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Tidbart
04-23-2012, 07:52 PM
Well my winter project took a little longer than expected to finish. But it now complete and ready to be put back on the boat this weekend.

Here are few photos of the process.

I don't have any before photos other than these couple of close ups, but it is 1997 and looked it.

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I stripped it down to the bone.

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Then I built a spray booth in the garage. First, I fashioned an exhaust with a plenum, a cheap fan, and couple of furnace filters.

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Then built the booth out of PVC and plastic sheeting. I built the frame so I can take it apart and store it for use again.

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Next, I used alumaprep to clean the bare drive and then used a chromate conversion coating on the bare parts. It was called alodine and went on with a brush and was washed off 3 minutes later with water. It is hard to see but the metal changed color slightly.

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Next, I sprayed an epoxy primer on everything.

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Did some sanding after that and then on to the finish coats.

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Then, after some sanding and polishing, I reassembled it and put on the new decals. It is now ready to be put back on and taken for a test drive.


Bob

gcarter
04-23-2012, 08:22 PM
Lookin' good Bob!

Bobby D
04-24-2012, 07:15 AM
Nice shop...paint look nice as well.

Morgan's Cloud
04-24-2012, 08:28 AM
Very nice .. This is my next project on my own Volvo drive.

How did you remove the original finish and what was the timeline between getting the old off , and the start of the metal prep/priming ?

Tidbart
04-24-2012, 10:05 AM
MC,

I used 3M Scotch-Brite discs on my polisher along with some sandpaper. Paint removal took several hours. I was lucky enough not to need any filling and repairs to the metal, so that helped. In theory, if I was prepared, I could have started in on treating/painting right after that. This was something new for me so I took my time.

I had a lot of other prep work to do. Besides building the spray booth, I had to rework my air lines to avoid my lubricator and add a desiccant line dryer. This gave me dedicated, clean, dry line to use for spraying. I used one of these....

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Then I had to get a spray gun and learn how to use it.:yes: , as well as obtaining new parts, supplies, and paint.


So, I would allow 3-6 hours of work before being ready to paint. Keep in mind, that I was in no hurry and I am a bit anal at times.:wink:

Also, time will depend on how much you want to put into the job. Your Volvo could be much easier to paint than the bravo.

B

Morgan's Cloud
04-24-2012, 10:32 AM
I was curious as to how you got into the corners and hard to get to spots.
Am I right in assuming that you weren't dealing with a corrosion issue though ?

I'm looking at blasting mine and starting from scratch , but as an assembled unit ..

Volvo sent a bunch of crap units out the door a while back and guess who ended up with one ?
And guess how they treat their 'international clients' ?

Tidbart
04-24-2012, 11:01 AM
If I had to do all over again, I wouldn't start my painting career off on a Bravo, that is for sure. For the most part, I got into all the nooks and crannies with the sprayer. I did go back and touch up some areas that were very hard to get to with a small craft brush. That is what you might want to consider with yours. Spray it to the best of your ability and go back later with a some fresh paint and a high quality brush and touch up the hard to reach areas. The quality of the paint job will be in the prep work.

Yes, I had no corrosion issues. If I had the capability, I would have thought about blasting. It would have saved a lot of time. Looking back, I am glad that I disassembled the unit. It made it to much easier to move the parts around.

Bob

craigdskilling
04-24-2012, 04:46 PM
[ QUOTE=$originalposter]{$pagetext}[/QUOTE]

That looks really good.:wink::wink:can't wait to see at back on.

Morgan's Cloud
04-24-2012, 07:24 PM
Thanks TB , but I was thinking of the stripping , not the painting .
It must have been very tedious getting in all the nooks etc. when not blasting.

Tidbart
04-25-2012, 06:47 AM
Sorry MC. Actually, it wasn't that bad. The 3" discs were amazingly versatile and could be used on the flat and on their edge. So, the edge got into many of the tight spots. Were they couldn't get with the disc, I used sandpaper and if the existing paint in those spots was in good condition, I just roughed it up and left it to paint over later. I didn't kill myself trying to get it 100% bare in every spot.

B

Morgan's Cloud
04-25-2012, 07:48 AM
Now that , I can see / understand ! :wink:

RedDog
04-25-2012, 07:57 AM
I had a shop with a blaster using walnut shells remove the paint from mine. And then I took the easy way out and just left it bare aluminum...

Morgan's Cloud
04-25-2012, 08:02 AM
*And then I took the easy way out and just left it bare aluminum...*

Wish I was in fresh water too ... lol

biggiefl
04-25-2012, 02:00 PM
Mine is in awesome condtion for a 94 but when it needs it I am going to paint the lower so it looks like bare aluminum. I kick up quite a bit around here so it is only a matter of time and the boat is too nice to spray bomb it with rustoleum.

Tidbart
04-30-2012, 06:48 AM
Got the drive completed and reinstalled this weekend.

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Ready for a test drive. This week.:)

B

CHACHI
04-30-2012, 07:03 AM
Nice job Bob.


What did you cover your floor with?


Ken

Tidbart
04-30-2012, 07:11 AM
Ken,

I used and epoxy/paint chip system from a company out of Sarasota. Real good quality products.

http://www.marbelite.com/terralite.htm

B

smokediver
04-30-2012, 07:55 AM
Looks Great Bob !

Pismo
04-30-2012, 09:51 AM
I remember a thread I read a long time ago about a guy who stripped the lower unit and then left it bare aluminum and rub treated it with some oil product WD-40 i think. Wonder how it held up?

RedDog
04-30-2012, 09:30 PM
[ QUOTE=$originalposter]{$pagetext}[/QUOTE]

That was Don Tamm and is what I did too. Holding up great. I actually sprayed it with a clear coat but not having experience with such it didn't last the first outing. Bare is fine in fresh water.

biggiefl
05-07-2012, 02:22 PM
A couple hours with bare in salt water parked next to somebody with a voltage leak and she would look like powdered sugar. Hence why I am going to paint it to look bare.

Namstradamus
05-30-2012, 12:11 AM
Hoe much does it cost to repaint the outdrive (bravo X)??? Rough magnitude?

Tidbart
05-30-2012, 07:02 AM
Depends on how you look at the job.

I used about $10 in abrasives, about $5 in chemicals, and about $30 in paint.

It cost me $300-$350 to buy all the materials that I used. Needless to say, I have a lot left over especially the paint. I do plan to use it on other projects. Also, I spent $100 something for a paint gun, but obviously, that can be used again, many times.

B

gcarter
05-30-2012, 01:50 PM
In cost, the big variable is the paint selected.
The paint Bob selected is a good high quality paint.
Black is always cheaper than other colors. Color does make a difference.
The red acrylic polyurethane paint I used is now over $200.00, actually just under $210.00, per quart.
Then you add over $100.00 for one quart of hardener (one quart of hardener will treat about 4 gallons of paint), followed by $40.00 for a pint of reducer, which also reduce quite a bit of paint.
The paint is applied at about 6 mils thick, so it has quite a bit of coverage, or you can repaint the outdrive quite a few times.