# Stripping then resurfacing, then modding!



## kemical (May 8, 2008)

ok guys i thought i would share my steps by steps on my lil project, 
day 1. 5-8-08... stripping, here are some photos

i will be putting step by step photos on here, 

enjoy..
please feel free to lend me some advice,, i greatly appreciate them. you guys been doing this longer than i have ,, so you know what ya'll are doing,, thanks


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## Mossy535 (May 8, 2008)

So, what brand of stripper are your using and what are your thoughts on how it performs?

I'll be going through the same process shortly, so any info is appreciated.

Mark


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## kemical (May 8, 2008)

Mossy535 said:


> So, what brand of stripper are your using and what are your thoughts on how it performs?
> 
> I'll be going through the same process shortly, so any info is appreciated.
> 
> Mark



this is what im using,,,, works pretty good like it says,, wait 15 mins start scrapping with a plastic scrapper,, comes off like butter,, i did noticed some stubborn spots,, had to spray a lil bit more,, oh btw it came with a spray bottle ,, so im spraying away.. pretty good..lol


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## Jim (May 8, 2008)

Nice! Thanks for the progress report!


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## FishingBuds (May 8, 2008)

Yep i used the Klean-strip stuff too, I painted it on and put plenty. Look for it to bubble up the paint, scrapes right off that way.

I feel for ya on this part-that was a rough spot for me.


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## kemical (May 8, 2008)

FishingBuds said:


> Yep i used the Klean-strip stuff too, I painted it on and put plenty. Look for it to bubble up the paint, scrapes right off that way.
> 
> I feel for ya on this part-that was a rough spot for me.



THANKS for tha tip!!! i saw that when it bubbles up, tomorrow i will try that!! thanks again


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## kemical (May 10, 2008)

i stripped down to aluminum,,, and found some of the rivots where covered in a rubber substance,, i think its epoxy,, anyways after i completely stripped it,, how do i fix the loose rivots?? how to i make it tighter so when i resurface the bottom of the boat, it wont jiggle of leave an air pocket!, im lost on the rivot thing i want to make it tight again so i wont have any leaks

thanks


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## Ouachita (May 11, 2008)

You need to tighten the rivets by having someone hold a heavy metal bar on the inside of the boat against the rivet then from the outside tap the rivet with a sledge hammer. If you know anyone that has a rivet set this would be best so you don't deform the rivet on the outside of the boat too much. It doesn't take a lot of force to start to flatten out that rivet on the inside of the boat. Try doing some up on the side rail for practice first. I did this with a rivet setter in a air chisel with a sledg hammer as a backup inside the boat. I can get you the website info where I ordered the rivet setter if you want. It is just a punch that is hollowed out to match the head of the rivet. Remember, the rivets are aluminum too so they are soft metal.


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## Waterwings (May 11, 2008)

Looking good! Make sure you guys using the stripper products have some ventilation, and don't close yourselves up in a garage with the fumes. :shock:


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## kemical (May 12, 2008)

what if, i clean it up real good on the rivets,, and heat with regular propane torch and touch stick to each loose rivet?? will that work too??.. it will make it hard and it wont leak again.. 
cuz i noticed the ones that are loose, are the ones with the crossbeams, (the inside of the boat)i cant get the rivets becuz the beam is on top of the rivet.?? 

either way i will be using an epoxy to seal the deal,,


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## FishingBuds (May 12, 2008)

kemical, I don't fool with old rivets.

I simply drill out the old rivet and get said fitted bolt, add some 5200 marine caulk from Wal-Mart and I'm done with it. I've done the last two boat projects this way. Its been fine  no leaks [-X


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## kemical (May 12, 2008)

FishingBuds said:


> kemical, I don't fool with old rivets.
> 
> I simply drill out the old rivet and get said fitted bolt, add some 5200 marine caulk from Wal-Mart and I'm done with it. I've done the last two boat projects this way. Its been fine  no leaks [-X



when u say fitted bolts, what do u mean??

today *[day 2] *(5-12-08).. just finished scrapping all the paint off..

and i just realized pretty much the whole underside of the boat all rivets are covered in epoxy,, there all lose..... ."F*%$!!!! "

Why do i have a bad feeling im gonna have to drill out all these damn rivets and put in nuts and bolts with 5200 or JB,,ahhhhhh!!!


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## kemical (May 12, 2008)

kemical said:


> FishingBuds said:
> 
> 
> > kemical, I don't fool with old rivets.
> ...


..

ahh can i just propane torch it ????


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## Mossy535 (May 12, 2008)

kemical said:


> when u say fitted bolts, what do u mean??
> 
> today day 2 (5-12-08).. just finished scrapping all the paint off..
> 
> ...



Did the stripper remove the epoxy coating, or are you just noticing they're loose now that you've got the paint off?

