Bell Boy 404 Express Restoration

[TheBronze]

Back from vacation and back to work!

Before heading out for vacation I managed to get the paint off of the stbd side and mark up the hull. I also got about half of the fill in place. This last weekend I sanded the repairs down and am overall pleased with the results. There are a few areas that need touch up, but the work looks good. I used a flexible longboard sander for this work. It really hugs the contour of the hull nicely!

The one thing I am unsure of is the feel of the areas I repaired. I can't get the 3M beads to sand down as smoothly as I would like. I am hoping that the epoxy primer I am going to use will fill this roughness and allow it to be sanded smooth prior to paint. I'll have to do a test spot before priming the hull. If it works, I'll do the whole thing. If not, I'll have to sand down the repairs a bit more and then put something else on top to smooth it out.

The deck has a good amount of yellow in some hard to reach spaces. So, I decided to use some paint remover. Bad mistake. As I worked my way around the boat, I dropped a few bits on the plexi on the port side slider window - and didn't notice... 15 minutes later and I now have 4 nice gouges in the plastic. On the surface it would seem easy to repalce the window, and maybe some day I will, but it will require the removal of the window frame to get it out. Problem with that is that the screws, aluminum, are fused to the frame, also aluminum. I tried getting one losened up but it just wanted to strip the head. So it will probably require me to break the heads, tap them out and replace. Not something I am excited to do . Anyone have any suggestions on removing them? If there is a magic liquid I can put on them I'll do it. I'd love to have the frames out of the boat for painting as well as the ability to clean up the sliders and/or replace as needed.

I'll snap some pictures of the sanded hull and repaired areas this week and post up.

[Guest]

Cool! I'm pretty sure you're ahead of my on my BB21. I'm looking forward to pictures.

[TheBronze]

As promised, and late as usual. Here are some shots of the underside with the first coat of primer on.

I never did go with Sound Specialty Coatings. They were impossible to deal with. I emailed trying to get product info over several weeks and got vague responses or none at all. When I called and finally got ahold of someone (after several tries), it was more vague responses and disinterest. Eventually it came out that they don't do retail and the gal was going to find me a reseller. It never happened. So, stay away. They may have a good product (or may not), but it is apparent that they really aren't interested in selling to the little guy.

I ended up going with Supermarine (Top Secret Coatings). After reading the product web site I was a bit cautious, as their advertising is pretty over the top. I called up their support line and was immediately connected with a support person who was able to answer all my questions. So I ordered up their two part epoxy primer and Revolution paint along with the appropriate solvents. I was even able to get a custom color at no extra charge.

Epoxy Primer
I went with their Formula 150 Epoxy Primer. it is a 2 part primer with a 24 hour full cure time. I played with it a bit on the underside to get a feel for the lay out. It is a pain to work with! using a 3/16 nap mohair roller it left some orange peel, even with thinning. Using a china bristle brush I was able to get a smoother lay out, but still some visible brush marks. It is pretty much unsandable. When you do sand, even after full cure, it loads up the paper pretty quickly. There is no smoothing it out before paint. As a result, I have used the roller below the chines, and a brush above the chines to about 6 inches off of the chine at the stern, marked off with tape. I figure this will give me an irregular surface for "water line" looks. Above that line, I am going to use the Rustoleum marine primer. I've used it on the hatch as a trial and it dries level and sands well. Should be a treat to use.

SM1000 Revolution
Their topsides paint is supposed to be submersible for up to 40 years simulated! riiight. Well, if I can get a few weeks out of it without issue then I'll be happy.

I have a sample that has been soaking for over a week now in Liberty Bay (hanging on a line in the boat house). I've checked it daily and it continues to show its original shine and no sign of bubbles or lifting of any kind. I have to say, I'm impressed! This was just a dip of a lure in the can with no thinning and no primer (just a quick scuff of the metal). Took a while to cure as it was a bit thick and this is oxygen catalyzed but it is nice and hard now and I can't dent it with my finger nail.

For topsides, I went with Epifanes monourethane. I have yet to try it out, but will post results when I do.

[TheBronze]

Update.

Paint is on the hull!

It has been a month since my last post and I've been busy. After priming the hull on the underside and applying two coats of the Supermarine, I was pleased with the paints performance, but not so much with the flatness of the primer. Luckily, the paint was thick enough to fill most of the irregularities so I used it as a sandable base. I knocked down the high spots and ended up with a fairly smooth surface.

