New guy

[sonny1]

After thinking about it decided to wait until tomorrow to work on hole repair. Wife Says she will help me out in the morning on repair. Two sets of hands would work out a lot better than one. Did order three more 650k kits. Plan on sealing all the ribs on the inside of hull plus use the gluvit on the rivets.

 

[LDUBS]

The cloth with the epoxy on it actually adds a little more strength to the damaged area. There was a repair on the boat that had fiberglass cloth and now know the epoxy used to apply the cloth was 650k. It was solid and looked like a recent repair. Asked my wife if her brother ever made any repairs and she said no. He had the boat for at least 5 years. Hopefully I will have the same luck.

Thanks. I didn't even know they made this kind of repair kit for alum boats until I read your thread.

 

[thill]

That stuff works best WITH the cloth, especially on "swiss cheese" corrosion when prepped right.
I used a similar system on the first boat I posted here, back in 2011. I sandwiched it between the transom and the outer wood plate. Worked perfectly. I wonder if I posted that repair back then?

Glad to hear it's working for you, Sonny!

 

[sonny1]

It worked but wife got the epoxy in her hair and now has a 1/8 hole in her thumb. She is not happy. First step was wire brushed plates and boat. Then we cleaned everything with alcohol. Next was to take outside cloth and saturate in epoxy. Then apply to boat then we flipped the boat and added thicken epoxy. After that we add second saturated cloth Then with even a thicker mixture of expoxy we applied this to the backside of each pre drilled patch. Patch is about 3/32 thick. One hole in opposite corners pre drilled. Rivet as necessary to insure patch lye's flat on boat. Let cure until tomorrow afternoon and then clean it up if necessary. Pretty **** solid. Wife has told me she has quit. Need to find another helper. It is going to be a very long day she is pissed. I provided a 1x2 to hold the backside while I drilled and installed rivets. Did not know she did not understand. She was holding in place with fingers. Not good. I would have to say batch job was a success relationship with wife will require some work.

 

[sonny1]

I had originally bought two West System Aluminum repair kits 650k. Have only used one kit so far. The stuff goes a long way. Just recently went ahead and purchased 3 more kits. Plan on covering every rib on the boat inside and out with this stuff. Really amazed at how well this product works. There is no doubt in my mind that it seals and will stay sealed over time. Very happy with the stuff and would recommend it.

 

[Zip]

What specific filler are using for this? Its exactly how I plan to proceed.

 

[sonny1]

After I get the ribs sealed Plan on going over every dent on the boat with total fair 2 part epoxy. This stuff makes JB weld look like a joke. Talked to a few folks who work on boats for a living and they say the stuff is great. They say you can not use it over paint but bare aluminum it works. This means wire brushing to the max no excuses. We have done that so I really see no issues. Then we plan on going over anything that is left out such as rivets or any other might be problem areas with gluvit.

 

[sonny1]

What specific filler are using for this? Its exactly how I plan to proceed.

West System Aluminum repair kit 650k. The Kit is not cheap but it works. Everything you need is in the kit but you will have to order the fiberglass cloth separate but it is cheap.

 

[thill]

Getting drilled HURTS. Glad it was just a finger and not the middle of her hand where there are nerves, tendons, etc. Can't blame her for quitting. You will make jigs, blocks, use ratchet straps, to hold stuff and you will survive. Or get another helper, as you say. Give them a 2x block next time.

When riveting, I drill my holes a little small and use screws to hold the patch in place, nice and tight, then after the rest of the rivets are done, I pull the screws and rivet those holes to finish.

Just curious... did you float the boat to find the leaks before starting? Or is this just preemptive sealing?

 

[sonny1]

Like the idea of the screws going to give that a try. I did give her a block of wood but did not explain why. I should have taken the time and showed her what to do. Luckily her thumb looks better this morning. The boat had no leaks before I removed all the paint and sealants. During the process I found the repairs and cleaned all of the patch work off. 99% of the sealants is just preemptive. I figure since the boat is down to bare aluminum it is a good time to insure against the possibility of future problems. The boat is a 1984 model and it has been well used. Her brother owned it for over 5 years and he went fishing at least 3 times a week. I had a lot of respect for her brother and was a good friend. To rebuild this boat is a salute to him. Thank you for sharing the screw idea.

 

[Steph Boeker]

It worked but wife got the epoxy in her hair and now has a 1/8 hole in her thumb. She is not happy. First step was wire brushed plates and boat. Then we cleaned everything with alcohol. Next was to take outside cloth and saturate in epoxy. Then apply to boatView attachment 116630 then we flipped the boat and added thicken epoxy. After that we add second saturated clothView attachment 116631 Then with even a thicker mixture of expoxyView attachment 116632 we applied this to the backside of each pre drilled patch. Patch is about 3/32 thick. One hole in opposite corners pre drilled. Rivet as necessary to insure patch lye's flat on boat. View attachment 116633 View attachment 116635 Let cure until tomorrow afternoon and then clean it up if necessary. Pretty **** solid. Wife has told me she has quit. Need to find another helper. It is going to be a very long day she is pissed. I provided a 1x2 to hold the backside while I drilled and installed rivets. Did not know she did not understand. She was holding in place with fingers. Not good. I would have to say batch job was a success relationship with wife will require some work.

