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Hello all,

I'm new to posting but not new to the forum. I also posted this on THT but I think those just get lost in the mass threads on there...

I have a 1989 Boston Whaler 27FC that I'm restoring and am now starting on the interior cabin. I stripped all the old upholstery from the cabin walls and ceiling and am now wanting to either paint the ceilings with Awlgrip or possibly gelcoat the ceilings. I'm wanting to do this rather than upholstery because the upholstery will eventually fall down like a headliner in a car.

One note is that I worked in an auto body collision center and know how to bondo and paint but have little experience with fiberglass.

I will begin sanding the ceilings to remove all the upholstery backing and hopefully get out small imperfections.

The questions I have are:
1) When I have the fiberglass sanded down and there are still imperfections, is there some type of fiberglass 'bondo' material that I can use to fill in any imperfections and to get the area completely smooth?
2) After I smooth out all the imperfections would you recommend me using awlgrip or gelcoat for the areas? I can spray paint as I have all the tools for that. But just don't know if Awlgrip or gelcoat is best when applying to raw fiberglass?

I'm trying to attach couple interior shots of the cabin.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

http://s1119.photobucket.com/user/cbf...p.jpg.html

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I think you save yourself alot of work if you reinstall a fabric for the ceiling.

Prepping a small cabin ceiling for paint will be painfull on your body.

I think most headliners last 20 + yrs if not more.

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I agree with Phil. It would take an enormous amount of work to get it smooth and ready for paint or gel coat and I believe you will not be happy with the results. You can either clean it up and paint it with, "bilge" paint knowing it will look unfinished and rough or you can go to sailrite.com and take a look at the wide array of vinyl and fabrics they sell made for the marine environment that will give handsome results and again as Phil says last 20 years or more.

Jim G.

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This stuff works great. I would recommend weighing on a scale. http://www.evercoat.com/product-detail/base-part/100710/us/

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I appreciate the comments and know it would be a big task to get that ceiling smooth. And with paint everything will show. I've block sanded out vehicles with complete panels of bondo and it's not easy.

Unfortunately I'm not a great upholsterer and have tried to do some of that but have made a mess out of it. The big issue I see with the fabric is the seams. How do you make the seams not look like they are sloppy. If there was something I could glue over the seams that would work to hide them.

I'll take a look at some sites to see if there's something out there to hide those seams.

Thanks again!

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HTown, sorry I have nothing to add but thanks for posting that question. The cabin ceiling on my 1979 22' Revenge looks exactly the same since I removed the headliner. I too thought of painting it but after reading the advice given I think I will find an upholsterer to do the work. The old headliner lasted 30+ years so I figure the new one will outlast me. Plus I think the headliner will be a lot more forgiving when I wake up in the middle of the night and crack my forehead against the ceiling. :) It will probably absorb a lot of noise too.

I like working on my own boat but when it comes to fiberglass work, painting, or upholstery I'll find someone who knows what they are doing. Good luck with whatever you decide.

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If you have block sanded panels on autos, then you know what you are in for, except this time it will on a ceiling and a lot harder to make look right. Plus you will spend at least $200 on AwlGrip probably more. Grinding and sanding over your head will be no fun. Takes Phil's advice

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I have the same 22 Revenge that VA whaler has, and decided to do something similar to what your saying. I started by covering the entire interior roof with white tinted epoxy resin, as thick as possible. It made it look better, but it was no where near smooth. Wanting to avoid a ton of sanding and re-epoxying I decided it looked good enough, and just painted it, with fairly good results. Not perfect, but I would consider it a cleaner installation than the headliner.

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Yes, the sanding on the ceiling is not fun since you're constantly lifting you're hands above your head. There's not much alternative.

I've ordered some samples from a company called Veada to see what they have in the way of upholstery.

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Infinity Luxury Vinyl - great stuff for over head & flooring..Marine or RV.

Have a pro do the install so its done right and you can get on with enjoying your boat.

Your not dealing with that much square footage - so why not go for it.

http://infinitylwv.com/photo-gallery-2/gallery-2/

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Wow! That Infinity Luxury Vinyl and the woven marine carpets are beautiful. I've only been looking at the vinyl for my upholstery but might incorporate some of that woven marine material in as well. Thanks jvz for that site.

HTOWNGUPPY

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I second that. Thanks JVZ. I'd assume the vinyl would be much more durable, and easier to keep clean and mold/mildew free.

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Let us know what you decide and share the results.

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Well I'm now somewhat up in the air about what to do but will be looking at the boat again this afternoon. I'm not opposed to sanding but after looking at some of that vinyl I might go that way. I just need to find a way to conceal the seams. Possibly butting the two pieces together with a fold or something like that. I also need some type of thick padding to conceal any imperfections in the glass.

