Removing Bottom Paint

[teresajude]

I completely understand. Best of luck!

God bless!
Wayne

[Paul Morris]

Well finally back again. I was going to suggest the Petit hard racing bronze paint also but you wanted white bottom color so I didn't. I use it all the time. In fact, the Higgins runabout I'm restoring right now has this finish on it. Pretty much of a standard for these boats.

Side and top deck staining and finishing of your Wolverine:
From the waterline down (boat upside down still) get RO power sanded to 100 grit. Then hand sand with flex board (fore and aft with the grain only) to 120 or 150.
Stain: The only mahogany stains we choose to use are the heavy, oil based, high pigment, filler stains by Interlux or Sandusky paint companies. There are surely others, but we choose to stay with what we know works and not mess with success. These stains fade less in summer sun than almost any other type. We don't like re-do's because of perceived product failure.
If you choose to use any of these stains (or mixed blends of them to alter the amount of redness imparted to the base wood), thin the stain to the consistency of house paint with the proper thinner.
Now, mask off the white areas on the sides with a hi tack automotive masking tape - Green color, and plastic or masking paper. After that, get burlap cloth and make about a dozen 10" x 10" patches of this - used to scrub and wipe the stain into the grain of the wood - and some vinyl gloves.

Staining is a two person operation working from one end of the boat to the other without stopping. Work in about 2 foot square sections with one person applying the stain with a 2" throw away brush and the other scrubbing it in with a burlap patch, first cross grain then with the grain being sure to keep a wet forward edge. As soon as the glossy surface of the newly applied stain starts to loose it's sheen, start to vigorously scrub the excess stain off the dull areas with the final strokes running fore and aft. Now begin to look for an even coloration with the wood's grain nicely showing thru. Will still be on the darkish side because a lot more drying is to take place - several days.
when one side is done to your satisfaction, take a break, get some liquid refreshment, get out of the "Oh Ma Gawd" chair and start the other side.
Same drill, second verse.
Back tomorrow with discussion on sealing and varnishing.

[wizbang 13]

More of my 2 cents
I never use stain. If you want to attempt a museum restoration, ( and never actually use the boat), then stain.
FWIW, the 'Hard racing bronze paint"is used only by showboats that NEVER go in the water." Race boats" do not use it. Only trailer Queens use it. As soon as it hits the water it turns green.
Your Wolverine IS a rare boat, but d'y' wanna use it ,or lock it up?

[Dawn-til-Dusk]

Paul, Thanks again for a wonderful post. I look forward to your next post and appreciate every word of advice you're giving. You got me pining for more info.

Wizbang, I certainly would NOT like a green bottom. So that type of paint is definitely out of the question. I plan on staining because the original finish on the boat has stain and really want to pop the grain. I am currently removing the faded mahogany stain that almost looks cherry in color now. I do want the boat to look show quality but my plans are to use the boat with the family. I am looking forward to taking my 7 month old son fishing when he's older. For now I want my Dad and I to fish from it like we once did with our old row boat and 88 Sea Ray Deville. That was a cherry condition boat that I should of never sold. But I needed the money for my college education. So yeah let's turn some heads and maybe show the boat a couple of times but still use it like it should be used. In my opinion, Boats should be used and enjoyed, not just sit on a trailer doing nothing. There are several classic car folks around here and everyone of them drive their car(s) to the show them off. Why not do that with the boat?

I believe this boat is pretty rare. I have not come across another 1957 Wagemaker Wolverine plylap in a 16'8" length. There is only one other person that I have contacted who has fully restored his 57' 14' boat out in MN. He sent me a wealth of information about my boat. Other than that there are a few other 14' boats still out there but not any in the length I currently have. I really excited about that too!

[Todd Bradshaw]

There is no reason that stain should cause any sort of problems as long as it's a stain that's compatable with whatever coating you decide to put over it. Sounds to me like Paul is giving you a great, step-by-step recipe for a successful and proper restoration of the boat - from somebody who has done it before on multiple occasions. I'd follow his instructions to the letter.

[Dawn-til-Dusk]

Being that it's my first boat restoration, what Paul is doing for me (and all of us) is fantastic. I greatly appreciate all the time and effort Paul is putting into this project to get me going in the right direction. I am thankful for coming across so many great guys who are willing to share their experience and opinions with me. For this reason alone I am grateful to have met all of you on this forum. I look forward in sharing my progress with you all and sincerely hope this boat turns out the way I see it in my mind. Keep watching this thread because I will include updates of my progress. Although this project will go slow because of the limited time I have to work with her. But that is all for the good. I wouldn't want to screw this up and regret it later.

[Dawn-til-Dusk]

Update: The weather has been way to hot to work on the bottom of the boat so I began working the seats and supports. I have them completely stripped and now I need to glue them back together. The glue was so dried out that when the supports were removed the seats just fell apart. I had expected this to happen. So I'll be using West System to glue them back together. She coming along but still quite a ways to go. I only wish I had a garage I could work in. Well that will be my next expense on the home.

[Dawn-til-Dusk]

Has anyone heard from Paul Morris lately? I have been trying to contact him. Thanks!

[Lew Barrett]

In respect to why no paint, simply put you don't need it. Will she be used mostly in fresh water, trailer off, trailer on? If so, she won't be in the water long enough to grow much of anything, and there is little to worry about in respect to invasive marine organisms. In that event, the paint simply adds an unnecessary complication. A quick rinse with a hose when she comes out , or a bit of cleaning with soap and water would be the most required. That saves the trouble of future cleaning and re-painting, reduces the cost and makes life easy for the next guy as well. You might rethink that if the boat lived in the water all season, or if she spends extended periods of time in salt.

[seo]

Almost any paint that ISN'T anti-fouling will make a perfectly good paint for the underbody of your hull. You could do it with urethane varnish, or one-part polyurethane like BrightSide. If it's not in the water for more than a day, almost any modern marine finish paint will do fine.

[Dawn-til-Dusk]

If I could get all the paint off the bottom I would consider just plain varnish but the paint is really giving me a hard time and I simply cannot get it right down to bare wood without risking the shape and structure of the bottom. If I manage to remove 99% of it I will use Brightside on the bottom over ProKote primer. I just so happen to order this from JD.