You're about to scare me away from using stripper to remove the paint on my MirroCraft! 8-[ 

Mark


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## FishingBuds (May 12, 2008)

Fitted meaning-underside I used 10 head 3/8 long(something with a really flat head as possible) on my sides I used an 8 head 1/4 long, shop for them. I went to several stores before I settled on something-custom fit bubba :wink: 

you know if you have that many rivets and are epoxy over I'd do this- set up the boat on horses, fill with water and then have a crayon ready, get underneath the boat and circle where you have leaks, now hopefully its not everyone(couldn't be) then you can replace at will... But if you don't leak like you expected then great, you'll just paint over the epoxy job and be fine.

now I had an area that was epoxy that I found at the bow when I stripped paint and I didn't do nothen fancy except making sure it was cleaned to paint. Keep in mind that you will also help with sealing these leaks with a heavy coat of paint too. when I painted my underneath I laid it on thick, and I mean thick.

My jon was pretty rough and I really found out how rough it was when I took it down to bare metal, I was wondering if it would float after I got done with it, just the project jitters for me. hang in there tho, you'll have that baby floating fine.

Mark paint stripper is fine, it will not knock loose rivets, like I said when I stripped on my boat is when I found a decent size epoxy area, I did not desturb the area anymore than removing the old paint.

Now keep this in mind too, alot of bolts and nuts and washers will add up quick-I ended up spending about $35 bucks on bolts and nuts but, this was not all at once. Alot of hardware goes in them don't they, I guess thats why they call them PROJECTs :lol: 

Keep us posted on your results fellas


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## Mossy535 (May 12, 2008)

FishingBuds said:


> Mark paint stripper is fine, it will not knock loose rivets, like I said when I stripped on my boat is when I found a decent size epoxy area, I did not desturb the area anymore than removing the old paint.
> 
> Now keep this in mind too, alot of bolts and nuts and washers will add up quick-I ended up spending about $35 bucks on bolts and nuts but, this was not all at once. Alot of hardware goes in them don't they, I guess thats why they call them PROJECTs :lol:



Thanks for the info! If I can get by with $35 in hardware I'll be amazed. Every fastener I've touched has been carbon steel, and about 50% of them had to have the head ground off because the nuts were rusted on solid. I also had occasion to use that nut splitter I bought a couple years ago. 

But all the bits and pieces are finally off so now I get to clean it up and get ready for primer, figuring out the layout, then final paint and completing the build.

Mark


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## FishingBuds (May 13, 2008)

cool, the strip and paint was hardest for me, once I passed that the rest was cake  good luck


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## kemical (May 13, 2008)

lol.. i try to soldering it today to try on one rivet, just to test it out how will it work,,funny thing was that whatever line, that metal rope it came with my kit,, didnt even stick to the aluminum, lol,, it turned with the rivet...lol.. i guess im going to jd it or epoxy it, then gonna resurface it with a epoxy sealant,,oh well!!!


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## kemical (May 15, 2008)

FishingBuds said:


> kemical, I don't fool with old rivets.
> 
> I simply drill out the old rivet and get said fitted bolt, add some 5200 marine caulk from Wal-Mart and I'm done with it. I've done the last two boat projects this way. Its been fine  no leaks [-X



alright, i think i know what u mean now, about getting fitted bolt,,, and add some 5200,,, i think will do that,, cuz there is exactly 70 rivets that need to be 1.replaced or 2. soldered, 3. fitted bolt,, since i dont have rivetor,,and i dont think the one from homedepot https://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wc...langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100488978
wont do,,, i dunno,, so i figure i will take FishingBuds advice.. looks easier..lol.. i see 2 of the rivets were replace with screw and bolt with some epoxy,, and it wasnt leaking from there,, soo i will drill them out,, but i had 1 question..

what size bolt and nut is that you use on a aluminum boat..??

*[DAY 3]*here is the update on the boat.. finish completly sanding it with 80 grit orbital sander

thanks guys,, no one ever said this was going to be easy,, but thanks to this site and your advice, is really keeping me not to stop,, if i dint have this help,, trust me i wuld of gave up alonggggggggg time agoooooo..lol

thanks again


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## kemical (May 15, 2008)

talking to my neighbor, he was telling me it is very simply to RErivet theses holes,, i was looking at it,, and i was also thinking about RErivet them,, what *do you think,, should i just redo it, or nut and bolt it??*

you guys should know this,, your answer is in your hands,,lol..

thanks guys!!


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## FishingBuds (May 15, 2008)

kemical said:


> FishingBuds said:
> 
> 
> > but i had 1 question..
> ...



On the bottom I'd go with at least a 10 head === IF and only IF its head seems flatter(less drag on water and get hung on trailer accidentally and strip loose) I usually used the number 10 head it seemed flatter-by the way it was a flat head screw drive type also-the phillips heads was fatter.

No washer on the head side-just a washer on the nut side-have the bolt long enough to poke thru (maybe a 1/4 inch long) and nut tighten up on it with said washer-with no washer on head side you will shoot it with the 5200(and I shot the hole too)

Your first photo looks just like what I uncovered on my boat too.

