My 1652 rebuild

I recently got a 1652 flat bottom and I got started today on the rebuild. Had to wait a few days because the kids just had to go camping this weekend and try out the new boat. Overall I love the stability of the boat and the kids love it too.

The first mini-project is replacing the wood on the transom. I finally got the plywood out, but I had to remove a lot of rivets to do it. I am wondering what type of rivets to get to replace them and where to get them. I measured the hole they came out of and I think it is 1/4". Looked at HD today and of course they didn't have what I needed. They did however, have the primer and paint I am going to use when I get this done and the boat cleaned up.

Here are a few pics of the boat the way it looked when I got it. I have already ripped out the rotten floor boards and little storage compartment. I am going to cut out the back seat and the front deck and put platforms on both ends, possibly putting two seat bases in the open middle area for the kids.

I love it, nothing like a good project to get you focused and make you happy!

Keep the pics coming!

Bufford in Orlando

Looks like another project is underway. Make sure to take lots of pics and get the kids involved. Nothing like working on a project together. I've had my boys involved in just about every project I have done and they still talk to their friends about helping out.

Yesterday I got the seat and platform cut out and got the boat cleaned out really well. Today I went and got some lumber to do the decking and floor in it. Got about 30 mins of work done and it looks like its gonna rain, so had to bring everything inside as I have no garage. I got some pics of the boat all cleaned out and one of the bare transom.

I am trying to figure out what to use to get all the oxidization off the boat, but after searching I can't really come up with any actual product names. Same thing with the paint. I got some Rustoleum oil-based paint and metal primer from HD but after reading some of the projects on here, it sounds like that is not what I need to use. If anyone has any fairly cheap alternatives let me know, because the wife is gonna get antsy with the budget on this boat before long. Also, what is the best way to apply the paint - I don't have a compressor or spray gun, but I don't know if rolling or brushing is going to look very good.

Anyway - here are the pics.

Nice work on the cleanup and seat removal! Here's a link I found on-site after a search for paint. Found a few previous posts concerning painting that might provide you some info:
https://www.tinboats.net/forum/sear...&sd=d&sr=topics&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search

very nice boat, I'm sure it will be great for years to come. I painted my boat with Interlux Brightside, and it turned out really nice, but the stuff is expensive. About $35 a gallon. 2 Gallons should take care of you though. However after I did it I found out Rustoleum makes a marine paint that is very inexpensive. I think I found it on E-Bay for $20 a gallon including shipping, and you might be able to save on combining shipping too. Anyhow, keep up the work on it. I've got a 1652 MV that I need to clean out like you, unfortunately, mine is going to need a lot more prep work!

How did you remove the bench seats?

man,, 16ft now there's a stable craft..

sniperbrad said:

I am trying to figure out what to use to get all the oxidization off the boat, but after searching I can't really come up with any actual product names. Same thing with the paint. I got some Rustoleum oil-based paint and metal primer from HD but after reading some of the projects on here, it sounds like that is not what I need to use. If anyone has any fairly cheap alternatives let me know, because the wife is gonna get antsy with the budget on this boat before long. Also, what is the best way to apply the paint - I don't have a compressor or spray gun, but I don't know if rolling or brushing is going to look very good.

Click to expand...

You'll need to lightly sand the whole thing before you paint with 400 grit - 600 grit. That will take off much of the oxidization, then wipe down with acetone. You'll need a self-etching primer.

Now, some guys here will roll their eyes and shake their heads... but I used rattle cans on my project and I'm very satisfied with the results. But just be prepared to put on a lot of coats. The rattle cans don't have the good coverage of a sprayer, so it will take many thin coats. With all those coats you'll get some over spray that you will have to wet sand out. If you don't have a compressor or sprayer, I think rattle cans are the best route to go.

Also, if you go with painting with rattle cans, get one of those squeeze grips that you can put on the spay paint can. I'll save your finger.

Cheeseball said:

sniperbrad said:

I am trying to figure out what to use to get all the oxidization off the boat, but after searching I can't really come up with any actual product names. Same thing with the paint. I got some Rustoleum oil-based paint and metal primer from HD but after reading some of the projects on here, it sounds like that is not what I need to use. If anyone has any fairly cheap alternatives let me know, because the wife is gonna get antsy with the budget on this boat before long. Also, what is the best way to apply the paint - I don't have a compressor or spray gun, but I don't know if rolling or brushing is going to look very good.

Click to expand...

You'll need to lightly sand the whole thing before you paint with 400 grit - 600 grit. That will take off much of the oxidization, then wipe down with acetone. You'll need a self-etching primer.

Now, some guys here will roll their eyes and shake their heads... but I used rattle cans on my project and I'm very satisfied with the results. But just be prepared to put on a lot of coats. The rattle cans don't have the good coverage of a sprayer, so it will take many thin coats. With all those coats you'll get some over spray that you will have to wet sand out. If you don't have a compressor or sprayer, I think rattle cans are the best route to go.

Also, if you go with painting with rattle cans, get one of those squeeze grips that you can put on the spay paint can. I'll save your finger.

Click to expand...

That grip thing is a life saver. I should of bought one 10 years ago!. You can use the Rustoleum primer from HD as a filler if your going to be block sanding but you are going to want to use Zinc Chromate primer as your first coat on the metal. You could also decide to use the Rustoleum Pro. Oil based enamel from HD as a top coat if you decide that is the choice for you. I read another build on another forum that used it. I was going to go with a petit easypoxy then decided on interlux brightside, then I wanted to spend less and went with Rustoleum Marine Top Coat. I couldn't find the color I wanted and ended up deciding to use the Rustoleum Pro. from Lowes. I can't offer any opinion on how well it will stand up over the years but I painted one of my tackle lockers with it and the more I pick at it and beat on it the more I am satisfied it will work for my needs. I am going to be using it on my rig this weekend/next week.

If you brush go with the "roll and tip" method. Search google for lots of video demos but here is the short answer. Pick up a fine nap foam roller. Use that to roll the paint on. The paint will go and it will be full of little air bubbles. You then take a paint brush and lightly go over the fresh paint with the brush to pop all the bubbles and smooth it out. This technique has many methods but the best way I have found is to keep the brush resting in a cup full of acetone. When you pull it out shake it enough to get the acetone off so that it wont drip. The acetone on the brush helps to sort of "thin" the paint just enough that it doesn't stick to the brush and it kind of flows out nice from the tipping. Plus when you drop the brush back into the acetone it cleans itself enough so that your not building up paint on your tipping brush.

You can also go with the "brush - let dry - sand - brush again" method. but that's a lot more work in my mind.

I"m with you Cheesball. I was a little worried about the brush strokes with the roll and tip method so I went with rattle cans too. I used 2 cans of the self etching primer then followed that up with 2 cans of the rustoleum primer, they 4 cans of rustoleum for the top coat(about 5 thin applications). I think it looks pretty good and you'd never know it was a $50 paint job. Just did it last month so I'm not sure how good it will hold up. Worst case it should be easy to cover up any major scratches.