FYI: exterior finishing
67 and others, having finally mounted Argo permanently on the BBTruck (wooohooo! Pics soon), it now appears that to get anything approximating a uniform finish, I'll need to refinish the exterior of Argo. There seem to be three choices: polish bright, vinyl wrap, or paint with an automotive finish. We've seen the polish program in action. It's labor intensive as the anodizing has to be stripped completely off using harsh chemicals. It's not a job I would undertake on my own. To maintain the finish in that bright state, it then needs to be repolished annually or clearcoated. Price seems to be about $3500 for just the initial polishing.
Vinyl wrap is an interesting idea because of the many colors and personalized patterns and because it would seem to add an additional layer of waterproofing. However, it now appears to be impractical because of the many many rivets. I've been told that they would make a good attachment of the vinyl unlikely.
This leaves automotive painting. The body shop across the street from my boatyard workplace described the process to me Friday as first, scuff the entire surface with a moderate scotchbrite-type pad and Alumabrite. Then prime with a two part epoxy primer and follow with the automotive finish of your choice. His view was that the epoxy primer would help seal the skin and provide an excellent base for a long-lasting paint job. This prices out at slightly under $3000. I'm now planning to paint.
Color? Silver would be archetypal. White would match the truck. I'd be interested in your thoughts...
Onward!
Dick
Vinyl wrap is an interesting idea because of the many colors and personalized patterns and because it would seem to add an additional layer of waterproofing. However, it now appears to be impractical because of the many many rivets. I've been told that they would make a good attachment of the vinyl unlikely.
This leaves automotive painting. The body shop across the street from my boatyard workplace described the process to me Friday as first, scuff the entire surface with a moderate scotchbrite-type pad and Alumabrite. Then prime with a two part epoxy primer and follow with the automotive finish of your choice. His view was that the epoxy primer would help seal the skin and provide an excellent base for a long-lasting paint job. This prices out at slightly under $3000. I'm now planning to paint.
Color? Silver would be archetypal. White would match the truck. I'd be interested in your thoughts...
Onward!
Dick