Did you ever find out what the lil' Misses' thought the 1x2 block was for ?

 

[sonny1]

She thought I was being nice because she had complained about the epoxy getting on her hands. Giving only a 5% chance of rain did not spread any epoxy today. Thunderstorm hit about half hour ago and is still going strong.

 

[sonny1]

Wifes thumb is fine no infection. Ran out of epoxy yesterday. Have some ordered and should be in either monday or tuesday. I am a little concerned about using the Total Fair epoxy. It is in the same category as JB weld. I have a lot of small dents I would like to fill prior to painting. It does say that it can be used below the water line and is paintable. Am concerned that it will crack and fall off the boat. Reality is apply it and see how it holds up. Anybody use this before?

 

[sonny1]

Weather is going to cooperate today so I am going to give the Total Fair a shot. Wire brush with stainless and clean with alcohol. Talked to a representative from Total Boat yesterday. He claims it will work. Did say it was important to seal with a good primer. We have that about 2 gallons worth of their two part epoxy made for aluminum. He added to spread it in thin coats and let cure vice filling deep dents in one pass. Getting area clean and slightly scratched seems to be the key to success. Not sealing holes just dents in hull. Would like to make it look good after all the money spent on primer and paint.

 

[sonny1]

Well the stuff worked great. When you mix the resin and hardener together it smells better than a Spanish ***** house on a Saturday night. Trust me I know what that smells like. Not anything like bondo for metal. Cure time is less than what they say. About 20 minutes tops. After that it becomes very difficult to spread smooth. Have plenty for job at hand so not worried about it. Have a orbit sander, regularly vibrate type and a special angle type sander. Thinking we got this covered all the way around. Really looking for a smooth surface along outside of hull so when we paint it will look sharp. Got this in today So now we can finish making sure everything is water tight. Plan on follow up with about 6 to 7 coats of primer Two part Total Boat Epoxy for aluminum. Zinc Chromate is Ok if you can not afford anything better but I prefer this. Not Made for aircraft actually Made for boats. Imagine that. Believe we are well on are way of restoring a 1984 Lone star.

 

[Steph Boeker]

Well the stuff worked great. View attachment 116739 View attachment 116740 When you mix the resin and hardener together it smells better than a Spanish ***** house on a Saturday night. Trust me I know what that smells like. Not anything like bondo for metal. Cure time is less than what they say. About 20 minutes tops. After that it becomes very difficult to spread smooth. Have plenty for job at hand so not worried about it. Have a orbit sander, regularly vibrate type and a special angle type sander. Thinking we got this covered all the way around. Really looking for a smooth surface along outside of hull so when we paint it will look sharp. Got this in today View attachment 116741 So now we can finish making sure everything is water tight. Plan on follow up with about 6 to 7 coats of primer Two part Total Boat Epoxy for aluminum. Zinc Chromate is Ok if you can not afford anything better but I prefer this. Not Made for aircraft actually Made for boats. Imagine that. Believe we are well on are way of restoring a 1984 Lone star.

Are these not the photo's of the repairs above that you sandwiched alum. & epoxy the other day w/ the wife ?? How many repairs did you have in all ?? It's amazing how clean you were able to keep the spreads.

 

[sonny1]

Not leak repairs. Have a few dents that I would like to smooth out prior to painting. Two holes and one questable area for leaks. Overall for an old boat that seen a lot of use not bad. Thought about knocking the dents out but this aluminum is really old and do not want to chance another hole. Have some body shop experience so spreading bondo is nothing new. Thanks for the compliment.

 

[sonny1]

Applied 605k today. Started back on the inside of hull and sealing all the ribs. Later on after dents are repaired plan on going over rivet's with some gluvit on inside of hull. Had to order some parts for my sanders. New pads were in order. Porter Cable so parts are easy to find. Found some sand paper I have used in the past which is made for sanding on plastic and bondo. Works pretty good and does not clog up like regular sand paper. I would like to feather the Total fair so it blends in better and will not be seen after I paint.

 

[sonny1]

Screwed up today. Had the boat braced up and applied the 605k and then turned the boat to soon. Lucky me it was only one small rib. The stuff ran out and now will will have to go back over it. Applied on port side and left the boat braced up. Not about to screw up again. It is not a foot race.

 

[sonny1]

Did nothing yesterday thanks to the rain. Got busy this morning and sealed the starboard side seam. Had to use this due to temperature outside. My high end Harbor Freight heat gun. Going to let the boat set at about 80 degree angle until about 4:00 o'clock.