TOPIC: 1971 Glasspar Newport Cruiser - Rejuvenation

Been a while since I provided an update.

As of September, my progress nearly ground to a hault.

I've experienced a combination of life events noted by other forum members:
1) eperot and Terrydi....exterior house work, washed windows inside and out, multiple rounds of leaf collection, planters/gardens, storage of bikes, outdoor furniture, flower pots etc
2) Dr. Go's advice on life events popping up
3) per Jimandros, I've come to accept I'm attempting to re-engineer the boat industry
4) Have had to hold down two jobs at work which continues.......

Admittedly the slow down in boat progress depresses me.....I don't think I'll see the water next summer. (not in my own boat anyway)
Still have some updates to share mostly related to outsourced work.

Trailer parts were powder coated in late August by Optimum Coating LLC. Jonathan Maletta and team were able to turn all the 105 parts around in less than a week. Jonathan also caught a typo in the Ivory color I specified in the purchase order, which I was able to correct. Had I receieved light blue fenders back, I'd have been real sad.....





Trailer Slip Tongue fabrication completed by guys at Wisconsin Custom Metal Fabrication Inc. Alfred Bayer and his creaw did a great job!





Had the remaining 5 peiece of plexiglass recreated in tempered glass. Unfortunately, I'll have to make some small modifications to couple of the pieces. Will share this scary exercise when I get to it. The supplied glass is beautiful.





Grew frustrated with my original short block builder and reclaimed my untouched (after 6 months) short block, crank, balancer, flywheel etc, albeit with surface corrosion on the components now. Identified a new partner 90 minutes north of me, Baril Engine Rebuilding, Inc in Green Bay. It's a large operation and Jeff Herlache took great care of me and my components. The job was turned around in 4 -5 weeks, only delayed due to supply chain wait times for new pistons and rods. If you recall, the shattered piston and bent rod had marred the #8 cylinder. They cleaned, inspected, magnufluxed and ultimately bored/honed the cylinders .030 over and resurfaced the block. It looks great and was slipped into the boat storage locker before the weather became bitter.





Built my electroplating station and started zinc electroplating trailer hardware. although a bit tedious, the results are great! (will provide an overview of the process with before/after results soon)





Was able to strip and paint gas tanks, but was disappointed with the paint match received from my paint store. Several shades darker than original. (more on this later)

Biggest diassppointment is/was didn't touch the outdrive components (strip and repaint)

You come to Winneconne this summer & you can have a boat ride.

Sorry to hear of the setbacks… looks like you are quick to regroup and not let things stop you from your mission. All pictures look great! Keep the faith and even if you hit some boat events without a boat, if we are at the same event, you are welcome aboard.

Not an exciting boat update but thought some of you might be interested in the electroplating process I'm using to restore my Holsclaw boat trailer hardware. Admittedly, this is time consuming. I've processed 301 pieces so far and find I'm most efficient processing in batches over two-day periods. There are numerous approaches to do this. I found these steps work best for me.

Let's work though this group of trailer jack and hitch plate hardware.
I ran the hardware through a sonic cleaner containing 50/50 Simple Green and water, to degrease the parts. A water rinse and dry left me with this.



I use several different wire wheels and rotary wire brushes to initially strip/clean.



The small rotary bushes are exceptional at cleaning/polishing the inside of nuts, washers, and spacers.



Hardware after the initial wire brush process



The hardware is then hooked on 18 gauge copper wire and lowered into a container of 20% muriatic acid 80% distilled water
This strips the hardware of any remaining plating and corrosion



The hardware is removed and rinsed in a container of distilled water to neutralize the muriatic acid.
The hardware is then set aside to dry. In doing so, light surface rust immediately forms. I let the part dry for 18 to 24 hours.



From this point forward, the parts are handled with lightweight nitrile gloves. One, to prevent the transfer of any oils from my hands to the parts. Two, to protect my skin during the remainder of the plating process.

Back to the wire wheels, the light surface rust is quickly/easily removed, leaving shiny metal behind. The is critical to getting bright, shiny results.

Moving on to the plating phase, let's review the plating station layout.
I purchase supplies and follow the zinc plating process developed by Caswell.


The back row of containers performs all the work. The front row are rinse containers for each process.


The metal pot in the upper left corner contains a degreasing solution which I heat to 180 degrees F.


I have the ability to apply both clear/blue and yellow chromate finishes.
All the trailer hardware is being plated using Blue Chromate.


Step1, parts placed in the degreasing solution for 10 minutes.


The parts are removed and rinsed in distilled water.



Step 2, parts are dipped in a 5% muriatic acid bath for 2 -3 seconds and then immediately rinsed in a distilled water bath for several seconds.
This is an etching process.

Step 3, the parts are quickly moved into the plating tank. The plating tank is a busy place.
There is a fish tank aerator in the bottom which keeps the solution moving.
A heater heats the solution to 110 degrees F.
There are two zinc plates (anodes) hung opposed (180 degrees) to one another on the sides of the tank.
Finally, there is a copper pipe that rests across the top of the tank.
Next to the tank is a power supply, (rectifier) that supplies and controls the electrical charge needed to drive the plating process.



One of the Zinc anodes


The anodes receive a positive charge. The copper pipe a negative charge.
The parts are hung from the copper pipe on the 18-gauge copper wire.
The electrical charge strips zinc off the anodes, sends it through the solution and bonds it to the parts.


Caswell provides calculators needed to determine the surface area of the batch of the parts you’re plating. The total surface area of all parts, in inches, is then multiplied by .14, which determines how many amps are required for the plating process. This rectifier makes the process easy. The black knob is adjusted until the gauge reads the needed amperage. The voltage is automatically adjusted to support the needed amps. (too much power lead to burning/pitting…not enough, minimal plating) I plate the parts for 20 to 30 minutes, which provides a heavier plating geared towards harsher environments. (Caswell words)


Once the plating is complete, the parts are removed and dipped in a distilled water bath for a copy seconds.
The parts generally have an aluminum like look at this point.

Step 6, the parts are dipped in 5% muriatic acid bath for 2-3 seconds and then rinsed in distilled water.
The parts now have more a shine.


Step 6, soak the parts in bath of Blue Chromate for 40 to 60 seconds.
Rinse in a distilled water bath for a couple seconds.
Hang in a safe place to dry for 12 plus hours.

Before and after pictures

Larsspar,

You slacker...

Just kidding. Just when I think I'm going to one day restore my Seafair with a high degree of detail, here you go electroplating your own bolts and washers. Simply amazing, and very impressive. I feel like you must sleep an hour a night!

Eric

Great results. Must be very rewarding. I learn so much on this site!