Super Jet DaveO's SN Build

[DaveO]

Fewer than I thought... original turf in excellent condition, pole spring (from blowsion ~4 years ago?), steering, bars, throttle lever and cable, temp sensor... that’s about it. I thought I had screws from intake grate, but don’t see them.

Thanks for looking, but I have all those items. I think I have all the main parts, just missing the hardware to fasten them down.

I should have the footholds installed this weekend. I have both sides cut out and foam removed to fit the footholds. Gotta get the old mat glue off yet and then glass it in and pour some new foam. Might even have time to sand for paint this weekend.

 

[TOBY]

Good choice in holds

 

[DaveO]

Good choice in holds

You know it! Got them from you last week . Thanks!

 

[TOBY]

I’ve got a square in the shop getting all the goods and then some your build looks good.

 

[DaveO]

More progress today. Probably all I will be able to get done today while I wait for epoxy to harden..

I removed the remaining mat glue and then glued in the footholds with epoxy and cabosil mixed. I used screws to hold the holds to the hull and was planning on removing them before glassing but now I am thinking of leaving them and covering them with epoxy and filler and then sanding them down so the glass can lay nicer.

 

[mikidymac]

I wouldn't leave them unless they are 316 stainless.

 

[DaveO]

I wouldn't leave them unless they are 316 stainless.

Ya, I wasn't sure if it really mattered with where these are. I will remove them and fill the holes with thickened epoxy.

 

[Sanoman]

More progress today. Probably all I will be able to get done today while I wait for epoxy to harden..

I removed the remaining mat glue and then glued in the footholds with epoxy and cabosil mixed. I used screws to hold the holds to the hull and was planning on removing them before glassing but now I am thinking of leaving them and covering them with epoxy and filler and then sanding them down so the glass can lay nicer.

Great! You are installing them correctly!

 

[DaveO]

Didn't get as much done as I was hoping today. Rain is in the forecast and the tent I am under likes to collapse with a bit of rain, so I tarped the ski already.

I did get the refoaming done and filling in the screw holes/foam holes with epoxy and microballoons mix. I forgot how fast 2 part foam expands and mixed waaay too much and ended up with a mess as it stops pouring nice when it expands. I needed to add 2 extra holes to get the coverage I wanted out of the foam due to my mistake.

I also got the tray glass cut and the glass that will go over the holds. With the tray glass, is it worth covering the whole area like I have done or just by the holds?

 

[brapperdoodle]

Didn't get as much done as I was hoping today. Rain is in the forecast and the tent I am under likes to collapse with a bit of rain, so I tarped the ski already.

I did get the refoaming done and filling in the screw holes/foam holes with epoxy and microballoons mix. I forgot how fast 2 part foam expands and mixed waaay too much and ended up with a mess as it stops pouring nice when it expands. I needed to add 2 extra holes to get the coverage I wanted out of the foam due to my mistake.

I also got the tray glass cut and the glass that will go over the holds. With the tray glass, is it worth covering the whole area like I have done or just by the holds?

Doing the whole tray like that will only strengthen it, I can't think of anything it would hurt... It might have been a good idea to extent that glass into the foothold a bit but it should be good.

 

[DaveO]

Doing the whole tray like that will only strengthen it, I can't think of anything it would hurt... It might have been a good idea to extent that glass into the foothold a bit but it should be good.

Good thinking. I'll make some cutouts to go into the footholds. Hoping to some day ride in the surf, so the stronger the better. Even if Lake Michigan surf is generally not that big.

 

[DaveO]

Finally had a clear enough day for glassing in the footholds and tray. Been running the roller on it to get most of the bubbles out. Looks like it needs another layer? Looks a little thinner than I think I have used in the past.

 

[DaveO]

I decided to sand it rough again and add a layer of 1708 biax. Going to keep rolling it to keep it flat as it hardens since 1708 doesn't like to lay nice.

 

[DaveO]

I forgot, I also got a Hazard Bracket this week so I don't need to grind my pole and stock bracket like I thought I was going to.

 

[DaveO]

First pass of paint prep complete. Should be spraying primer either tonight or tomorrow.

 

[DaveO]

Oh boy today was eventful. Didn't get as much done as I hoped due to a few issues.

First, my drain valve on my air compressor blew an oring. Got that fixed, then found out my new air gun has a seal issue, so I went to the store to get a cheap gravity feed. Definitely like the lighter gravity feed better, but it leaks paint out of the trigger which dripped paint on my stuff while painting.

Then my primer wasn't covering as well as I had hoped which stressed me out and I ended up forgetting to cap my paint gun and spilled half a cup of primer on my hood. Got that cleaned up and sprayed the hood and bottom of the hull with primer and color. I need a third coat of color, but I am going to wait 24hrs and wet sand a few trouble areas due to paint dripping. I also need to start over on my handle pole as I really messed that up by getting too greedy with the primer.

It is far from professional quality, but exceeds my expectations so far. I am loving how it turned out so far. Need to go buy more primer, color, and clear coat though.

 

[DaveO]

I have now completed spraying primer -> base coat -> clear coat (incremental progress shown in pictures). It has a bad case of orange peel at this point, but I actually don't even mind the look. You can really see it in one of the pics on the hood pretty easily. It did get better as it dried and hardened (pics were shot shortly after being applied). I am probably going to just keep it. I know that if I try to fix it, I will likely make things worse anyways lol.

Next time I do a project like this, I will be buying a better paint gun. This cheap paint gun cost me a lot of time having to redo sections. It loved to drip paint out of the trigger onto sections I was just completing. Even with wrapping the paint gun in plastic.

Also, just because clear coat is automotive, does not mean it is gas resistant. Luckily I figured this out before spraying the clear and got some new stuff.

And finally, I learned that pinholes from the epoxy filler do not miraculously disappear after primer. You will just end up sanding your primer and fixing them properly. Oops.

Total cost with paint gun but not the compressor was around $200.

I am ready for assembly and hearing this thing brap for the first time.

 

[DaveO]

Loosely fitted to see how it will kind of look.

 

[Sanoman]

Yea,you spend a few hours wet sanding and buffing it all out or just taking a DA to the hull and then re-clearing it.But more time and money.l’m partial to the color!

 

[DaveO]

Ya, it also seems like something I could fix later if it ever really bothered me and I found a cheap rotary polisher at a garage sale or something. Seems like not worth the money to buy an expensive tool for a one time use to make an old square a little more shiny. I would rather buy better performance parts and I also would like to ride this year.