Repair Scratches on Swim Platform

[JoeA]

I am looking for ideas on how to repair a few scratches on the swim platform. Has anybody had experience with these? http://www.nautiqueparts.com/gelcoatpatchkits.aspx

[NautiqueJeff]

No experience yet, but I have spent a good amount of time researching the repair procedures over the past week. My '98 Ski Nautique needs some gel work, and I am going to do it myself.

These should be a good match for your boat since yours is still so new. The process is pretty simple. Tape off the scratch, apply the gelcoat to the level of the tape, remove tape, let gelcoat cure, wetsand, polish, buff and wax. Lots of good youtube videos out there on how to do this, but most I have found are using gelcoat that has to be tinted to match. These kits from NautiqueParts are already the right color, so that part is already done.

[ziepfenj]

I've used the white extensively, and actually bought the blue/sprayed myself. It's a very good match to my 2007 SANTE 220. The process is nearly identical to bondo. Make sure the area is sanded/roughed up, so to have a place for the gel coat to attach. Also keep in mind the gel coat will shrink slightly once cured. It may take two layers/applications. Block/wet sand slightly with progressively finer grit, then buff it out!

[Beg4wake]

I just got done using this on my 2008 Mastercraft XStar before taking it in to sell on consignment for my new G23. While it does work fairly well, as stated above...it DOES shrink! I had a problem with what almost seemed like air pockets in it also. I had some fairly deep scratches on the side of my boat so I bought the kit to match my Mastercraft Onyx Black. It did match almost perfectly and was rather easy to finish. Although I did have some trouble getting some of the scratches left by the coarser sandpaper (prob the 400 wet sand) out. But that was prob just due to my inexperience and if I would have done another step and go back to 800 grit I prob could have worked those down a bit more but they are still hard to see even now unless you look in just the right light (or maybe it's just me being OCD!) But back to the void...I feel like I did a good job applying the gel coat, going over it with my applicator a few times in both vertical and horizontal passes trying to make sure it was worked into the gap. But it still left a small void or two in some of the scratches once they were sanded down. So just be sure to take your time, mix the gel coat/curing agent well, and really work it down into the gap. And as stated above, you will probably need more than one application. For the most part though (I had quite a few deep scratches), it worked well and it def looks better than it did before I tried it. I love doing DIY projects like this though, great learning experience! I just wish I had more time to make my project perfect!

Also, as a slight tip...when doing your wet sand passes, do one pass/grit in one direction (horizontal), then the next pass/grit in the opposite direction (vertical). Don't do the wetsanding in circular motions. If you do the wet sanding stages in circular motions, you are less likely to knock down the small ridges left in the gel coat by the previous application. Go horizontally and vertically and when you get to the polishing stage, the d/a or rotary polisher you should use will have the circular motion you need to knock down those final ridges. Also, be sure to only use 1/2 the jar of gel coatfor your first pass so that you have the 2nd 1/2 for an additional application if needed. Also, post up some pics of your scratches. If they aren't that deep, they may be able to be wet sanded out. Likewise, if they aren't deep/wide enough, you will need to take a small tool (I used a dremmel) to widen them out a bit to give adequate surface for the new gel coat to bond to.