1967 Starline Deville - Extreme Makeover

Mike Phillips · 10-10-2009, 06:58 PM

1967 Starline Deville - Extreme Makeover

I bought this boat last summer from a car collector that purchased it at an Estate Sale. Practically speaking, I'm the second owner as the gentleman that purchased it at the Estate Sale only did so because he saw that it was a real "Survivor" from the 1960's and his purpose was to re-sale it for profit, not take the family water skiing.

Since I've owned it I've only taken it out a few times but it runs great and planes out around 50 mph, which isn't' bad for a 120 horsepower Iron Duke from the 1960's.

Here's a shot taking my boy and two of his buddies Tubing on Big Bear Lake in the high Desert of Southern California last summer.

Pulling my son and two other boys on the O'Brien Double Tube

Beached...

Back at the campground, the O'Brien Dual Tube barely fits in the boat. I used to drag this behind my Sanger Drag boat and hit speeds of, well you don't want to know, it sets a bad example.

Anyway, I had my boat and truck shipped out here from SoCal, which was a project unto itself.

And in the last few weeks I've got the truck all dialed-in and pounding pavement sporting a new Bikini top for this wacky Florida weather as the hardtop never goes back on once I take it off.

So now it's time to get the boat spruced up and ready to go fishing. This will include removing all the oxidation and polishing the original, 42, almost 43 year-old gel-coat back to a deep, wet shine and then installing a Pertronix Electronic Ignition. She runs really well just like she sits but I've installed a number of these Pertronix Electronic Ignitions into projects that still run points-style ignitions and it really helps a lot with starting and acceleration over the entire RPM range.

The exterior has a lot of oxidation, to the point that some places have actually turned white. I've tried a number of different compounds all with wool pads on the rotary buffer and had good luck.

For this Extreme Makeover we're going to use the Pinnacle XMT Series with a rotary buffer and selection of different sizes and materials for buffing pads. Afterwards we're going to machine seal with the XMT Carnauba Finishing Glaze and then top with the

I started this project Saturday morning, then took off for a car show at 2:00pm, (pictures to come later), and now it's Saturday night and I'm just now finishing my Test Spot.

Here's the pictures so far and small video showing how nice these Griot's Garage 3" mini polishing pads are for thin panels, especially with the Flex Lightweight Rotary Buffer. My technique isn't like it would be if I could hold the rotary buffer with both hands but I think you'll get the idea as I had to use my other hand to hold the camera and take the video. (It's Saturday night, the rest of the gang here at Autogeek have already gone home)

Without further ado...

1967 Starline Deville Family Ski Boat with a brand new Bimini Top in matching orange Sunbrella material. They guy that built this lives in Hesperia and has been making customer Bimini tops for around 40 years. The bows are all Stainless Steel so they won't flex, bend or rust.

The Plexiglas windshield is original, with no cracks or crazing, and in mint condition.

Severe oxidation

I had a tarp covering the boat and you can see a line where the tarp ended; you can also see how the gel-coat that's not covered has oxidized more than the rest of the boat after only a few weeks exposed to Florida weather.

Lot's of oxidation on the rear of the boat. The Meguiar's apron was torn so it's now being used as a shield for another before & after section. To the right you can see a diagonal taped-off section and this is where I'm going to do my machine test spot using the XMT #4

Look at the gel-coat below the water line! It's like this all the way around the lower hull of the boat.

Mike Phillips · 10-10-2009, 07:03 PM

Continued...

Here's where I'm going to do a Test Spot by machine using the Flex Lightweight Rotary Buffer with the Griot's Garage 3" Mini Polishing pad and the Pinnacle XMT #4

After this shot I grabbed some random microfiber towels to cover the surrounding areas because usually the spatter from your process when wiped off will tend to improve the ugly side and I like to preserve all the ugliness in the "before" side when doing a side-by-side demonstration.

Did my best to show how nice the small 3" Griot's Garage Mini buffing pads are on the rotary for long thin panels. Keep in mind I'm holding the rotary buffer in one hand and the Rebel T1i in the other hand.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQtBLjOI8Co]YouTube - FlexRBwithXMT4[/video]

And here's a few after shots... note how rich in color the orange is now...

Mike Phillips · 10-10-2009, 07:13 PM

Next up I'm going to use the entire XMT line to buff this section, I'm doing this for a couple reasons,

1. To test out and play with the XMT product line.
2. To do my best to refine the results the very aggressive #4 achieved

Pinnacle XMT #3

Results from #3

Pinnacle XMT #2

Results from XMT #2 (note the pad on the buffer)

Pinnacle XMT #1

Results from Pinnacle XMT #1 (note the pad on the buffer)

By the time I got to the XMT #1 there doesn't seem to be any more dirt or gunk coming off the surface that you can see with the other pads, just a little pigment from the gel-coat which is perfectly normal and expected.

Here's the the line-up of products used so far and the pads used with each product.

Mike Phillips · 10-10-2009, 07:18 PM

Continued...

Next I'm going to use the Flex Lightweight Rotary buffer on the 1 speed setting to really work in the Pinnacle XMT Carnauba Finishing Glaze. I'm hoping this will further bring out the richness of color as well as jewel the gel-coat to a high gloss.

I nice thin coating that is now drying...

And the results... The surface isn't smooth like an automotive clear coat so it doesn't create crisp, clear refections like an automotive paint. Remember, this is 1967 gel-coat technology.

This is a new product that's supposed to be very durable for marine applications so we though we would give it a try... Finish Kare 1000P Hi Temp Paste Wax

Here's a thin coat applied by hand drying...

Mike Phillips · 10-10-2009, 07:20 PM

The "Big White" Finish Kare 1000P Hi Temp Paste Wax has been drying since I started this write-up. I'm going to go out to the Autogeek Garage and wipe off the dried residue, then remove the tape and covers and then take a few pictures, upload them and then post them to this thread...

Hang tight...

**mixmaster209** · 10-10-2009, 08:27 PM

WOW! this is awesome!
And, pretty steady hand Mike!

can't wait to see the before and after.

Mike Phillips · 10-10-2009, 08:48 PM

Here's a few after shots...

Anyone in the Stuart area want to be part of an extreme makeover?

I could do it all by myself but I would hate to rob anyone else from all the fun and excitement!

That's all for tonight, time to shut down the Autogeek Garage...

**Mister B** · 10-10-2009, 09:25 PM

Wow Mike that looks sooo nice! I was surprised it came out that good with so much oxidatoion beforehand. That boat will look awesome once you're are done with it.