FordsnFishin

Ahh, I had assumed they did the whole boat.

Right, I got that lol. 1200 for them to strip the boat and redo it sounds very cheap.

$1200 sounds like a steal. Those are some fast hulls! Yeah, I thought it as strange as well that charger did that. But I called charger directly and talked to them. Apparently they did this until 2002. But, the boats a 96. So 23 years out of a clear coat sounds pretty amazing to me.

Scum frog on cheap end. I throw spro frogs mainly. Expensive but can last a very long time. Guess I'm going to have to give the pad crasher a shot.

"Only those who dare to fail greatly, can achieve greatly" Robert Kennedy. I'm built for hard work. If I were to never try something, how would I get better at it? When my mind is set on something, I do it. Sometimes these things work out, sometimes they don't. But the knowledge I learned from it is far more valuable than the end result.

It needs to be read under a load to be reliable. Therefore a meter you could see as you used it would be helpful. My trolling motor has a 4 bar system built into the front of it that I find myself checking often.

3 a day keeps the doctor away!

Sorry, I know this is a long post and I'm sure you haven't read everything. Charger, the maker of my boat did not actually put gel coats on these boats. They used a thin clear coat inside the molds.

Okay, perhaps every single thing im doing is wrong. But I've decided to go for it and worst case everything will look like hell and it will will be a learning experience for me. I've started preparing the surface for a clear coat. I ended up purchasing a automotive 2 part clear coat. I know I know, you can lead a horse to water but you can't force him to drink it. But from tons of reading it's actually a very common practice for a lot of guys doing fancy paint jobs anymore. An they are getting great results and many are seeing 5 to 10 years with it still in great shape. So time will tell. Im using f1 ultimate 2 part f710 clear coat. The guy I bought it from has used it several times with great results. He mentioned it's even thick enough that that he suggested I roll it on and tip with a brush where needed. So that is my plan. I've purchased several of the dense foam rollers that I will use to apply. Plan on 2 coats, says flash coat in approximately 10 minutes and apply your 2nd coat. So im assuming I'll get roughly one side covered and go back to the front and start the 2nd. Dry 24 hours, 1000 grit sand any runs or orange peel and buff to shine. As of right now im doing a lot of sanding. Im essentially done with one side. The more I dug into I found how much that originally clear coat has yellowed. I started out using 400 grit with not much results besides a sore arm. Went to 220 grit with better results but still tons of work and fighting the yellowed clear coat next to the rub rail. So I actually, with many advising against, I brought out my electric palm sander and im using 150 grit to remove the yellowing coat. It is actually appearing to work very well, and while being careful hardly removing any of the green paint and exposing the silver flake. From my understanding, with the surface roughed up and wiping it with a wet cloth that is essentially what it will look like clear coated. If that's the case im very happy with my results. After the base sand im going to go over everything with 220 wet sand and clean everything up with acetone. 220 should be plenty for a clear coat to grip correctly? Im shooting from the hip here as I've never done this before, but I feel like I'm moving in the right direction. Any comment or suggestion is appreciated. Couple photos before clear coat. Apologize if it's hard to see any difference. Not sure how it will show in photos. Here's a couple after sanding. Couple after sanding

Use automatic if it's 75+ degrees out. The drain on your battery is minimal.

Decided on going with uv gel coat. Going to put a order through us composites tomorrow. Starter tinkering with the boat surface tonight. In literally a half hour I was able to remove nearly half of the boats top surface old clear coat. Simple razor blade did the trick just fine. The 6 inches above the bump rail appears to be adhered much better than the top that sees the sun. Upon reading, many people shoot clear coat on top of gel coats, so I don't see why I can't do the opposite. So im planning on scraping the rest of the loose stuff off and just regular surface prep over the existing better adhered clear coat. Sand, clean, than gel coat over it all.

Appreciate the input. I've been a bit put off from the product now as it seems to be difficult to get. I even contacted 2 ppg paint stores nearby. One wanted nothing to do with me. The other was completely clueless of the products. On the phone for 20 minutes he finally found the product but couldn't give me any info about it. He could order it for me 75$ for a gallon but being unsure of the product I decided to back off. That an it would be 3 weeks out than I would have to make an 1 1/2 hour drive one way to get it.

So upon some research awlgrip appears to be a no go. I've found several cases of it having a bad reaction with these older boats that have the flake mixed in the paint instead of the coating. Appears the the flake expands and contracts and causes the awlgrip to crack up in a matter of 1-2 years. So I think im going to just do a basic clear gel coat over the old paint. Im planning on doing essentially just the top rail of the boat and roughly 6 inches down each side. Would you guess that a gallon of gel coat would be sufficient for that? How many coats? Should need the gel coat, styrene thinner, and the sanding wax?

It's got one hell of a hole shot right now. But I've always felt it's been too ass heavy. Coming off pad I constantly have a wave crash into the boat. It'll be an experiment, but like you say, first case wouldn't be hard to move them back. I've been told the boat should see low 70s from multiple people. But WOT on a smooth lake best I've seen is 66.

