1959 Lone Star El Dorado "Project Texas Tornado" (Another Boat)

Got a few paints on the transom skin today before classes started. I scuffed everything with green scotch brite and washed it down with 50/50 water vinegar, let that sit for a few white I picked up some dupli color self etching primer and then I gave everything 4 light coats. Hopefully I can start getting the transom in its final position within a week!






 
Well I got the paint applied today- it took 2 cans of primer and 5 cans of white. It was going ok- the white does not cover all that well- but I got to my final coat and opened up my last can and started to spray and it came out really globby, rough, and full of propellant bubbles and it ruined a few spot on the engine that I will need to sand and re-coat in a week when the paint cures. The only other thing I noticed was it did not seem to have very even gloss on the hood. It looks good from a distance at least! And the small parts and mounting bracket turned out great!








 
Today was in the upper 80's but the humidity was only around 60-75 percent so it was within my engine paint's acceptable conditions. I got the engine sanded down with 400 and put another coat of paint on- this one turned out a lot better- still not perfect (the paint does not go on nice, lots of splatter in the paint due to trapped propellant, I don't recommend the duplicolor engine enamel for anything! very hard to get an even gloss and does not cover well) But I think it is acceptable now, mostly because I don't want to spend any more money on the paint!

I am waiting on a few parts to start putting the engine back together including a new cowl gasket I purchased from North York Marine, a new fuel connector, and a new tilt bushing. I still need to order some decals for the engine, I have 2 choices I am torn between on eBay. What do you guys think will look better?

Option 1
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Evinrude-1984-70hp-Outboard-Decal-Kit-Discontinued-Decal-Reproductions-in-Stock-/110996234811?hash=item19d7e4223b&vxp=mtr

OR

Option 2 No VRO (Cheaper= Luke happy!)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Evinrude-Outboard-Hood-Decals-70hp-/371358268044?hash=item5676ad7a8c&vxp=mtr


I was going to get ready to purchase a new prop because the one I have is kinda chewed up and unbalanced- But then i realized it was a stainless prop painted black! I dropped it off a prop repair place today to get a quote on reconditioning it. I am going to find out early this week what it will cost and make my decision on if I want to get mine tuned up or just purchase a new aluminum one.




 
been digin' your project here - lots of nice work. Great to see a cool old boat brought back to life instead of getting scuttled. Sorry to see you having trouble with the paint. I use this paint all the time - very rare to have a bad can. Generally absolutely excellent spray - no spitting or dripping at all. Maybe try out another can from a different supplier? Maybe your source had it on the shelf a long time. Would be a real easy job to scuff it smooth and get a nice finish.

That's a tough choice on the decals. I'd go with what I thought was the higher quality - hard to tell with out buying both though. Does look like they both don't fit the same engine cover. One looks symmetric (the one installed) and the other looks like it has to be installed level on the bottom. (edit) looked at your cover - guess you could use either!

Keep it going - want to see the finished product and maiden voyage!
 
For me, I like the lighter colour combo but either way it's gonna look sweet and fresh 8)
 

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jpmobius said:
been digin' your project here - lots of nice work. Great to see a cool old boat brought back to life instead of getting scuttled. Sorry to see you having trouble with the paint. I use this paint all the time - very rare to have a bad can. Generally absolutely excellent spray - no spitting or dripping at all. Maybe try out another can from a different supplier? Maybe your source had it on the shelf a long time. Would be a real easy job to scuff it smooth and get a nice finish.

That's a tough choice on the decals. I'd go with what I thought was the higher quality - hard to tell with out buying both though. Does look like they both don't fit the same engine cover. One looks symmetric (the one installed) and the other looks like it has to be installed level on the bottom. (edit) looked at your cover - guess you could use either!

Keep it going - want to see the finished product and maiden voyage!

I have the engine to as good of a point for me. I have used about 9 cans of that paint and only about 3 or 4 didn't have spraying issues of spitting. I really would like to scuff it up and do another coat but I am done giving duplicolor $7 for a can of paint just to have it do it again. I bought all the cans at a total of 4 different stores (2 orileys and 2 advanced auto) Its good enough for me at this point.

andycafe said:
For me, I like the lighter colour combo but either way it's gonna look sweet and fresh 8)

I ended up going with this decal, it was cheaper and covered more area to hide bad paint haha!
 
luke000 said:
I have the engine to as good of a point for me. I have used about 9 cans of that paint and only about 3 or 4 didn't have spraying issues of spitting. I really would like to scuff it up and do another coat but I am done giving duplicolor $7 for a can of paint just to have it do it again. I bought all the cans at a total of 4 different stores (2 orileys and 2 advanced auto) Its good enough for me at this point.
Yeah, sometimes you simply have to cut your losses. You would have had more than that in it if you had used urethane plus the mess and hassle. Surprising about the paint - like I said, I use it a lot and it is uncommonly fantastic both in material and in spray pattern. Spray bombs have really come a long way. It will look killer with the new decals regardless - I'd reckon the factory paint on that outboard back then was more industrial than refined anyway. Plus, once it is all together you'll never notice the minor paint defects on the engine! Be careful with gasoline and solvents - it isn't very fuel-proof if you don't bake it, and most of it won't get near hot enough to do so once you start running it.
 
While waiting for the final outboard parts to get here I decided to make a run over to the boat today and finish in most of the rivets that hold the transom in. I got them all in except for 8 at the bottom of the knee brace, for that I will need to lift the boat off the trailer so I can get the pneumatic hammer in there. All the rivets holding the side braces to the hull were dipped in 5200 to ensure a tight seal. Next step for the boat is to get the port holes repaired and installed.







 
I got a lot of work done today- I took the port holes that I took off the boat and straightened them back out (They were very bent up when I bought the boat, so much so that the hull had looked bent), removed some of the remaining rivets for the latches/hinges, replaced the foam rubber gasket (west marine had 7-feet for $40, instead found some at the hardware store 10-feet for $4) I used 9.75 feet!

I went up to the boat with my little brother and the air compressor and we installed both portholes. It was REALLY hot up in the bow of the boat for me bucking all those rivets! Only took about 2 hours from start to finish. It took some doing to get the new screen lined up and taught but in the end we got it (it gets sandwiched between the inside porthole and the hull)

Net step- interior PAINT PREP!!! :eek:







 
Measured the inside of the boat today of surfaces that need to get painted and ordered up 2 quarts or Tuff Coat MP-10 metal primer and 2 gallons of light gray Tuff Coat smooth ruberized coating. I am not looking forward to sanding the inside because of all the specked paint flakes off and is magically drawn to sweaty skin and adheres haha. Plus its going to be upper 80's for the next few days!
 
Missed a few updates up to last night, but the interior is painted! I got the rest of the inside sanded, vacuumed, and then got a hold of a hot water/steam power washer and cleaned the inside really well. That was last week, and yesterday I got the interior masked off, primed and painted. I used Tuff Coat rubberized non-skid paint, and their MP-10 metal primer. I used a regular HF spray gun for the primer and a HF hopper gun (highly recommended) for the top coats.


Steam Washing





Masked off





Primed





Painted!



 
Really looking great sir! What attaches to all the empty holes in the hard top?
 
jpmobius said:
Really looking great sir! What attaches to all the empty holes in the hard top?

The one in the center is for the anchor light, and there are two on the side for grab rails that run along the top.

 
Actually I was looking at the b pillars and the aft bulkhead. Guessing that canvas companionway cover attaches to the bulkhead but don't see what goes on the pillars.
 
jpmobius said:
Actually I was looking at the b pillars and the aft bulkhead. Guessing that canvas companionway cover attaches to the bulkhead but don't see what goes on the pillars.

OHHH, yeah there are some snaps for a cover that go there as well as an interior light on the starboard side.
 
ridesolo said:
Great write-up and excellent work so far. How's it coming?

Happy new year everyone! I apologies for my absence from the boards for a while and the lack of updates on the project, the truth is not much has been completed on the boat since my last update. I started my senior year of college and have had very little time, along with a good number of other setbacks. But as far as setbacks go I am leaving them all in 2015. I did manage to find myself a few other little projects along the way, including a cool little 1949 Scott Atwater 7.5HP motor that I picked up at an estate auction, that I am currently restoring as a kicker for this boat! On the outside she is crusty, but mechanically it is in great condition! In the spirit of the new year,I am going to make it my year goal to finish the Lone*Star by the end of summer!

A short list of the big things I need to still accomplish are:
- Order up a replacement windshield from UPD with my tax refund
- Once the weather starts to warm up get the outside of the boat painted
- Install floor and carpet
- Make side panels (and flotation foam)
- Get seats upholstered
- Install interior
- Install electrical
- Install motor
- Enjoy!

That was just a short list of things I need to accomplish and by no means a complete list.

The next big step is going to be painting the boat, I want to keep the original paint scheme best as possible, I am most likely going to try and do a roll and tip method, but I am open to other suggestions, I have no clue on what paints to use, besides I want to stick with Sherwin Williams products (I can get a very good deal on them) So in the next few months I am going to be asking a lot of paint questions! I Don't want to skimp on paint quality, my most important considerations are the final finish and ease of application.

2015 was a very slow year on the project but 2016 will be the year of the Lone*Star for me!

And a quick before picture of the Scott Atwater...





 
A few weeks ago I was at an estate auction trying to buy a cool old '64 CB77 (lost out at $160, no title, rusty, seized engine) but I walked away with a load of goodies, one of them was a 1949 Scott Atwater 7.5HP outboard. I figured I could freshen it up for a nice little accessory motor for the boat. This is one of the first motors made with forward neutral and reverse. Although rough on the outside, it was in mechanically excellent shape considering the age. I started the process a few days before Xmas and worked on it in my spare time. I somehow lost all of my pictures of the work I did to the motor but it is done now! I have not started it up yet besides for a quick second on a sprtiz of gas to see it it would fire (still waiting on some lubriplate 105 I ordered for the lower unit). The points were fairly dirty causing there to be no spark, but otherwise the motor was mechanically in great condition! It looks like the PO had cleaned out the carb before it was put away last time. The starboard side mounting bracket had been cracked at one time, someone started to groove out the crack to weld it, but did a poor job and abandoned the idea and made a crude reinforcing brace that they bolted on. I completed the job properly by welding the casting with a TIG. Otherwise not much needed to be done besides cleaning everything up, sanding it down and painting it. I also polished some of the parts for a nice touch.

Anyways- here are some pictures of the project!







 
Cool - a very lucky find! Going to be a great addition to your boat. Too bad you lost your pics - but you have to post some after pics at least!
 
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