1959 Lone Star El Dorado "Project Texas Tornado" (Another Boat)
- Thread starter luke000
- Start date
JustinLonghorn
No Purple Hearts, No Blue Ribbons
Wow, nice transformation on that.
luke000
Been Around the Block
Another update! I am on a roll lol. Turns out I knew someone who was in the upholstery business (grandmas friend) and when I went to her she offered me a price to make my covers that I could not refuse! Plus she had some of the exact materials I was after leftover from another project she had (metallic silver piping and the white sunbrealla) The only material she had to order in was the grey inner pieces. She had the seats for a couple months and I got them back yesterday and could not be happier with how they turned out! The next step is to just assemble the seats, that part I am going to take on myself. I need to decide what to do about the filling, either stick with what is there, use what is there and add some new material to it to give it a little more fluff, or go to a foam factory and have them cut some brand new foam for the seats. I am on a budget so I would like to save some money where possible but am willing to do what it takes to make the seats right. What do you think I should look into?
luke000
Been Around the Block
Got a line on a auto upholstery wholesaler near by, I talked to them about getting some new foam for my seats and they said come on by, a few hours later I had all nice new 3" foam cut to shape! Today my class this evening canceled due to the snow! With a second set of hands from my mom, we got the two large cushions all assembled! I have to say for $17.60 the little Harbor Freight pneumatic 20ga wide crown staple gun was invaluable! Worked great on my little pancake compressor right there in the living room. The cushions turned out great, I hope to do another pair tomorrow.
luke000
Been Around the Block
A few quick updates, I just finished the semester at school yesterday so to celebrate I went to the shop, took the tarp off for the first time this season and did a little bit of work on the boat to get it one step closer to painting. I made a patch to fill a hole that a PO crudely punched in the deck to install a manual windshield wiper, I welded the patch in with a TIG and some 5356 filler rod, after I did that I decided to fill in a few other holes that the PO drilled nearby for other gadgets. After I grind them down and blend the metal the repairs will be invisible (I hope). After that we fired the crane out back up, lifted the stern off the trailer and I put in the final 8 rivets for the transom knee brace, and as you can see I did not go lightly on the 5200!
Next step is to pick out and go buy the paint and lift the whole boat up, rotate it on the side and start to sand and paint the bottom! I think I have the paint I am going to use picked out (no thanks to the people at my local Sherwin Williams) I am going to sand/scuff the entire surface, prep the bare aluminum spots with a self etching or Zinc-Chromate primer, then shoot the entire boat in SeaGuard universal primer (http://protective.sherwin-williams.com/detail.jsp?A=sku-26520%3aproduct-6944) then finish it up with a few top coats with SeaGuard 1000 Marine Alkyd Enamel (http://protective.sherwin-williams.com/detail.jsp?A=sku-26490%3aproduct-6936) Does this seem like a decent choice? Let me know your opinion on the paint!
Next step is to pick out and go buy the paint and lift the whole boat up, rotate it on the side and start to sand and paint the bottom! I think I have the paint I am going to use picked out (no thanks to the people at my local Sherwin Williams) I am going to sand/scuff the entire surface, prep the bare aluminum spots with a self etching or Zinc-Chromate primer, then shoot the entire boat in SeaGuard universal primer (http://protective.sherwin-williams.com/detail.jsp?A=sku-26520%3aproduct-6944) then finish it up with a few top coats with SeaGuard 1000 Marine Alkyd Enamel (http://protective.sherwin-williams.com/detail.jsp?A=sku-26490%3aproduct-6936) Does this seem like a decent choice? Let me know your opinion on the paint!
luke000
Been Around the Block
I went over to the shop today and measured out the area for paint and came up that I will need roughly 300ft^2 worth of primer, 235ft^2 of white, 70ft^2 of orange, and only about 35ft^2 of black. I calculate I don't need a gallon of each paint. The SeaGuard primer covers 195-490 ft^2 per gallon depending on how thick it is put on (assuming 1 coat, and 2 to 5 dry mils of thickness) and when used with the Alkyd top coat they want you to stay closer to the 3 mil thickness giving me more than needed. The SeaGuard 1000 Alkyd covers 240-360 ft^2 per gallon (assuming 2 coats, 2-3 dry mils)
I hope to go up to Sherwin Williams tomorrow with some paint swatches and order up a few gallons of paint! I'm getting excited/nervous about to take the plunge of no return for paint, the part I have been dreading since I bought the boat.
