Restoration Pages

Did you have the decks painted?

I paln on doing that after toe rail is done.

So you'll have them blasted, painted and then put the newly finished toe rail back down?

If at all possible, I'd like to know what your final cost was. I like to know what I'm getting myslef into.

repairing toe rails.

I finished this project last winter when I repainted the whole boat.

In order to make sure that the aluminum or steel is sealed you need to totally remove the Grey gooey stuff! Then grind or sand blast the corroded areas. We sanded them down. Then we prepped the area that was bare aluminum with an acid wash and then coated it with a zince chromate (aluminum hull). Then we covered with awl grip fairing and the awl grip hi build and then paint. Almost forgot that since we had the railing off and I always had water going over the toe rails where the cabin started because of a too small deck drain we bored the small drain out and reinserted a much larger drain that is flush to the teak. Now no water sits below the drain against the teak like it did before. Don't forget to use teff gel on the threads, I wouldn't use 5200 on the railing!!
Mark

The sandblaster we hired told us we did not need to acid wash the steel. He said when he was done the blasting, we just put on the epoxy. Is this the case?

I was under the impression we need to acid wash. Further, how the heck do we do this? Just wipe it on and let it dry?

aft deck restoration

Well, I am starting to see daylight in this project! Had to buy Meranti plywood and sealed it and epoxied the edges after fitting the pcs. to the boat. Formica came in this week and my Carpenter got it glued on and we are now nearly ready to trim it out. Bought 3/4" Pemko stainless to cover the seams. While the formica looks all white it actually has a nice bit of gold and brown flecks in it which accents the teak flooring and the rest of the teak trim.
Mark

aft deck restoration

Eric,

I have learned to take the easy way out here! The sistership to mine had the same project done a few years ago. John Y. is a person I look to for advice and wisdom. His 41 is a great target for me to chase. He has kept the boat in exceptional condition and identified things that the factory could have done better. For those items he has researched and made great decisions from what I can see. So I get the benefit of his work with out feeling like a guinnea pig! He said to use teak or Merenti plywod so for the extra $25 I followed his advice. So now you realize that I am cheating and not learning through the school of hard knocks!! Plus I also need to give credit where credit is due!

Hopefully early this summer we will have an opportunity to photo both boats together.
Mark

Sealing Plywood

Hi Mark,

A product called CPES is very good for sealing wood. Stands for Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer. Tests have been done that show it soaks deep into the wood many times deeper than typical thick epoxy like West or Maas. I like to use regular epoxy as a follow-up coat to the CPES applications. Have you ever used it?

EdL

aft deck restoration

Ed,
I believe it was Smiths CPES that we used. You are right on the money! as usual!
Mark

HELP

We have had the bottom blasted and need some plating (as expected). Do we have to use Interlux faring stuff or can we use some by say Color Flo etc? The Interlux stuff is very, very expensive.

Should faring be put on before or after primer or epoxy? Does this depend on what Interlux says?

What thickness of steel should we order?

The Interlux people said after we have the bottom blasted, we do not need to acid wash. They said to vaccum the steel and put the primer right on. Then start the epoxy at the proper time intervals etc. Does this sound correct? Anybody have experience with this?

We got it all sorted out.

I called Interlux. I also spoke with a few other compaines. They all suggested that Interlux was the only company to have a faring compund rated for under water.

We have some pictures of our bare hull, the epoxy layer and toe rail. Will post soon. She should be in the water in a week or so if all goes well with the welding.

bottom fairing: Interlux is only one to use!

My "awl faired hull" is not going to take that news well at all!!

Mark

How much was the Awl faring? Everyone I spoke with said Interlux was the only one. I spoke with Awl as well. They said they didn't offer a faring compund rated for underwater.

underwaterfairing

Matt,
I'll look at my invoicing but I am sure we used a 2 part awlfair for the hard chine areas of the hull. I did not fair the total hull but significant areas that are underwater were faired to be smoth.

Mark

bottom fairing cont.

Matt

the following is from awl grips site on hull restoration for blisters, you know those things glass boats get! This is the instructions for below the waterline.
I did not find anything about aluminum or steel hulls. My painter works for Palmer Johnson and had no qualms about the AWLFAIR. I will catch Greg G. on the Commander site and querry him as well.
Mark

Sealing of the exposed laminate.
Application of fairing compound to restore the form of the hull.
Sealing the fairing.
Application of a water barrier and anti-fouling coating.
1. Apply 2 or more contrasting color coats of 545 Primer-White and 545 Primer-Gray. These materials must be mixed without reducer and applied by brush or roller to force the material into the laminate, sealing voids and pin holes.
2. Apply AWL-FAIR¨ L.W. Epoxy Fairing Compound to restore the shape of the hull.

3. Seal the fairing. Apply contrasting color coats of 545 Primer to seal the AWL-FAIR¨ L.W. Mix the 545 Primer full bodied (i.e., no reducer) to avoid solvent entrapment in the system.

going faster without getting wet!

Sure Eric,
My boat is all about looking good and fast while she sits on the trailer for 9-10 months of our non boating weather. Heck this year I might be in line to launch in July again. Saw snow coming down again today!! We should hit 60 degrees in another 10 days if all goes well!!!

Below is a reply from Greg rgarding the AWL FAIR

Awl-Fair and other 100% solid epoxy are fine below the water line even though I know Us paint awlgrip has waffled on the issue. I have no worries and everyone seals it with barrier coat or with epoxy 545 primer so even inferior products could theoretically be used if sealed properly ( I wouldn’t use acrylic or bondo types anywhere on a boat except in filling pinholes above waterline.


Best regards,

Greg Gajcak

Imtra Corporation