Your correct on hows it going for ya-that was the tuffiest part of the job in my oppion on stripping and bolts and painting  

I'm excited for ya man-keep it up =D>


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## Quackrstackr (May 15, 2008)

I have an air operated chisel for use with an air compressor.

I took one of the chisel bits, cut the end off and dished it in the end to closely match the mushroom shape of the heads. If I have a helper to hold a small hand held anvil on the opposite side, I can tighten an entire boat in a half an hour. 8) 

I've done 3 boats now and all of them were as tight as brand new when I finished. Some of the rivets were bad enough that they were about to fall out and the boat leaked like a seive.

You have to watch that chisel, though. If you hit it too hard or too long, it will knock a hole completely through the boat. Those rivets are soft.


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## GregE (May 17, 2008)

kemical said:


> talking to my neighbor, he was telling me it is very simply to RErivet theses holes,, i was looking at it,, and i was also thinking about RErivet them,, what *do you think,, should i just redo it, or nut and bolt it??*
> 
> you guys should know this,, your answer is in your hands,,lol..
> 
> thanks guys!!



I'd drill out the rivets and re-rivet. Should be able to do it with a handheld rivet tool. Then seal each with a product called Gluvit. (https://www.marinetex.com/PRODUCT%20PAGE_files/All%20Gluvit/gluvit%20prod%20in.htm) I have not used this personally, but expert boat restore sources say it's an aluminum boat's best friend.


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## kemical (May 18, 2008)

*[DAY 4 & 5]*

ok sat & today i worked on the boat,, preparing to mineral spirit the boat before i start Rerivet , im sealing it with JB weld.
i drilled out all the revets from the bottom of the boat (70) rivets,, im tired,, i sanded , brushed every thing so when i rerivet them it is nice and clean for the JB weld,, now it says on the package wait 16 hours before applying anything to it,, so im am waiting, tomorrow i am calling fascoepoxies.com to get that stellflex,, by then all the rivets have been sealed pretty good,

now i found a crack on the back of the boat, i also used JB weld.. that back of the boat was really messed up,, hopefully it wont give me any probs..
here are the photos.. of sat and sun..

went fishing sat morning,, cought 2 lil smallmouth bass,, pretty sad,, wanted my boat instead of being in the water.. and my son didnt catch a thing,, 
but last night around 12am we went night fishing,, out on the causeway..(here in florida)https://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=27.972004,-82.602897&spn=0.023878,0.047035&t=h&z=15 
went fishing for the first time at night,, he cought a big o CATFISH,, wierd looking one,, it had a mohawk,,lol and a stingray,, he was soo happy,, since we started fishing about 2months now, and he has never cought anything,,
anyways,, just wanted to shared that with someone,,lol...but back to the boat,, hopefully i have this project done by sat night ,, his bday is sunday,, want to take him fishing on the boat 

so im determine to get this done by then,,
(my hands still shaking from the vibration of the sander,,lol

ok guys , thanks a bunch with all ur advice and experience!!


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## kemical (May 20, 2008)

went today to local marine hardware store,, for GLUV IT,,, they want $115... GET THE F%@$ OUT !!!

how much was for steelflex again,, did i seen somewhere for $65..if someone has that post please link it ,, i guess im going to have to order it,, its ridiculous .. $115 for a gallon..


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## DiverDog357 (Nov 17, 2008)

I was looking for it myself last night. Here it is. www.fascoepoxies.com


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## Cheeseball (Nov 18, 2008)

FishingBuds said:



> kemical, I don't fool with old rivets.
> 
> I simply drill out the old rivet and get said fitted bolt, add some 5200 marine caulk from Wal-Mart and I'm done with it. I've done the last two boat projects this way. Its been fine  no leaks [-X



FishingBuds, did you use some sort of locking warsher or were you not worried about the bolts vibrating lose?

Kemical, I need to strip my boat as well, but I'm working outside. Does that stuff your using say on the lable that it will work in the cold?


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## kemical (Nov 18, 2008)

ill let you know. ill go out and check it out tomorrow moring,, its in the shed an dits pretty much dark and cold outside,,lol so ill let you know sometime this week,,


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## FishingBuds (Nov 19, 2008)

Cheeseball said:


> FishingBuds said:
> 
> 
> > kemical, I don't fool with old rivets.
> ...



I used the self locking nut(plastic inside) I will add that depending on how many you need to replace will determine cost for me, Nuts and bolts add up quickly now-a-days, so its your choice.

I understand on a major over-hall of 25 or more rivets you'd seek to replace with rivets verses bolts.

Kemical sounds like your coming along fine


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## kemical (Nov 19, 2008)

i sold that boat along time ago,,lol i stripped it, fixed it up. didnt paint it. left it nice and clean.. sold it for $300


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