I also ended up hand sanding the epoxy primer that I had laid out above the chines. It smoothed out fairly well. After long boarding the upper section it was time to get to work this week.

I now have 4 coats of paint on the hull! woohoo!

I've already discussed the Supermarine epoxy primer but I wanted to touch on the Rustoleum marine primer. It is great! Goes on fairly well with the roll and tip method. Block sands easily and is nice and smooth. It does create a bit of fine dust though, so a respirator is required for sure.

I'm going to have to do some surface sanding on the paint to get the shine I want out of it, but it sands pretty easily. As it is, with no sanding, it has a good lustre that shows my shop light when I look at it. I can see detail in the reflection, which is pretty good! The only thing making me want to sand it is to get it ultra smooth and hide any brush marks. Should be about a weeks worth of sanding to get it to that 2000 grit stage. Then I'll polish it up and be done.

The paint has to sit for a week to fully harden, so its break time for now. I'm going to move on to trial and error with the Epifanes on my hatch. Once I have that sorted, its on to the deck!

I'll snap some pictures and try to get them up soon.

[TheBronze]

OK, as promised, some shots of the blue. It is really hard to see the color in the light that I have in my work shed. It turned out just like I planned! With indirect light, you can see the blue nicely. With a bright light on it, it almost looks white.

I played around yesterday and cut the transom down to 2000 grit. the shine is quite nice! I'm really impressed so far with the workability and results of the SM1000 paint.

Transom shot shows the tarp I have laid out under the boat reflecting.

The bow shot has a bit of reflecting going on, but I haven't sanded any of it yet.

The underside shot is similar. Not much shine in it compared to the sanded transom, but you get the idea.

On the Stbd shot, what looks like a huge bump in the hull is actually a reflection of the pole supporting the shelter. Also, unsanded.

[Guest]

Beautiful! I hope mine is as good when I'm done.

[TheBronze]

Thanks, Ed. I'm sure yours will turn out great. Take your time sanding and you'll get a super shine out of the paint. I'm going to take mine all the way to 3000 I think. My first results up to 2000 are really good, so that extra 1000 grits worth should get me to a no wax shine that I really want.

[TheBronze]

Just a quick update.

The bottom is painted! Blocks have been moved and it is uniform front to back. yay! It will sit in it's current position for another week or so until I move it back to the original, more secure, placement. After that, I'm going to tape it off and hang a visquine drape around the whole thing to keep primer and paint off of it while I work on the deck.

I tried my hand at the Epifanes over the weekend. I just painted the hatch as a trial piece since the rest of the deck is no where near ready for paint. It was reasonably easy to apply and tip. I'd say the Supermarine was probably easier to work with but not by much.

My brush wasn't clean enough (didn't start with a new one) so I got a lot of contaminants on the surface as well as a few brush strokes. Despite that, the shine was amazing. It hardened up no trouble in less than the prescribed 24 hours with about 10% thinning.

All and all, I have to say, I'm impressed. The color is deep, has a rediculous amount of luster and reflects like a mirror. I can't wait to apply a second coat. I have a new brush, new container, and paint tray. Just need a new roller. If it sets up without any issues, this will be a no sand/polish paint. It is THAT good. I've already sanded it with 400 (wet) and it is smooth enough that if it works out, it will be done on the 2nd coat.

I'll snap a shot of it when it has the new coat on it so you can see the results. Should be this week.

[TheBronze]

Another update!

I've been quietly working away on the boat this winter with not much posting activity in this thread. So, here is the latest.

I've given up on Epifanes. It is really amazing paint and would probably be appropriate for use in a dust free paint booth. My home solution is good, but I can't get everything out of the air and it invairably ends up on the painted surface. No problem, right? Just sand it down and shine it back up. Nope. Too much effort. I was able to get a sample area on the hatch to shine up, but it was a huge amount of work. 220 to knock down the dust, then all the way up to 3000. Even with that fine 'sanding' there was considerable haze. So, on to the heavy duty polishing compound and the orbital. Then the light. That got it almost close, but then wax is needed to make it shine. Overall this isn't a big deal for a small space, but when considering the size of the deck, I decided it was too much work.

Additionally, I'm concerned about the ability to blend in a repair when the time comes.

So I've moved on and ordered another gallon of Supermarine. I know how to work it and the results are easy to achieve.

