1998 Ski Nautique Advice Needed

[bturner]

Hard to argue with the above. It's also very true that everyone has their own method that works for them.

I've had good luck with my Porter Cable random orbital with the full wet sand to polish method using an aggressive foam pad. If you're working up through to the finer abrasives in incremental steps you'll do fine with the orbital and you'll with a lot less chance of burning through.That said you will work longer with the orbital and I wouldn't try the heavy compound only method with anything but a rotary.

I do have an old Craftsman rotary from back when they had metal bodies but it's crazy loud, heavy and will wear you out after about 4 hours of working with it. I can run that little Porter Cable all day and not be close to as beat up but then again I'm not 20 something like when I first bought it.

Looks like the Gel Coat specific compounds are new and this is the first time I've seen them. I know the older compounds work but I wouldn't hesitate to try these either. 3M makes good stuff and I've used their products going back to when I worked in a body shop while attending college (which has been quite a long time ago now).

[SilentSeven]

The rotary buffer can be a beast....dusty...flings compound everywhere if you're not careful Years ago when I was in school, I worked for a car dealer including a good stint in the detail shop so I learned how to use one. In the process, I killed a few cars burning through edges and corners with Oneshot compound. Fortunately, gel-coat is infinitely more forgiving.

What I like about them is that you can cover a lot of ground in a hurry and - as you angle the pad and pressure - you can really work an area. I also have a porter cable orbital and it's just such slow going vs the rotary.

My experience with compounds has been either "it's great" or "it sucks" - pretty binary. At $13 for 12oz, the Griots stuff has been hard to beat. I like the 3M stuff too...just a lot more spendy.

Hey...its' only 4 more months or so till boating season cracks open again...how long can we keep this thread running?

[Stevemo14]

I used the following, I know the tools are cheap, but I don't plan to make a business out of it. If I do i will buy better stuff.

Tools
Buffer - https://www.harborfreight.com/7-in-1...her-64807.html
Polisher / Waxer - https://www.harborfreight.com/10-in-...her-61898.html

Compounds
Cutting - https://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-M673...6-8a5c26cd5a14
Polish - https://www.amazon.com/Finesse-Finis...033961&sr=8-19
Wax - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I think these did a pretty good job. I might get a DA sander this spring and wet sand the black on the bottom one more time. There are a few spots that i noticed later in the season that could be better.

[Rogerscasey31]

I've got the decals and pinstriping off. Next will be the windshield (I hope to get the frame powder coated too). What about the rub rail, does it need to be removed? Also, where's the best place to get new decals?

[NautiqueJeff]

If the rubrail is in good shape, I'd leave it in place.

The Ski Nautique decals are here:
https://www.nautiqueparts.com/produc...ck-new-decals/

Pinstripe is here:
https://www.nautiqueparts.com/?s=acc...t_type=product

Personally, I think the silver metallic pinstripe would look great. I can't tell what the original color was on your boat.

Use discount code PND for 10% off.

[Rogerscasey31]

The rubrail is in good shape, just needs to be cleaned.

I had two pinstripes, white (top) and blue (bottom). I was going match my registration font to the Ski Nautique font, so silver pinstripe would probably look nice.

Thanks

[wayoutthere]

Harbor freight variable speed buffer/polisher ( non orbital like silent seven mentioned) wool pads and get a spur to clean them.
pro glass guy recommended vibra cut, first time using a buffer and compound and it brought back to life gelcoat that was untouched for 20 years and has lasted for about 3 years now with out wet sanding.

it can and will eat/melt/smear the decals

http://www.power1one.com/Fountain_of...Vibra_Cut.html

[Rogerscasey31]

I've most of the oxidation out with wet sanding by hand (1000, 1500, 2000, 3000) and using a medium cut compound.

Do I need to try a lower sandpaper to get the rest?

[SilentSeven]

Is that picture after buffing?

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[Rogerscasey31]

Left is before. Right is after.

[SilentSeven]

Ah....right side looks shiny vs the left. Hard to see how much shadowing is remaining after the polishing. Are you happy with the results?

I'll be curious to see what the sanding experts say....you are at the point where I have been cautious about how deep I sand. I have some level of minor hazing in my black but without the graphic outline issue...it's hard to see unless you really look for it.

Do you plan to replace the side graphics?

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[Rogerscasey31]

I'm going to replace the decals, so I'm thinking I need to remove all of the shadowing. My first thought is to try a heavier compound, then more sanding if that doesn't remove it.

[Canuck-Surfer]

I've most of the oxidation out with wet sanding by hand (1000, 1500, 2000, 3000) and using a medium cut compound.

Do I need to try a lower sandpaper to get the rest?

Yes...go down on sand paper. I started restoring mine this summer and after reading all of these posts didn’t want to go lower than 800 wet sanding. In my case my oxidation was extremely deep. I ended up talking to a good fiberglass shop and they told me not to be afraid to go down even further. I went all the way down to 400 dry sanding (3M purple dry sand discs for gelcoat). In the end I still couldn’t get all of the oxidation out and ended up taking it to them so that they could do their magic. They did up having to re-shoot some gel in some areas.

If you’ve done that with just 1000 I would not hesitate to bump it down to 800 or 600. You’ve just got to work it back up to get all the micro scratches out. Also can you get your hands on a DA polisher for the sanding that’s your best friend. If you do your homework, have the right materials and never stop moving the sander you are not going to burn through the gel nearly as easy as everyone fears.


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[THE HECKLER]

where does one get the graphics for a '98 ski nautique? my 98 snob is in the same shape down here in phenix city....afraid I would have to remove mine too....

[Rogerscasey31]

You can get them from nautiqueparts.com.

https://www.nautiqueparts.com/produc...ck-new-decals/