...so I've got my driftboat flipped over in the garage wanting to put a new bottom on it.

The thing is, nearly all all the old gluvit is still on there...there are really only two spots that need to be covered. I'd say 80 - 85 percent of it is still there...the majority of the missing stuff is along the rails and chines.

I called a buddy and he suggested I just cover the bad spots for now until the rest of the gluvit starts to deteriorate real bad.

The cheap ******* in me really likes this idea.

Here are a couple pics of the bottom:

Toward the front:


Toward the rear:


.....and the progress I made today toward bare metal.....maybe I've been watching too much Monster Garage but damn bare metal sure is pretty:


The boat is a 1972 Alumaweld, second year ever made, and it's built like a tank.

As far as I can tell its the original gluvit and I'm tellin ya its on there good. I remember Diana (where'd she go, anyway?) suggesting the weed burner to torch off the old stuff.....

Opinions??

Could you maybe use a disk grinder to take it off? I know that would take a while though. What is Gluvit made of? When I used to cut metal with a laser, some sheets were really rusty or had shyte on them and we would always grind it off without comprimising the thickness at all. The good 'ol days. I'm glad i'm back in school. Good luck.

I had gluvit on my '84' alumaweld and it held up nice untill '91' and we fished the nasty from mckinna to tank crossing mostly.
I put fiberglass coat on my Koffler and it held up well for a couple years.
On my '04' Willie I went with coat - it and am on my second coat since the first of Oct. I realize its been low water conditions this year but would have to say UHMW will be on the bottom of mine SOON!
If you can afford it go with UHMW!!!


Off to work fellas got 15 min. to be at park and ride shoot with questions and will try to answer

Gluvit is an epoxy, and while I haven't used it, I have used epoxy a bit and read up on its use because of various boat-building projects.

My gut feel is that you can just patch the spots, assuming you prepare it adequately. I'd guess you could get a couple of years out of it that way. However, if you treat the entire bottom, you'll get better service, assuming that the original coating isn't peeling off.

Whichever you choose, you'll need to remove the loose flaking Gluvit and sand everything. The sanding doesn't have to be to bare metal. What you're trying to do is clean off the impurities (an acetone wash might help here, but I'd use whatever is supposed to thin the Gluvit) and then sanding to provide "tooth" or grip for the new epoxy.

Good luck,

Keith

Try a heat gun and scraper, If the existing stuff is not coming off I would patch it and call it good.

Oh man - You're taking off that increadble hand done paint job? What's next...

Looks like you're making some progress, nice!

If you have the patience and time, remove the old stuff with a 1/2 inch or so chisel, flipped over so the beveled edge is down. Then sand the aluminum with a corse grit to get a good profile. Wipe the bottom down with tolulol (sp?), mask off the sides and transom and recoat. You will definately notice a difference in water drag. One gallon will do it all, about 80$. Other wise chip off the lose stuff sand and patch or recoat over the whole thing. Just my 02 cents worth, good luck.

H20-

I would scrape the loose stuff off with a stiff putty knife, hit the whole thing with an orbital sander with 80 grit and then wipe it down with either laquer thinner or acetone. I would also strongly urge you to consider Coat-it over Gluv-it. I have used both and the Coat-it is definitely superior for sliding over the rocks.


Good luck