With that in hand, I've prepped and panted the edges of the deck where the rail will attach. I have two coats on and will apply a third tonight. I plan on attaching the rail this weekend after the paint has had some time to harden.

Once the rail is on, I'll be able to block the hull in it's correct, final shape.

Prior to this work, I've restored the rub rail to an acceptible level and cleaned up the insert. It is all ready to go back on.

All the yellow paint is off of the hull and i'm just waiting for this rail attachment to finish blocking things. once the first round is complete, the first coat of primer will go on. Then guide coat, block, prime, guide, block. rinse repeat.... The plan is to have the deck paint on this spring.

I'll snap some pictures of the hull and get them up here soon.

[Marvelous]

]I remember my good friend Jeff Ault found our 404 and said we could have it going that first summer. Well.... 5 summers later we did. Once you are done though what a treat! It will be well worth it.:Skipper1:

[ATTACH]13957.vB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]13958.vB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]13959.vB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]13960.vB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]13961.vB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]13962.vB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]13963.vB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]13964.vB[/ATTACH]

[strobee]

Hello, I see you are using super Marine paint. I have been interested in that paint. I believe some of it comes out of Arlington Washington which is close to home. They have a great array of colors. Could you give us a quick rating of their paints. I try to deal with locals as much as possible. Any information will be appreciated. Clint

[Steve_Kiesel]

Ditto what Clint said. I'm going to be using Supermarine on my kayaks in a month or so. The previous finish was Interlux. Which held up great. But Supermarine has many more color choices.

I'll be rolling it on, then tip it off with a brush. Their website says to thin it down 10 to 20 percent. How much thinner did you use? I'm in a dry climate, so I was thinking go more towards the 20%. Thanks for any advice.

[TheBronze]

Hey guys,

I did a write up on this paint a while back, here:

[ame="http://www.classicboatclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4302"]Northwest Classic Boat Club Forum[/ame]

I'll add to it by saying that the darker color I have used is about the same in opacity as the light blue color. I'm on my third coat for the edges of the hull and the coverage is looking great.

Thin as appropriate up to 25%. I've started at 20% but will probably drop it down as I go through the paint. What I don't use in a single pour gets placed back in the pail and is thinned already.

Overall, I'm just totally thrilled with the ease of use of this paint and its workability.

[TheBronze]

As promised, here are some pics of the rail all snugged up. This is a big step on this project! Now that the rail is on, the structural work is totally complete. Everything else is running gear and creature comforts from here on out. Woohoo!

I'm going to let the rail sit for a week so the 5200 can fully cure. Then it will be back to sanding down the major fills that I did. With those done, I'll start laying on the primer and begin the messy business of blocking and such. I am on target for an early spring paint application for the deck. At that time, it will be on to the trailer! If I can get that done this spring/early summer, I'll put it back under the boat and might even take it to the launch and float it...

[BellBoyBob]

John this is coming along so well. You are talented and thoughtful in every step of your BellBoy resto. Just wonderful work! I had a question: I am removing the cockpit floor from the center bulkhead to the transom only. The late 1960 404 express version had a lowered floor in the cabin and side storage structures that are still intact and free of rot. We really took care of the boat from day one - never abandoned outside except for one unfortunate Lake Almanor, Ca winter when under a tarp 12' of snow fell at once crushing the bridge windshield. My resto article for that is archived on Fiberglassics...) So, unless the bulkhead is rotted under where the cockpit floor meets it, I will leave everything forward of the bulkhead alone. I will follow what everyone is saying about the replacement and foaming in of the new floor - that seems clear. On your 404 I noticed that your floor was attached in two halves, meeting perpendicular to the stringers instead of meeting on the center stringer with left and right halves, fore to aft. Any reason why you did that? Was it because you could better visualize the stringers and more easily snap chalk a line to pilot your fastening screws? Makes sense... I am hoping to remove, intact, at least on of the original floor halves to use as a template but your plotting measurements every 4" would be an accurate way to it as well. We will see how stubborn those pieces will be. I have 4 gallons of US Composites pouring foam (2 gal +2 gal) Marty Loken thought that would due more than enough. So I have a question: what oz size of glass did you use to cover the floor? Where it joins the hull wall, I will tape with 4" tape but am unsure of the weight of glass that should be used.

Cant wait to see more pics of your work. I plan to document my job with video avery step of the way...
Thanks so much,
Bob