I've got hundreds of pictures of this boat from bare nothing to where it is now. I'll hope to start a thread to keep people updated and also to record what I did to it.

I appreciate everyone's input and will let you know how it goes.

Have a great Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year's! And be safe out there.

Chris

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Chris,
Like I stated in my earlier post, check out sailrite .com. You may not ending up buying anything from them, but they have a great DIY selection of project videos that might give you some ideas on a headliner. I have used this site to complete several canvas and marine perforated vinyl projects with great success. I saved myself over a $1000 dollars over what my, "Canvas Guy" was going to charge on constructing a perforated vinyl privacy windshield cover for my larger boat and my sister in law was able to use the videos to sew a new set of sunbrella center console and bench seat covers for my 15 foot Dauntless with her Sears sewing machine that would have cost $1800-$2000. Instead, I spent $275 on the materials including the correct UV resistant threads and correct canvas needles. If you have someone with sewing skills in the family you might be able to make one or more canvas or vinyl pieces that could be held on with velcro and or canvas snaps that could make a removable headliner which would be nice in the marine environment.

Jim G.

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Chris,
Like I stated in my earlier post, check out sailrite .com. You may not ending up buying anything from them, but they have a great DIY selection of project videos that might give you some ideas on a headliner. I have used this site to complete several canvas and marine perforated vinyl projects with great success. I saved myself over a $1000 dollars over what my, "Canvas Guy" was going to charge on constructing a perforated vinyl privacy windshield cover for my larger boat and my sister in law was able to use the videos to sew a new set of sunbrella center console and bench seat covers for my 15 foot Dauntless with her Sears sewing machine that would have cost $1800-$2000. Instead, I spent $275 on the materials including the correct UV resistant threads and correct canvas needles. If you have someone with sewing skills in the family you might be able to make one or more canvas or vinyl pieces that could be held on with velcro and or canvas snaps that could make a removable headliner which would be nice in the marine environment.

Jim G.

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If you have auto body skills, you can easily learn to do gelcoat. Get the supplies from US Composites or a local marine supply store (white waxed tinted to whatever color you want.) You can sand the area down with your DA and 60 grit and spray over 120 grit, hopefully your DA has a vacuum attachment because the dust is a PITA. Wear breathing protection and a tyvek suit. You can also finish the gelcoat for the most part with your DA but it is still at least four times as much work as paint per square foot. If you need to, you can use polyester glazing putty to fix deep scratches etc- such as Evercoat. Gelcoat will not hide imperfections like auto primer will. It does not flow at all.

Spray it with a $15 HF purple gun, three coats. Run some acetone through the gun before ten minutes or it will kick in the gun. Set the pressure at max for the gun, heck I run it at 90 psi which is over the max. Throw it away after the day's use. Catalyze the gelcoat based on surface temperature between 1 and 2%. 1.25% almost always works fine. You can thin the gelcoat up to 15% using 50/50 MEK and styrene to help it spray.

For lots of great DIY videos on doing gelcoat, check out Andy at Boatworks Today.

People recently told me (and most of what I read on forums was discouraging like the above posters) that it was ridiculously hard to learn how to paint cars with base coat/clear coat. I watched a few videos and painted my Miata hardtop which was all ragged out and it came out nearly perfect.

Personally, I hate upholstered headliners. They stain easily and most of the time look cheap.

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If you want advice on the treatment for the seams, consult a fabric store.

i.e. Joan-ann Fabrics

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I appreciate that encouragement and am still in the decision process on this one. I bought the Evercoat for fiberglass and was thinking to just to fill in the imperfections and then cover it with vinyl. However, I just sanded my rubrail for 10+ hours so I can't believe that this small cabin is going to be much more sanding than that, especially since I have a DA and can use 60-80 grit. The problem is the mess that it's going to create but I do have a vacuum attachment and painters suits.

And I like you're comment on the HF spray gun. I've bought 4-5 of them so far!

I'll be working on other items the next 3-4 weeks but will keep you posted on the progress.

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I've decided that I'm going to be covering the ceiling with vinyl instead of painting or gel coating it. I bought some test vinyl from Sailrite and started testing a couple of foam thicknesses and found that 1/2 inch foam under the vinyl will cover just about any imperfection. It actually looked pretty professional.

Since my test I've ordered all my vinyl and foam from Sailrite and am going to start this in the next couple weeks. My Mom can sew and we bought an upholstery machine for her to do the work. Hoping that she teaches me as well since it's a skill that's pretty useful when you have boats.

