Progress pics

[steelcomp]

Here's what I just finished tonight...after about 4 wks of filling, sanding, priming, more sanding and filling, more sanding, then more sanding, and finally, after some final sanding, it's done. This is one of those jobs where about half way through, you ask yourself, "why on earth did I ever start this?? Now that it's done, I'm glad I did.
This is what I started with:
The stringers had enough holes in them that I decided to just fill and paint them. I used hardwood dowels in the holes with good waterproof glue. Then I ground down the fiberglass around the hole, and covered the hole with a patch of matting, two layers thick. Then Bondo-glass (fiberglass re-enforced bondo) over that, and sand smooth with 80G.
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/...729floors5.jpg
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/...729floors6.jpg
After I got things as smooth as I wanted, I sprayed a couple of heavy coats of PolyPrime. This was about an hour of masking, and ten minutes of spraying.
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/...29floors10.jpg
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/...29floors11.jpg

[steelcomp]

Then more sanding, which revealed the spots I missed with the filler.
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/...29floors13.jpg
After some more filling, another couple of coats of PolyPrime, and lots more sanding, I was ready to start on the tops of the tunnels with the DA and 80G.
This is what they looked like when I started:
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/...729floors1.jpg
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/...729floors3.jpg
The tops of the tunnels were poorly done from the get go, as you can see in the photo. They took a week of evenings sanding with the DA, trying to get them flat and smooth. Then, another three nights of sanding by hand with 220g, to remove all the scratches and swirl marks from the DA. I started getting into the top layer of glass cloth in some areas, so I decided to stop sanding any further, even though there were still some low spots.
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/...29floors12.jpg

[EMCAM]

looks bitchin we are i the process of the same thing we have pic posted under under sj build up in here . looks like you are doing a great job

[steelcomp]

Finally, I said "good enough".
Then, again, the stringers were masked, and were painted black. Then hand sanded with 400G to get them smooth and remove a little orange peel, and also give the clear something to stick to. I sanded through in a couple of spots, so I had to re-mask and do a little touch-up. Then, finally, tonight, I did another marathon masking job, this time masking off the tops of the tunnels, and sprayed the clear. Here are the final results. They aren't perfect by any means, but when I look at the before and after pics, I'm pretty happy with how thay came out. My hat's of to you guys that do this for a living. This was nothing more than plain ol' hard work, and a pain in the a$$!
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/...29floors15.jpg
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/...29floors16.jpg
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/...29floors20.jpg

[steelcomp]

looks bitchin we are i the process of the same thing we have pic posted under under sj build up in here . looks like you are doing a great jobThanks EM...I'm dying to get this thing done!!! :cry:
Tomorrow it gets flipped, and I can finish my intake install, and do some bottom work. Then it starts going back together.

[EMCAM]

wait now i saw all the pics way bitchen Our build is an econo build just to get through the summer and then sell.

[Cas]

Looks great steel! pride of ownership sure shows.....excellent work!

[Squirtcha?]

Nice work Scott. After doing all that I'm betting you know why most the manufacturers didn't got to those lengths when they built the boats?
They wouldn't make a nickel after putting in all that time.

[Kachina26]

Very nice! I'd sooner have a hot poker shoved up my A$$ than do that much sanding! (I've done too many unfinished furniture projects) Hats off to you!

[olbiezer]

great job steel.....all the restoring jobs i have done i did the old fashioned way......i paid someone to do it! :220v: