive repaired a lot of failed repairs that were done "too deep" with bondo ).

The thing is ... these types of fillers have a different "hardness" and expansion and contraction rate than glass or gelcoat.. chances are higher for a repair to fail then using lets say Cabosil/resin/chopped glass for deeper repairs.

Just my 2c and does not mean your repair WILL fail.. just a heads up .

YD.

 

[bleedredandblue]

Re: Old Starcraft Chips/Nicks/Etc

BRB

You're FINE!!! Not to worry. LOT's and I mean LOT's of us iBoaters use the 3M filler to do these repaire exactly the way I descrived it to you and the way you did it, with GREAT success. Your issues were NOT that severe. IF they HAD been I would have given you other directions. Sand her smooth, put on some paint, and hit the water. Nothing to worry about here!!!!!

Im sure everything will be fine.

Its just that I never use any Bond-o type fillers unless its to fill pinholes in glass repairs prior to gellin' ( Ive repaired a lot of failed repairs that were done "too deep" with bondo ).

The thing is ... these types of fillers have a different "hardness" and expansion and contraction rate than glass or gelcoat.. chances are higher for a repair to fail then using lets say Cabosil/resin/chopped glass for deeper repairs.

Just my 2c and does not mean your repair WILL fail.. just a heads up .

YD.

Thanks for the extra info, guys, and for the additional reassurances, Wood. YD - you had me a little worried there - I was having visions of water filling the hull as I sat forlornly in the middle of Saguaro Lake! I definitely appreciate your concern for doing the repair right, though, and will certainly be keeping an eye on it throughout the summer to make sure everything holds up as it should.

Can't thank you guys enough for all the help you've provided. It's gone and made a novice boater much more comfortable with repairs, including any future ones that might require a bit more effort (read: glass work) than the current one did. As repayment, I hereby dedicate the boat's first catch to the both of you!

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Old Starcraft Chips/Nicks/Etc

I hereby dedicate the boat's first catch to the both of you!

I call Dibs on "Dr. Wood" !! .. Kinda 007ish if I might add ..

Wood would probably suggest "Wood Dr." .. And I have no problem with that .. if the first catch is a minnow ....

YD