I clean mine with my breath and shirt nearly 70% of the time. Going on 4 years old and the glass is still like new.

You chumps started without me knowing it last year. Obviously trying to sneak it past me again this year because you're scared. Sign me up. Or should you just go ahead and send me my $150 now?

Sounds like you're wanting to go too broad of baits for one rod. 3/8 jig, t rig, or any of your bigger weightless plastics I'd be using a mh rod. Everything else I'd use a medium. A ml would feel way too wimpy in my hands for skipping.

Im super glad you reminded me of the carpet direction. I probably would have forgot that. As for the carpet, I had bought 16 face weight as it was what was originally installed. I didn't want to run into exactly what you mentioned. Right now I have everything removed, just got all the panels carpet removed and cleaned down to bare surface. Im getting all the door hatches carpeted so they are dry and strong by the time I get done with the clear coat. Shoot getting the hatches carpeted will be about 70 percent of the boat lol Relocated batteries to the front to help distribute weight. Couple size 31 batteries coming from the back all the way to front ought to make a difference. Of course I had a 3 hour rain storm come through today. Gave me a good chance to take a scrub brush and suds to give everything a good cleaning lol.

First off, I appreciate your response. It was very helpful. I've been doing more research. I've been in contact Charger, and was told that these boats recieved the thin clear coat while in the mold and did not get gel coated. They actually recommended a product called, PPG amercoat 750H. It's an industrial clear coat. However it appears difficult to get ahold of it. Going to do a bit more looking tonight. Plan on doing a test sand on a not so visible area and see how it reacts. With it just having a clear coat in thinking maybe I could just lay a gel coat over it. That website you provided seems to have really reasonable pricing. $59 for a gallon of clear gel coat. Have you used it before? Easy to use? Do several boats? Spray or brush? Still pondering on what direction to take. That amercoat mentioned sounds like it's supposed to be extremely strong stuff. Boat carpet just came in so im getting started on that. If anyone has anymore input it's appreciated!

1996 495 charger bass boat So what I definitely believe is the original paint, in the past year it appears my top clear coat is all starting to chip off. From my understanding if it were gel coat they used it would not do this? There is no flake in it, that is in the under coating. My question being, I'd love to recoat the top portion of my boat to get rid of the ugly flaking and oxidization. So I was wondering if anyone else had been through this process, what you did, what product you used? As of right now my plan would be to use a razor blade and remove all of the loose material. Than wet sand it all down 400, 600, 1000 grit and shoot a clear coat over it and hopefully bring it back to new. The few products I've looked at says I can even brush it on. But I think spraying it would probably be a better route. Any guidance is appreciated! https://www.amazon.com/Toon-Brite-Protective-Clear-Boats-P1000-1/dp/B01MSVS682/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?hasWorkingJavascript=1&keywords=boat+clear+coat&qid=1564329366&s=gateway&sr=8-3 One of the products im looking at using. https://www.amazon.com/Schulman-Exterior-Fiberglass-Professional-Specialists/dp/B00OHQSJZ6/ref=mp_s_a_1_17?hasWorkingJavascript=1&keywords=boat+clear+coat&qid=1564329366&s=gateway&sr=8-17

Your #2 states that one should be able to read the bottom as you're moving. However mine kicks out essentially after 7+ mph. What gives?

Backstory: purchased by most 2 years back. It's a 1996 20'6" Charger 496. Motor was swapped with a 2009 250 mercury. The old owner lived on Kentucky lake. So the boat sat in a lift, therefore the trailer has been sitting neglected. The trailer "had" surge brakes. Tongue compresses forward from truck braking momentum. But since I've had it have not worked. Last year while trailering it they started making noise, upon removal they were rusted away. So I removed the guts of the drum brakes to keep from making noise and damaging anything else. Now I'm looking to put a new set in, but I'm not really sure where to start on what parts to look for. The drum itself has the wheel studs mounted into it which slides on to the axle shaft. So I was hoping the drum is reusable. Essentially I need all new internal springs/ shoes/ and the piston that connects to the brake line. Any help in direction to take is appreciated. Websites you guys have used to find or buy parts. The rim is 14 inches. On the drum is stamped: HD-1377-10, AB&1 3, Discard PT 10.040. Thank you for any help!

I have a yeti 45. While they do hold ice very well. I think the thing people don't pay enough attention to is their durability. These coolers are stout! Mine gets stood on, thrown around, kicked, dropped, ect. While expensive, I do think this cooler could last me 25+years. (I'm at 5 years now and still looks essentially new). So I do think it was worth it. All that said, spending that much on a cooler isn't for everyone. An wouldn't blame anyone not wanting to drop the coin on it. But hasn't been a regret for me.

Local small town grocery store I frequent, it's part of their service. They won't even give you a chance to grab the bags and do it yourself. Always find it awkward having that 16-18 year old struggling to carry my 50lbs of groceries when they're half my size. "Here let me open that door for you..."

Walking a frog I feel the biggest player is having slack in your line. Every twitch i give it I tend to 1/4 turn off the reel. I normally do a 4-5 twitch and pause. The pause gets me 75%of my bites.