clodev

That seems a little to simple no wonder i couldn't think of it.

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Clode Vaillancourt Muskegon Mi

driftrunner

Hey Clodev Im a little late but how about this colour scheme for the wifes sled?

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2007 yamaha phazer
1987 ski-doo safari 377
1976 John deere Liquifire 340( fixer upper)
1973 ski-doo Olympic 340( Custom front wheel kit)

clodev

Although I recently picked up a still warm freshly killed deer on the side of the road and was called a red neck for butchering it my wife doesn't want to drive a sled that advertises my short comings :-) I've got the rear end in and started to paint the body here are a few pics of the process. I have company all week so no sled work this week :-( I'l have pics next weekend when i start painting the hood.

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Clode Vaillancourt Muskegon Mi

Ad's Cat

mmmmmmmmmm roadkill deer!!!!!!

Nice work, that skid looks very nice! Diamond Plate too! Can't wait to see the hood finished.

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clodev

What should i use to fix some of the fiber glass that has cracks. Looking for some guidance or a site to learn how to do it since i have no experience in fiberglass. What should i buy or what should i stay away from?

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Clode Vaillancourt Muskegon Mi

Ad's Cat

Are you talking for the hood, so that you have a nice smooth finish to paint?

Some people drill a hole at the end of the cracks to stop them from spreading before repairing. Depends on how big they are.

You'll need to sand down through any wax and scratch topcoat so that your material will grab.

I've always used the liquid fibreglass mesh repair kits from BONDO on my cars and trucks. Used it on my wifes sled this year and it worked well and didn't re-crack. Comes with everything you need for small repairs. I would always repair/re-inforce the cracks with the fibreglass mesh from the underside, then sand out the area on the top, and fill with either spot putty if its REAL small, or the fibreglass and hardener filler without the mesh if its bigger. There are do it yourself sites all over and most are similar (just did a quick search).

I don't really have a favourite site as i have a haynes manual at home that describes things pretty well.

Just take your time during the prep work, although by your painting so far it doesn't look like i need to say that at all.

One more thing, its much easier to layer to fibreglass filler on. You can use a file to shape it and scrape it, but once it hardens its a major pain to sand.

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paintballdude05

Well I finaly got some pics of the AGLT mocked up on the sled with the Floats, here they are.





I know I know its only one angle lol.

I'm also working on getting the other 580 for sale, just finished the front suspension repaint not I'm off to the rear to get my 4 sprocket driveshaft out.

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1996 Arctic Cat Big Bore Mod Sled Bassed on ZR1 chassis(in the works)

1996 Arctic Cat EXT 580 EFI DLX

Ad's Cat

Those FLOATS look huge (long i mean, compared to my sled)! Nice job!
Bet its gonna be a fun winter for ya!

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sledder1985

Working on a '77 kitty kat i think it just needs a carb rebuild but got it 4 free... off subject i went to my storage area and my eltigre fired after 2 pulls and ran like a top, runs like brand new now

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1985 Arctic Cat El Tigre 6000(500cc)
(runs great)
1977 Arctic Cat Kitty Kat(in progress)
1969 Dodge Charger R/T
1997 Chevelle Malibu
(in restoration process)

paintballdude05

Oh I hope it is, as long as I get running before the snow fly's I will be happy. Oh and having alot of snow lol. I cant wait to see the finish product cause I have a feeling its going to be sick.

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1996 Arctic Cat Big Bore Mod Sled Bassed on ZR1 chassis(in the works)

1996 Arctic Cat EXT 580 EFI DLX

clodev

accat,
Just started the hood today. i fiberglassed inside first. Should i put more than 1 layer? I also picked up some bondo to fill in the imperfections on the top side. I got the sled all together and it runs with no distinguishable noises from the trans. It leaks though i need to find out if it was the seal from the bearing or i overfilled it and its from the overflow spout. Waiting for the fiberglass to dry now kinda like watching paint dry. I'm gonna go play some Rock Band for a little bit. By the way fiberglass is freak n sticky hahahahaha. I was tryn to be careful and i ended up looking like my 8yr old with glue and feathers.

How do you center a track by the way. I thought i tightened it evenly but it seems its off by 3/4 inch. No rubbing that i can see do i loosen one side and tighten another?

I almost forgot i took the ski shocks off and repainted them blue they look pretty good.

Last question when I'm done painting should i spray this with clear coat about 12 times? I picked up some 600 1000 and 1500 sand paper that should do right?

