1989 Tristar mini makeover on Busch Light budget

[Rockman]

Alot of hard work but it is coming together nicely! Great job!

[wheelerd]

Looking fine.
Did you redo the seat backs of the two captain's chairs? Just wondering because I see the heat-stamped star graphic in the pic of the redone seats and if so, how did you replicate those?

[thatsmrmastercraft]

Looking great!

[lakeoz tristar]

Wheelerd--- No The captains chairs were only renewed so that is why the graphic is still there. this place couldn't do the graphics in anything they replaced. What they did replace was the three Bow sections, not the seat bases, The rear three pieces again not the seat base, those must have been recently redone by PO.

[Theclarks1111]

That looks great, the upholstery really turned out nice!

[wheelerd]

Originally Posted by lakeoz tristar

Wheelerd--- No The captains chairs were only renewed so that is why the graphic is still there. this place couldn't do the graphics in anything they replaced. What they did replace was the three Bow sections, not the seat bases, The rear three pieces again not the seat base, those must have been recently redone by PO.

Ah, makes sense. When I redid mine I had all the skins redone. I wanted it to be as original as possible so I made a PDF of the graphic and logo and had a local sports shop that specialized in computerized embroidery stitch them onto all the appropriate pieces. Cost a bit extra and, of course, wasn't truly original, but it looked good. Here are two pics showing the seats and the side panels.

[lakeoz tristar]

Originally Posted by wheelerd

Ah, makes sense. When I redid mine I had all the skins redone. I wanted it to be as original as possible so I made a PDF of the graphic and logo and had a local sports shop that specialized in computerized embroidery stitch them onto all the appropriate pieces. Cost a bit extra and, of course, wasn't truly original, but it looked good. Here are two pics showing the seats and the side panels.

That looks amazing.. I am pretty happy with the results and the $$$ I spent on it, at least I won't be embarrassed to take it out this summer at least everything was masked off. I had alot of reasons for going with www.fibrenew.com I looked at one of your older posts and saw that you had used them also. Bang for the buck I think it was a great deal and to not overspend on this boat it just made total sense going this route.

I still got some panels to fasten down but I want to make sure it's water tight before I secure the back section, I got my new decals from BAWS, I ordered some from EBAY but as they say you get what you pay for. When I put the two up against each other the one's from ebay did not have the registration mark.. I did order the two tone color and the ebay was the same size as the top layer.. Can't wait to get them put on.

I did get the bilge thru hull connected as well and radio put in correctly now the water cover actually closes so I can also put in the dash panels.

One thing I regret is the doghouse carpet will not be replaced as I do not have enough carpet, so hopefully I can clean it up to match pretty good.
Sorry so long winded and if you get through all this do you have any pictures of the rear seating? Would love to see how yours came out..

[lakeoz tristar]

Oh Yeah I am getting new dash panels..Thanks Gweaver...And I am going to try to get the rust off from around the motor box area..Any suggestions? Do you think CLR might clean that up some? And should I seal it with some silicone spray or something once its clean?

[wheelerd]

Originally Posted by lakeoz tristar

Sorry so long winded and if you get through all this do you have any pictures of the rear seating? Would love to see how yours came out..

Here are my rear seats and engine box. I barely had enough carpet to redo it.

[lakeoz tristar]

Wish I had a better picture (driver side rear corner red showing through right at the edge) but I had a pretty bad spot from the previous owner so I thought what the heck I can fix that or at least try to fix it.. My real problem is that I think there was repairs made at some point to this boat either with get coat, paint or just fading because there are color variations all over, Might just be the age of the boat and patterns of fading from the sun, not really sure..Some areas are a real dull grey and others are white in contrast... Regardless I was trying to patch this are.. I sanded down the rough edges and a bit further out into the gel coat and filled with evercoat formula 27 that made it looked better than it was.. After sanding that all down I started the next step applying Evercoat Polyester Gel Paste #100695.. The first batch never set it was either too cold or not enough hardener.. Second batch set up fine, The problem with this batch was that the PVA release agent when I sprayed it on it was in too powerful spray bottle so it basically cut right through the gel coat and made a mess. Cleaned all that out before it set.. Now round three, didn't have access to another spray bottle so I covered this set up with cling wrap.. Set up fine only problem was that it looked horrible once dried looked like a brain or worm trails all through it.. That coat set up so basically I had to sand that all off so I am at square one.. I read all the posts I could find on here.. If any one has any suggestions at my next attempt I am glad to hear them..

My next thought was to get the preval spray and thin this down and try to spray it on this time and use another preval sprayer to apply the PVA release agent..Any thoughts if this is the right route to go? Also I wanted to work on some other dinged up areas once I can get this fixed up, spider cracks on the swim deck, also want to get practice as there is a spot on my other boat I need to repair..