toddaltpeter
Jet Boat Addict
- Messages
- 108
- Reaction score
- 209
- Points
- 107
- Location
- Ilinois
- Boat Make
- Yamaha
- Year
- 2021
- Boat Model
- AR
- Boat Length
- 19
I should start out by saying I have ZERO experience with body work, so this was a first for me. Special thanks to @tdonoughue, @YamaHog, and @mrcleanr6. Your posts about how to do this gave me the confidence to give it a try!!!
Had my first dock encounter. Long story which I will skip to avoid marital counseling.
Decided to give it a try to fix it myself.
#1 goal - Protect the boat
#2 goal - Look Pretty
ordered the Suede Grey Gel coat repair kit from Spectrum via their distributor iBoat . ($35)
Taped off the big spot and mixed applied the gel. I did not tape the scratch I jut applied the gel.
I did not tape the scratch I jut applied the gel.
I let it dry 4 hours. I then stated wet sanding. (Take your time here. Sand a little and check, then sand a little more)
I bought 3m wet sand paper and a sanding block at Walmart (Automotive section). 400, 800, 1000, 1500, and 2000 grit About ($20) in total
After sanding with 400 and 800, I was pretty sure I ruined my boat, but I was committed at this point. Use the 400 and 800 to sand the repair down to almost flush with the existing gelcoat.
Caution, I did get a little to aggressive with the 800 and removed a little too much. If this is your first try, spend more time with the 1000 and less with the 400 and 800.
As I moved up to the 1000, 1500, and 2000 paper, I began to have hope again. I found the 1000 grit was my favorite paper to work with. When I was finished with the 1000 grit, the surface was smooth to the touch, Even thought I could still see where the filler was, I couldn't feel it with my fingers if I ran it across the surface. I then went on to the 1500 and finally the 2000.
After that It was time to polish. I purchased a $100 7in Rotary polisher from Harbor freight( Probably could have gotten away with the $30 one) and a Lake Country 100% wool Pad off amazon ($12). I first polished with Meguiar's 105 on the rotary. I followed up with the Meguiar's 205 polish. For this step I borrowed a friends 6In Dual Action Polisher and used a Black Polishing foam pad. I could have used the rotary, but the DA is easier to use for the finishing stage. Like magic, the sanding scratches disappeared and the gel looked perfect. Watch some YouTube videos. It's very easy to do the polishing if you have the right setup. The polish was expensive $30 per bottle, but I hew have enough to last me years!)
In the end. I'm happy with this first attempt. I need to go back and fix where I over sanded, but it was starting to rain and I had to call it a day.
Had my first dock encounter. Long story which I will skip to avoid marital counseling.
Decided to give it a try to fix it myself.
#1 goal - Protect the boat
#2 goal - Look Pretty
ordered the Suede Grey Gel coat repair kit from Spectrum via their distributor iBoat . ($35)
Taped off the big spot and mixed applied the gel. I did not tape the scratch I jut applied the gel.
I did not tape the scratch I jut applied the gel.
I let it dry 4 hours. I then stated wet sanding. (Take your time here. Sand a little and check, then sand a little more)
I bought 3m wet sand paper and a sanding block at Walmart (Automotive section). 400, 800, 1000, 1500, and 2000 grit About ($20) in total
After sanding with 400 and 800, I was pretty sure I ruined my boat, but I was committed at this point. Use the 400 and 800 to sand the repair down to almost flush with the existing gelcoat.
Caution, I did get a little to aggressive with the 800 and removed a little too much. If this is your first try, spend more time with the 1000 and less with the 400 and 800.
As I moved up to the 1000, 1500, and 2000 paper, I began to have hope again. I found the 1000 grit was my favorite paper to work with. When I was finished with the 1000 grit, the surface was smooth to the touch, Even thought I could still see where the filler was, I couldn't feel it with my fingers if I ran it across the surface. I then went on to the 1500 and finally the 2000.
After that It was time to polish. I purchased a $100 7in Rotary polisher from Harbor freight( Probably could have gotten away with the $30 one) and a Lake Country 100% wool Pad off amazon ($12). I first polished with Meguiar's 105 on the rotary. I followed up with the Meguiar's 205 polish. For this step I borrowed a friends 6In Dual Action Polisher and used a Black Polishing foam pad. I could have used the rotary, but the DA is easier to use for the finishing stage. Like magic, the sanding scratches disappeared and the gel looked perfect. Watch some YouTube videos. It's very easy to do the polishing if you have the right setup. The polish was expensive $30 per bottle, but I hew have enough to last me years!)
In the end. I'm happy with this first attempt. I need to go back and fix where I over sanded, but it was starting to rain and I had to call it a day.
). So this led me to not paying attention to my buddy approaching the dock way too fast while trying to tell the gals that it’s okay, a boat can get wet. He nailed the nose of the boat and caused a pretty good large gouge. Very thankful it seems the 230 models were built pretty sturdy because I was expecting glass damage but after looking through the anchor locker it was just gel. I applied this the same way, just larger area taped off. Used a sandwich bag again to shape it which works great, but like I said, cut the bag in half so only one layer of the plastic is used. This repair was more tricky due to the multiple rounded edges I had to work around. This is where I wish I had 1000 grit sand paper. I used 400-800 to sand down the rougher edges, then went back and forth between 800 and 1500. I got a little sand happy on the very pointed edges but some touch up paint will make it look fine. It took awhile using 1500 to make it look perfect-ish. 2000 for a bit and then again with rubbing/polishing compound. The perfectionist in me will always know it’s not normal but the wife says “you can’t even tell.” So I’ll take that as a win!