For the interior wall and ceiling seams we've decided to hem one of the pieces of vinyl and then overlap where they meet. Then we'll just glue down that overlapped hem. There will be a top stitch on that overlap in matching thread color so we think it will look nice. We tested a couple pieces and it actually worked.

For all the interior cushions we've decided on a Sunbrella interior fabric which is supposed to hold up really nicely.

When I have pics I will share them. I'm documenting this as I go.

I also have to mention that the people at Sailrite are unbelievably helpful. And after researching fabrics and supplies they are competitive. The help and being so courteous has earned my current and future business. I highly recommend them if you have any upholstery needs.

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Hows it going? any pictures of progress?

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Hello all,

I took a little hiatus from the Whaler over the summer. Here in Houston the summers are pretty hot and working in my storage unit that was 130 degrees wasn’t something I looked forward to. But since then I have made some progression on the boat. It’s tough to see what is really happening since it goes so slow. But here are a few items:
1) Tore out all the walls in the cabin with the exception of the rounded bathroom wall. That included the small electronics shelving they originally had in there, the kitchen cabinet, the storage closet, etc. I’ll be rebuilding all these with marine plywood, upholstered wood and teak veneer.
2) I’ve since rebuilt a completely new electronics cabinet with 4 shelves that should house all the Verado engine harnesses, my stereo amps, fuse boxes, circuit breakers, electronic wiring, inverters, etc. Painted the interior of that as well so it didn’t look 30 years old!
3) Completely wired every electrical component in the boat and have everything sitting at the electronic cabinet waiting for fuse panels, distribution panels, etc.
4) Upholstered most of the interior cushions with new sunbrella from Sailrite. Broke down and bought the Sailrite sewing machine and it’s amazing for upholstery, looks professional.
5) Upholstered side helm pieces.
6) Installed all hydraulic steering, steering column, steering wheel.
7) Fabricated all new fake carbon fiber dash panels to hold new switches, GPS/Sonar, Vessel View, fuel gauges(the only analog item on the boat).
8) Ran all new plumbing and pumps throughout. Macerator, bilge(4), washdown(fresh and saltwater), rear sink pumps, cabin pumps.
9) Sanded all cabin gunk off walls and ceiling, fiberglassed most imperfections that would look bad under foam and vinyl. The interior headliner and wall upholstery is my next big project which is happening in 2 weeks.
10) Ordered and received the acrylic lids for my rear Live wells and wash down sinks. All new hardware like faucets, etc. These look amazing even though I just stuck them in there for a minute to see what they look like.
11) Ran all rule lines too.

I have a photo bucket account and will place the link on here for pics. But it’s been a productive 2017 so far. The end is in sight at least!!

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I”m trying to share an album on Photobucket. Hoping this will work:

http://s1119.photobucket.com/user/cbf...989%2027FC

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[[IMG]http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/k640/cbfhtown/Boston%20Whaler%201989%2027FC/696476E0-3D9D-4D4B-9E63-C2C179563151_zpsmiofkhi6.jpeg[/IMG]

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Can you all let me know if I’m posting these Photobucket pics correctly? The first post was of the album and the second post was a single picture. Just wanted to make sure people were able to see them.

Thanks!

Chris

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yes the PB pictures worked
Looks like you are coming along with the console

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Thanks EJO. Yes, the boat is coming along rather well. Been working on it religiously for a couple weeks now. I have a June 1, 2018 date that I’m working towards to have everything done. But things generally take longer than we think they will!

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True Statement good luck.

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Wanted to send an update on how I’m finally doing my cabin interior(ceiling and walls). I decided that I’m going to use vinyl and am both adhering the vinyl to the walls and putting up vinyl upholstered PVC board panels on the ceiling.

The cabin walls I’ve adhered 1/2 foam from Sailrite and am adhering the cream vinyl to the foam. Anything vertical within the cabin is being done like this as it’s 1) easier to stick the vinyl pieces to the walls and 2) there are only a couple ways I can create a framework to screw the PVC board panels to. I can’t screw a framework to the walls because the fiberglass isn’t thick enough to get a screw in threre without having to go through to the outside. I could have fiberglassed a framework to the walls but that is so time consuming and I don’t know if it will look any better. The ceiling however has 3/4”-1” of fiberglass so I can drill a screw in there for my framework.

With that said, I have the framework up on the ceiling and have created the templates for the PVC board panels. Surprisingly I only have to create 5 panels for the ceiling which has been nice. I’ve also got all the foam material on the walls and am just waiting to get the panels in place before I put the vinyl on the walls. That should be done here soon. But it’s going to look pretty good. I’m taking pics throughout the process and will be posting those in a couple weeks!