Okay, I gave pics, now I’ll babble on for a few….
I know it looks very messy right now… cause it is… But I’ll be taking off everything and either borrowing the neighbors power washer or taking it to a self car wash to get the dirt out of the inside. Not sanding in there… but will wipe it with acetone. Then I’ll give it a coat of the self-etching primer that is a decent OD color. I MAY put in a plywood floor, but I might not.. If not I’ll probably use some flat black on the floor. Thought about the spray on truck bed liner, but I’m betting that stuff won’t work real well out of a rattle can and I am not going into the whole roller thing. I’m going cheapo here so not getting carpet yet unless I find some free.
I was thinking about flipping it over, wire wheel rivets and spot on some JB weld just in case. They all seem real tight and I was told there are zero leaks, but you never know till there is water in it or under it… I did see one rivet on the side that had an anvil mark on it so maybe that was the only leak and he fixed it that way.
Steelflex is out for now… Cheapo me… Although that was my original plan. So I kinda figured just JB weld any areas that even remotely look like they might leak… I know it’s not the best idea… but it should work??? I hope??? Just to keep any leaks at bay…???
I have to wire the trailer lights and the headlights and was thinking about getting some led interior lights too. I will leave the Baja lights @ 55 watts instead of getting some 100 watt bulbs. I have a Q beam spot / flood light that will help when running in the dark so I’m not worried about that. I don’t plan on trying to run real far and fast in the dark.
This old Rude needs a gas tank and hose that gets pressurized. Assuming I can get it running in the first place… would putting the gas tank up front be too much of an issue with the pressure tank? How hard is it and how expensive to run gas line from the front to back? I’d rather have the gas up front for the weight along with the batteries. If not no big deal…
Still have half the boat to paint and there is so much gunk caked to it I was planning to wire wheel it as well. That’s what I did to the first side. But it takes a heck of a lot of time. If I wash it and acetone clean… will the self etching primer be enough that I don’t need to sand / wire wheel it? I’d really like to just paint it and not take all that time. If I were going to use steelflex on bottom I would use the wire wheel, but this is just paint…. Thanks for any comments on that…
So the blind is the only other big thing I need to work on besides the motor. All I can say is I will make it right for me… Other than that, the options are limitless…. I know how it will be framed. I’m just not sure about the blind material itself. I have some canvas (same as that motor cover I sprayed camo) that might work, but it’s not waterproof. Maybe I could spray it camo and then with camp spray waterproofing? Would be heavy though…
I was thinking of using a tarp (the plasticy pvc kind at lowes and wallyworld – usually blue or brown or silver) as a backing and spraying some flat brown on it, then camo burlap, netting and brush… I just want a wind / rain blocker and netting with raffia grass and other brush… I’ll have to work that all out…
Thanks for looking and any help is appreciated. I love this site! I’m planning on getting a deep V in the spring and converting it into an amazing catfishing machine. I like the camo and mud and beat up old boat, but I really want to do some shiny painting and comfortable seats.
Thanks again and more to come..
