2000 Sport Nautique

[NautiqueJeff]

I put a battery in this boat the other day, but the only power I got was to the bilge pump.

Played around with it for a little while, but couldn't get the keypad to do anything at all. I assumed it was the PME that was the problem.

The Chief Engineer from Nautique happened to be here at Lake Norman, and he stopped by Silver Cove Marine here in Mooresville, NC to check out the restoration projects. I asked him about it, and he jumped in, felt the wires going to the PME, punched a few keys on the keypad, and said forget the PME, this is a keypad issue.

I had a spare keypad at home, so i took it over there today, and of course that was the problem. Easy fix, and I didn't have to buy an $800 PME!

[NautiqueJeff]

I took some time today to do a little test buffing on the gelcoat.

I removed the pinstripe and some of the graphics first.

Here's the BEFORE shot:



I wet sanded this area with 800, and then hit it with 3M Heavy cutting compound. I am pretty impressed with the results, considering I only did those two steps. It would still need a finish buff, and then some wax to be complete.

Here's the result of those two steps:





I wasn't quite satisfied with the blue. I could still see where the pinstripe had been.

I have decided that before going any further, I am going to buy some more aggressive wet sandpaper, and hit the whole blue stripe with that, as well as the areas where the decals were. Then I will use the heavy cutting compound, and then the light cutting compound with wax.

Then it will get new Sport Nautique graphics and a new BLACK pinstripe.

Should turn out really nice I think.

[SilentSeven]

In my experience, the vapor blue behaves differently than other colors....it seems to oxidize faster than the white or in my case the black. I have to frequently repolish the blue stripe on my boat.

How did you decide to start with 800? I'm always nervous to use too much grit...well...just because.

There are a lot of interesting polishes out there in a variety of grits/compounds. Be curious what you settle on. Not sure if you have one or not but I strongly recommend a wool buffing wheel with the high speed polisher...I get mine cheap at harbor freight.....

Sent from my Pixel 7 using Tapatalk

[bturner]

I've done several boats that were this bad and maybe a bit worse. What I look at, or at least try to determine is how much material I have to work with on the boat. In most cases the PO hasn't lifted a finger on the boat or has only used color restorer or cleaner wax products. One way to get an idea of what has been used previously is to look for sanding scratches or buffer swirls to see if anyone has been aggressive before. If no one has been at it before you'd be surprised how much material you have to work with.

I'll test in a small location (like Jeff did) but typically try to find someplace that is less noticeable or at least smaller. 600 is as course as I'll get and I've found it useful in knocking out bad areas quickly. The key is to use plenty of water (with some Dawn in it), always use a block whenever possible and let the paper do the work, as in don't put a bunch of pressure on the block while sanding. You always want to "sand off" an edge, never into one. If you're dealing with a radius, switch to a flexible foam block. I've seen guys us a DA with wet sandpaper but I've never built up the guts to go that direction.

https://www.amazon.com/Motor-Guard-S.../dp/B003WUYG1E

If you're nervous about a tight radius or blind corner, drop down to 1000 and take more time with it.

Since I don't want to deal with respraying Gel Coat, I like to sneak up on the finish I want, removing only the amount of Gel Coat necessary to get the finish I want. I'm hot and cold on wool pads and rotary machines. I used them when I worked in a body shop and for years back in the 80s - 90s but moved to foam pads in the early 2000s. If you're not experienced or the machine gets way from you, burning through is a very distinct possibility. Back in the day when I first stated as a painter's helper, anytime we had a panel that needed to be repainted, the new guy would practice on that fender. I must have rubbed out 40 panels before they were painted. For me personally, I'd rather spend more time sanding down to 1200 (or higher on dark colors) then going with a random orbital, a yellow pad with rubbing compound and then start in with the 3M perfect it 3 step system, moving to different types of foam pads along the way. I've had people tell me this won't work but I probably have at least 7 boats to prove this wrong.



For me since I'm not on the clock or doing this professionally, it's more of a Zen type of project. Get in the zone, take your time and step back every now and then to have a coffee or beer and see where you're at. It's not hard but does require time, practice and patience. I'm sure Jeff's boat will look outstanding in a week.

[NautiqueJeff]

Great advice! Thank you.

I am pretty sure this one has never been sanded aggressively before. I know the pinstripe is original, and when I removed it, you can actually feel the color change line in the gel where the blue meets the white.

It should look good once it is finished.

[Scooter G]

I've seen guys us a DA with wet sandpaper but I've never built up the guts to go that direction.

I think Turner pretty much nailed it on the process. And you've got to really know your shiz behind a DA w/ sandpaper before that hits gel, makes work light, but can also create more work.
I'm just the opposite on pads, I can't seem to give up on my hi speed wool pads. Old dog new tricks, I will sometimes go with a more aggresive foam pad in the beginning stages for the cut. The right technique with the wet sanding as Turner prescribed can render some amazing results, and can smooth out minor ripples in the gel finish. Just to add my 2 cents, I found some sandpaper on the Amazon that isn't bad and in the right price arena. I save the 150-400 for the wood projects.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Jeff, I never imagined the color of blue that was hiding under that oxidized faded haze, nice work man! Love to see results.

[SilentSeven]

There will be lots of thoughts on rotary polisher with wool pad vs foam pads and an orbital polisher. I don't think there is a 'right answer'....it's more down to technique and compounds.