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Clode Vaillancourt Muskegon Mi

Ad's Cat

Hey Clode, ya, the fibreglass resin mesh is messy stuff, you can usually cut or sand some away to make it look better. If you used the mesh on the inside, then you shouldn't need to double coat it, it should form up rock solid. You can if you want but probably don't need it. You can speed up the fibreglass dry time by adding more hardener, though you add to much and it'll dry before you can apply it. Its the bondo mix without the mesh for the top coat that your going to want to layer. If you add to much, i.e repair is too high compared to the hood, then file it down while its hardening. If you wait till its completely hardened to file, or sand it, it'll take a long time. Thats tough stuff to cut through when its fully cured. DOn't forgot to put a littl primer on the fibreglassed areas. If i'm doing a small repair area, i've brushed it on then sanded it smooth.

Clear coats a tough call. You definitely should clearcoat the paint to help protect it. I've never had "fantastic" results with applying clear. You have to make sure all the dust and dirt and bumps are off the hood, or the clear will be rough looking and i don't have a dust booth. If you lightly wet sand with 1500 grit, keep the paper wet, and change it often, then wash the dust then dry it, then tac cloth it for the fine fine particles, you should be allright. Sorry to not be to convincing but clear is in my opinion the trickiest part because as soon as the hood shines, you'll see all the imperfections. Keep in mind that you can buff out some stuff later on once the clear is completely cured, or you can always "scratch" the clear with wet paper and try again. OR you could bring it to a shop and see how much they'd charge to do it ( i hate doin that, but we all want our toys to look the best).

Your choice of grits for the painting is fine. Again, keep the paper wet and clean. You don't want to drag any grit that you taken off, over fresh areas.

For the track, loosen but don't remove the rear axle shaft/idler wheel assembly, enough so that it can slide. I just looked back at the pic of your painted skid (nice). Looks like you have those two bolts that stick out the rear, i assume those are what you tighten and loosen to centre the rear axle shaft. Mines different, they are in front of the shaft and push the hole assembly to the rear of the sled. For me, i pushed the shaft back as far as i could then tightened the two bolts. For my sled, i hooked a 10lb weight on the track and tightened it till the tension was right (top of my head i don't remember how much hang my track should have had). At the same time i would take measurements on either side of the skid where the track hangs past. If one side measure was too wide, then i'd tighten the bolt on the other side, back and forth until it was centerd. Again though, my tightening was from the other side and it would push the axle shaft towards the rear of the skid.

One other trick i learned to keep dust down while you painting, soak your garage floor, if you can. Close windows and doors, and i saw that you had hung some poly. Great idea to keep any drafts from blowing around!

Can't wait to see the pics.

Wow...long winded i am today. Hope it helps!

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clodev

adcat,
Thanks for the input I must not have put enoph hardener in the mix because its still tacky. I'll wait till tomorrow to sand some of it down and stat hitting it with bondo. I have a couple of pics from today they don't show much so I'm going to wait till tomorrow and take a couple when i bondo which should show the progress better. I still don't have a clear picture of how i'm going to paint it. I had to get the prep work done before i did anything anyways.

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Clode Vaillancourt Muskegon Mi

Ad's Cat

If its damp, or cool outside it'll take longer. I did some this winter in my shop, cools down pretty quick if i don't keep the fire burning. It took overnight to harden. It should be fine. With the bondo, you can usually get it to set pretty quick, 15 to 20 minutes till its workable with a file. Dried hard soon after.

Maybe you'll have an epiphany while your sanding the hood down .

OR

You'll probably wake up and say, ya, thats it, thats what she'll look like.

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clodev

I just primed 1 side of the tunnel just under the seat. Now do i use black as a base coat or blue. To much thinking and way over analysing. I think I'm going to use blue than work my way up the sled. I'm doing the same kind of pattern but changing the colors and using paint not tape.

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Clode Vaillancourt Muskegon Mi

clodev

I goofed and definitely didn't put enough hardener in my fiberglass resin and this morning it was still a little tacky in spots. What should i do or just do the obvious and wait?

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Clode Vaillancourt Muskegon Mi

Ad's Cat

Is it hard and sticky, or is the mesh still really soft and the resin is wet?

If the fibreglass mesh has hardened but is still sticky/tacky, a hair dryer, or a light bulb will speed it up.

If its still wet to the point you can pull it off, i'd say something is wrong with the chemicals. Never had a prob with the chemcals myself but who knows. I have had repairs that have taken quite a while to harden. You can always cut a small piece of mesh, soak it in the resin and over add some hardener and leave it on the bench to see if its a prob with the chemicals.

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clodev

Hard and sticky. I just hate waiting. Not like its going to snow next week anyways. I can wait another day for it to dry. Its possible that i just put way to much resin on. I was extremely generous with it. I'm painting the tunnel today anyway so at least its progress.

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Clode Vaillancourt Muskegon Mi

Ad's Cat

Hey! It could snow! Ya never know!

I hate waitin too, just finished painting the wifes skis. I need new fasteners but its a holiday weekend and nothing'll be open tomorrow. She needs new skins too, so i'm going to have to wait for them...

Hope the tunnel turns out!

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