Thread:

79 Bahner down under! Strip back & re-paint! Over-haul during winter!

Well its the offseason down here in Australia.

We didnt get much of a summer, but now the cold has set in, and i have decided the overhaul my 79 Bahner with Berkeley Jet Drive.

Attached a few pics for you to check out.... The original Black Metalflake looks good in the pics which were taken 12 months ago, but over the last season the paint started to crack and peel due to poor preparation by the previous owner.

So it was decided to get out the Razors and chip it off! Then out with the orbital sanders to get the remainding undercoat off.

You can see the original pin-striping in the Gelcoat that lies underneath. Too bad it cant be saved, but a nice new metallic Glitter paint job is on the cards! (Plus a Blown Big Block Chevy!)

Half a days work with 3 people and we got most of the deck done, and started to proceed down the sides.

Stay tuned!

Didn't want to use any chemicals just incase it affected the original Gelcoat. This is a first time spraying fiberglass for me, so thought it would be best just to strip it back manually. Tough work, but I enjoy working on it! Quite exciting seeing the original pin-striping re-appear!

Paint will most likely be a automotive based pearl paint.... Still deciding on colour scheme.... Followed by a binder with glitter, then clear over the top.

I also want to rip out the internal carpet and spray the inside of the hull. Looks better and easier to maintain / clean.

I've never, EVER struggled with something like this in my life! The transome cover WOULD NOT BUDGE!!!!!!!!! It was on there tight as a Freckle!!!

The trick ended up being some thinners in a spray bottle.... i sprayed it in the join between the Jet Housing and the cover. It basically melted the glues, resons, silicons, paint, powdercoating. The cover itself came away from the rear end of the boat no problems, it was the round seal around the Jet Drive that was the problem!

Then Presto after cutting myself with the razor blade, numerous swear words, cursing, ranting, raving, fits and dummy spits..... it finally let go!

Originally Posted by BAHNER79AUSTRALIA

I've never, EVER struggled with something like this in my life! The transome cover WOULD NOT BUDGE!!!!!!!!! It was on there tight as a Freckle!!!

The trick ended up being some thinners in a spray bottle.... i sprayed it in the join between the Jet Housing and the cover. It basically melted the glues, resons, silicons, paint, powdercoating. The cover itself came away from the rear end of the boat no problems, it was the round seal around the Jet Drive that was the problem!

Then Presto after cutting myself with the razor blade, numerous swear words, cursing, ranting, raving, fits and dummy spits..... it finally let go!

Stubborn...(you, not the boat)...LOL

Undecided at this stage if i want to spray paint the inside of the hull..... Does look tidy once its done, and easy to maintain, but there will be alot of prep work invloved to get the inside of the hull ready for paint due to all the glue and resins from the existing carpet...

One thing i wanted seen was the fuel tanks! They are such a nice shape and sit in the boat perfectly..... wanted them to be seen and not covered in carpet.....

These photos are of the Fuel Tanks.... before and after sort of thing. The crappy looking tank is how they both looked like before i started..... Loads of glue and crap as they were covered by carpet for god know's how many years. Chemicals were not working to remove it.... so after 5 hours of wire brushing, sanding, and polishing i finished one tank!

Was it worth it..... Yeah.

Now got to do the other one!

hey nice job on the tanks! now get back to work !

Here are some pics of how we flipped the Bahner..... (They arent all in order.... so dont follow any timeline)

Used my home made gantry that can be easily assembled.... (Pipe legs slot into larger pipe housings welded to I beam steel length.....) & $50 Block & Tackle....

Thought we would struggle with only 2 of us.... but with a bit of thinking, we managed just fine.

Now im ready to get to work on the underside of the hull..... some small patching areas.... and recoat with white.

Never used Gelcoat..... no idea what im doing..... Will need to do some research..... Anyone got any advice. Went to the local hardware shop, but they only have Gelcoat for painting on (Brush not spray)..... Can you do it with a roller and then sand it out and buff??

One of my mates told me i need Flow coat? He said Gelcoat is for the inside of a mould..... and the Flowcoat can be used for repairs from the wearing side.....

Any thoughts / advice would be greatly appreciated!

to right-hand-drive? = )

regards,
povertyjet

Ok, been a while since i have uploaded pics.... but i have some time now so here goes.

Spent a few weeks / months, grinding out cracks, hull damage, scratches and scrapes.

Used fibreglass & fibre-filler, and endless amounts of sanding paper to achieve the result i wanted.

Some areas i had to totally rebuild the shape from scratch, which took time, but the end result was worth the work.

Starting to get closer here....

Pretty happy with work so far.., building some good shape back, grounded all damage out, and its starting to look good. Wasn't happy with the drivers side LHS edge, so i re-glassed it in my second attempt to get the perfect lead in shape i wanted. Was difficult to get, the edge is on a large radius, got from a dull edge to a sharp edge, high to flow, fat to skinny.... however you want to put it.... It was difficult. Reason for all the work on the edge of the hull was it had sustained a fair bit of rock / submerged log damage. Had chipped alot of that leading edge away.

This was the major damage of the boat.... Had been a previous repair, with car paint over the top. Got out the grinder and started to dig.... After basically removing all of the fibreglass and creating a massive crater in the hull, i was soon to find a hole/crack that had broken into the runner... Water would drip from this area for days after use, so i knew something was wrong. Sure enough water had been leaking into the inside the floor, and had rotted out the original timber used floor. I removed as much wood as i could, cleaned the area and used a fibre-filler that i pressure fed into the cavity until it couldnt take any more.

I also ground out cracking in the gelcoat along the entire length of that runner, and re-filled. Once this was done, i re-glassed the main failure area in layers, until i built up enough thickness to start sanding and build back the shape to match the other side.

I totally reconstructed this end of the runner as it transitions into the bottom of the hull. I used the other side as a guide to achieve the shape i needed. The previous dodgy repair and damage had totally ruined the area and shape.

(Also included some photos from before i started the body work so you can see what damage area looked like. Area had been patched with car-paint with previous dodgy repair, then a 'knead it' type black steel putty had been placed along the extent of the crack.

Body work done, got loads of photos, but thought i would keep it brief.

Now, i have chosen to re-gel the bottom side of my boat by foam roller. Alot of people probably think this is a mistake, and prefer to use a gun, but i done alot of research and reading and have seen the roller technique done with great result. It was easier for me to roll as i have a small garage, dont have a spray gun or a compressor.

I am using a product called 'Flowcoat'. Very similar characteristics to gel-coat, but has the wax built in, so it cures in atmosphere, where gel-coat is normally sealed in the underlying layers in a mould when a boat hull is manufactured. You can use gelcoat also, but just need to add your wax in the final coat so it cures. I didnt want to thin the flowcoat mix for use in a gun as it can effect the flow-coat strength & molecular characteristics. This product is designed for painting / rolling, so it suited my application.

I roughened up the original gelcoat over the entire hull with 60-80 grit sandpaper, and cleaned down with thinners.

I decided to roll a small section on the nose to see workability of the product / cure time / finish / ease of application before i coat the entire hull.

The tools / products....

- Flowcoat & hardener
- Endless amounts of sandpaper (Only 5% shown in photos)
- Sanders
- Thinners
- Cut & Polish
- Orbital buffer
- Foam Rollers and trays
- Masking tape
- Mixing pot
- Acetone