I hope to go up to Sherwin Williams tomorrow with some paint swatches and order up a few gallons of paint! I'm getting excited/nervous about to take the plunge of no return for paint, the part I have been dreading since I bought the boat.
luke000
Been Around the Block
Alright, 4 gallons of paint are ordered up and should be here my the end of the week! I am going to make a run and also pick up some zinc chromate and enamel hardener soon as well. If anyone knows where to find some zinc chromate, that would be helpful! Next step is to get the boat lifted up and start to prep the bottom (maybe next week as the crane is being used for another project)
luke000
Been Around the Block
Still waiting on my paint to arrive and get tinted (primer didn't ship last time and my store did not have the correct toner for the top coat) So unfortunately there will be no painting this week, hopefully can get the bottom done on my days off next week as long as the weather holds out (Tuesday and Wednesday) But yesterday I did get the boat lifted up off the trailer and got the bottom sanded, ready for some paint! My arms felt like jello and I thought I would never get clean. I used an orbital for most of the space and then got around the rivets with some aggressive scotch brite pads.
Awesome. Those seat cushions came out killer!
luke000
Been Around the Block
After picking the brain of the guy at the store he sad the DTM wash primer is good to go straight onto aluminum as well as over previous paint. Yesterday I got the primer and first coat sprayed, and this morning I sprayed the second coat. Now to let cure for a few days or so before I put it back on the trailer. did use the Majic hardener and it seemed to work well. I did learn a few things that I will be using for the rest of the boat, the main one being the primer sprays nicely, but even thinned out (twice the recommended amount) the Seaguard 100 is too thick to spray with my gun (1.7mm tip, HVLP @28psi incoming) I got a lot of pulsing/sputtering from the gun resulting in uneven coverage and a few drip mark that will never be seen. I dd make it all work for the bottom and t turned out well, like the color (slight cream tint) But for the rest, am going to spray the DTM primer and roll the Seaguard. Slowly but surely the boat is coming together!
Primed:
Second coat:
Primed:
Second coat:
luke000
Been Around the Block
I think the worst is now behind me, I finally finished sanding all of the topside! I went through 2 ('m on my 3rd) Harbor freight sanders, a respirator filter and a few days of coming home covered in some nasty dust. The finish is really smooth now, i was able to get out most of the scratches, chips and dents. Today is my last day to get a few things done before I go back to work but I hope to get the boat cleaned and masked off on Sunday and spray some paint next Tuesday and Wednesday. I also sent UPD plastics an email to see if there is any update on my windshield, looking forwards to hearing about that! Pop2 
op2:
op2:
Gonna be a great looking vessel.
luke000
Been Around the Block
Final coat of white on! The paint looks pretty dang good! I got one small spot of a drip, but I will fix it in a few weeks once it is all nice and cured.
It is back to work for me today until Sunday, then I can mask off the orange and black parts and start to give the boat some character. I hope by this time next week the painting will be done and the fun part of the project can start.
Some small parts that got the white
It is back to work for me today until Sunday, then I can mask off the orange and black parts and start to give the boat some character. I hope by this time next week the painting will be done and the fun part of the project can start.
Some small parts that got the white
luke000
Been Around the Block
The paint is DONE! I cant believe I can finally say those four words but it's real. I worked in overdrive this past week masking and spraying, and battling wind, false forecasts for rain, my day job, and a landscaping company in the same dirt lot so dry that if you put water down that creates a dust cloud. There are a few small spots I want to touch up, but overall I am very happy with the final product and have gotten many compliments from those who have seen it. This is also my most successful painting project using a spray gun.
The first few pics are of the colors going down, then the final.
Sunday and Monday the black went down:
Than Tuesday and Wednesday the orange went down:
And the result!
The first few pics are of the colors going down, then the final.
Sunday and Monday the black went down:
Than Tuesday and Wednesday the orange went down:
And the result!