I will say you have to respect the rotary polisher...it requires more feel and you can get yourself in trouble a lot more quickly if not careful. But polishing gelcoat is like 50x more forgiving than auto paint. Years ago, I spent 18 months working on and off in a car dealers detail shop bringing back to life trade-ins and got a lot of stick time using a wool pad rotary with cutting compound (in the days before every car had a clear coat...). On car paint and with a cutting compound, a rotary is quick to burn through paint on corners or leave massive swirls down the side. On gelcoat...I've had no such problems. The other thing I like about the rotary is the ability to put the pad edge on a problem area, lean in a bit and get a bit of extra cut and heat to work out scratches or some specific fade. They are also good for spot touch-ups. Finally, rotary's can work fast and cover a lot of area quickly.

None of this should suggest a rotary is better than a DA with a pad. They are just different.

Here's what I'm most curious about - how do you keep the area from fading again? On my boat, I have a few areas (that vapor blue line and part of the black on my transom) that were sun abused to some extent by the PO. No matter how much I work them out, the fade comes back over some amount of time. I have never really gone deep with sanding...just a light 1000 wet sand followed by a polish. Keeping UV off really helps of course... But what I haven't discovered is a permanent fix once a section gets oxidized. Maybe I just haven't been aggressive enough in sanding through the damage? This is where I hesitate. For now...I just go back and touch up the area every now and then with my rotary.

[bturner]

I think once the damage is done with UV it's going to come back unless you can keep it out of the sun. I had to do the transom on my previous boat 2 - 3 times a year with the old cover as it didn't cover the vertical portion between the rub rail and the platform. The teak platform also got real dirty and lasted maybe a month looking like a table top. By the end of the season it was toast. I went to a waterline over the platform cover and never had an issue after that. Transom didn't fade and the platform stayed nice. It works out real nice if you're on a lift all summer.

[SilentSeven]

....I think once the damage is done with UV it's going to come back unless you can keep it out of the sun....

Yeah...that's what I was a bit afraid of and is in line with my personal experience. You can bring them back nicely with a good polish but sections will continue to need ongoing maintenance.

We need NautiqueJeff to hold on to one of these oxidized then polished out boats long enough to be a control test!

[bionaraq]

Offer still stands to help with buffing/cutting these.

I sent you a text as well. 800 is a great first step, but most cutting compounds claim 1500 or 1000 as their max cut. I'd highly recommend doing 800>1500> then cut with wool, then polish. (I used all meguires)

if sanding by hand, get a good block that holds it nicely, this is a fingertip saver. Never use your hand as you'll sand unevenly. Good blocks have a handle and foam base. go in 90* rotations. I.e. start vertical, then sand next step horizontal. This way you know you are done with the next step when all the vertical sanding is gone. then the next step you can see when all the horizontals are gone when sanding vertical.

When i hit the one really bad section with 600 DARO pads, i got "hook marks" that were a ROYAL pita to clean up. I'd recommend more time with an 800 before i dropped lower again.

I did buy several ABALON pads recommended online for sanding gelcoat, these were wet or dry, but i felt the 1000 and 1500 blew out almost instantly. I ended up doing the entire sport 216 by hand rather than mucking with them.

When cutting, make sure to blow out your pad often. The gel "fills" the pad quickly. I ended up buying a box of wool pads from amazon so i could switch them out per 1/4 boat. In the end, the last side I did, i gave up on the wool (was sick of feeling like i was eating it) and decided to try some of the cheapo amazon black pads I had for cars. I honestly feel like the cut was about the same, it was much easier to "blow out" the pads with a toothbrush and they didnt harden up so badly when i tossed then in the washer when done.

I wouldnt do one section all the way before moving on, i'd do one step all the way around, then the next. This should eliminate overlap where you can tell where you stop/started everytime.

As to resilience. I waxed then wipe on ceramic coated my boat (separate thread) after the above. I have a few parts i'll work on more next winter (parts where i was too agressive on sanding grit and only saw after waxing). But in my experience, once you "cut" the oxidized gel off, then wax and treat it properly. It holds the clear clean wet look for a long long time. 3m sticker eraser is the best invention ever for removing the vinyl stickers/pinstripes.

For me, it's a zen, put my earbuds in. Listen to a podcast and work along.

[NautiqueJeff]

Well, after discussing it with several people, I have decided to go ahead and put a whole new interior in this boat. The original plan was to try to save the original interior, but the more we looked at it, the more issues we saw.

Here are some of the bigger ones:







So now that it is getting a full interior, and I have some extra time to work on it (since the interior will take a couple of months), I decided to go ahead and do a complete restoration on this one. I pulled the windshield today, and will take it apart and powder coat it. I also pulled the vent covers for powder coat. The rubrail will be replaced. I even pulled the bow cover snaps for better buffing and compounding access.

Here's the state of the boat as of tonight. The interior is coming out this weekend.

[NautiqueJeff]

Pulled the interior out today. That was fun in 100-degree heat.

[bionaraq]

I've always been afraid to fully pull the dash. always feels like there's one more connector I cant see that I just know I am going to break when trying to disconnect behind the cluster. boat certainly looks different without the interior/dash in.

Jeff, is there a rotary knob to the bottom right in front of the throttle on yours? i have a silver/aluminum knob just under the fiberglass that i cant tell what it's for.

[NautiqueJeff]

Dash pulls are easy. I wouldn't be concerned with that.

That rotary knob is only on Signature Edition boats. It is for adjusting the speedometer.

[bionaraq]

Interesting. It's been off from the perfect pass 2-3mph, but I assumed it was not adjustable.