1990 SN Restoration - Graphics Etc

[CPJ]

Hi,

After a number of years using boats belonging to friends (see TommyB 210's SAN in the boats forum - thanks Tom!) I finally bought my own at the end of last year.

It is a 1990 Ski Nautique with the 240hp Carburetted 351 - 2 owners from new.

I have known the boat for a number of years and mechanically it is excellent (780 hours and well maintained), and cosmetically pretty good.

It has been stored on the water through the summer for a number of years and the hull has lost its shine, the colours faded and the graphics look tired.

The interior is excellent and has cleaned up really well, the only jobs required are refitting one of the side pads (coaming pad?) where a fixing has broken, replacing a cracked glove box lid, and replacing the gas struts for the observers seat.

Our season in the UK doesnt really start until April (unless you enjoy using drysuits!) and I want to spend the next couple of months getting the cosmetics right before I "de-winterize" it and get it back on the water.

I propose to polish the hull using a "soft" foam head and a compound such as G10 to restore the colour and shine, maybe moving to something a bit more aggressive, however I am aware that this might not reverse the effect of 15 years of weathering!

To do this properly I want to remove the graphics and before I do that I want to be sure that I can replace them like for like.

The UK dealer unsurprisingly does not stock graphics for 15 yr old boats and I wondered whether either the US dealers or factory would be worth contacting?

Alternatively I could have some graphics made by a vynil graphics shop however I am really keen to keep the boat original.

I would be grateful for your advice or thoughts on what I propose - there seems to be a huge amount of knowledge within this forum about these boats and I am sure many members on here have been through exactly the process that I am thinking about.



Many Thanks

Chris

[TRBenj]

RE: 1990 SN Restoration - Graphics Etc

I have been reading up on some similar projects to bring back some luster to the top deck on my newly acquired '90. I have no direct experience with this sort of detailing, so hopefully someone else can chime in with helpful comments. My current plan to restore the color:

-wet sand
start with 400 grit on scratches, 600 everywhere else, then move to 800. I plan to use a rigid sanding block on the 400, and it probably wont hurt to use it for the 600 as well. I am not sure if 1000 grit will be a necessary 3rd step.

-3 stage buff using 7" rotary (not orbital) buffer with adjustable speed
1. Heavy cut compund (ex. 3M Perfect It 3000, Meguires Diamond Cut) on wool pad (ex. Meguires 7000)
2. Medium polish/fine cut cleaner (ex. 3M marine polish) on foam pad
3. wax (ex. 3M marine wax) on appropriate pad (Meguire's blue?)

The only reason I am wet sanding is because I removed a few warning stickers, exposing a much whiter color that I want to match. I may try the cut compund first and resort to wet sanding only if I am not happy with the results. I would expect you to be fine without wet sanding, but the cutting compund would probably be a good place to start, from what I understand.

Again, this info is gathered only from what I have read- I would appreciate anyone's comments who has first hand knowledge. I would be curious to hear suggestions on how to work around stickers- trim tape on the stripes as well as the decals. Is removing these necessary, or will the compound/polish not harm them?

[Quinner]

Check with Mid-West Correct Craft, I bought stencils there a number of years ago for the lettering on my 1977 SN. If they are unable to help contact customer service in Orlando.

Mid-West 1-260-833-2226 or www.Nautique.com

Good luck with your project.

[G-man]

I'm not sure what graphics were used in 90 but the 06 have retro graphics of the 90's. This may be easier than you think. Check the CC website on the 196 boat

[JAG]

3 years ago I was able to get a complete set of graphics for my 90 Sport Nautique from SW Correct Craft in Orlando. They didn't have them is stock but were able to have them made.

[EchoLodge]

I took off the PCM stickers on the side of my hull this winter as they were weathered down to just a silver squares. Underneath I saw just how red my red used to be. I would be scared to take off the graphics in fear of having a full gunnel of brite red "Sport Nautique" Oh, but wait. That could be my new graphic! I use 3m silicate sand polish for my black once a year and 3m cleaner wax monthly. Good results in the harsh 115-121 desert heat of the Parker Dam / Lake Havasu area.

[Bremsen]

I used 3M super duty compound and a wool pad on a circular polisher set to 1800rpms. I thought I was going to have to wetsand, but the compound did a great job. I was really amazed by the difference since I had noticable graphic shadows and chalking. To remove the old graphics I just peeled them off as best I could and used 3M adhesive remover for the residue (takes some elbow grease, but it works well). White Lake Marine (site sponsor) offered to sell me a set of replacement graphics for a good price when I was picking the boat up....you might want to contact them.

Anyway, here is a pic of the transom 1/2 done to give you an idea of the difference just the compound made. Now I need to figure out how to fix the chip in the gelcoat.

[TRBenj]

Bremson, thanks for the pic!

Were you able to fully restore the color to match what was under the graphics?

It looks like you were able to work around the trim tape- is it durable enough to withstand the buffer or is there a trick involved?

[Bremsen]

TR, If its not the original color, its pretty darn close. I can't even see a hint of the old graphics.

I didn't have any problem w/ the stripe tape (even in damaged spots), no trick at all.