recondition steplift

[Pipe_Dream]

Originally Posted by steplift20

thats alot of cash ? awlgrip paint will cost about a thousand dollars, thats just for the paint? maybe ill just get some 3m super duty rubbing compund and do it myself. I thought i could get the whole job done for about 2500 dollars but who does it anyway , i cant find anyone

You might be able to do it for that, but if you have someone else do it you've got to pay for their labor. Good workmanship usually doesn't come cheap. As to your question of "who?" Where are you located? Maybe someone here can help you find a good yard nearby, or maybe it's worth towing it a hundred miles or two to get to a good yard.

If you are considering having it done, check around, get as many opinions as possible from people who have had similar work done, and check out their finished products. While you're talking to "the man" and he's working up a quote for you, look around at his works-in-progress. Do your homework. If someone's price is a lot lower than anyone else's, there's likely a good reason. All the while remembering that what you have is a 30-year-old boat that you're considering investing a chunk of money in, and that you're not likely to recoup that investment if you decide to sell it in a year or two. You may decide it's not worth it. Or . . . if you're like me . . . you might just go ahead and pull the trigger. Check out my gallery -- pages 1-3 show what my boat went through, pretty much from start to finish.

[spareparts]

keep an eye out for those short cuts that some of the profesionals try to get by you like not using primer. I see that a lot, and some people actually have good reasons for not priming the boat before putting the topcoat on. Awl Grip is one of the hardest and expensive paints to apply if you follow the directions to a T( the primers sand like concrete). There are probably some good automotive paints out there that will do a good job(some of them will save you $$$ in labor as well as materials), but if I'm going to do it, I'm not going to cheap out on the product when the labor is the same

[Stillrunning]

Emrone (sp) is commonly used on boats and would save some money. If your looking at a complete restore and paying people to do the work then it will be very expensive. If your going to spend the money for a paint job I'd also have the flooring, transom, runners etc, checked before sinking money into the paint job.

[spareparts]

Imron is cheaper than Awlgrip, but not by a whole lot. PPG and BSAF have some new industrial coatiings out now, that promise to cut down on prep time. I used to work for an equiptment manufacuture that used anti-graffiti Imron on the trucks we built, you couldn't get spray paint to stick to it. I always thoght it would make a good bottom paint, never had a chance to try it.

[cterrebonne]

even though awlgrip is rock soild. i have interlux bright side on my hull and it being ancient it really looks good after a compund and wax. also the paint isnt really that expensive and the primer is fairly inexpensive too.