How to clean up boat before sale?

[xoomer]

I'm getting ready to sell my old 2002 LX 2000 in a few days but it has a some cosmetic issues that I need to fix. Inside the boat is fine but the outside, especially the blue area, is faded and has a few nicks and scratches. The boat is sitting on a lift and I will need to work with it there but it is fairly easy to reach most of the places that need work.

Can anyone tell me what would be the best wax, polish, or other material to help shine up the exterior, and , if possible, cover up some of the scratches?

 

[Bruce]

You need @SuperJetDan!

 

[txav8r]

Besides just making it shine, mechanically sound, and having a history of maintenance on the boat, it looks like the nicks and scratches may cost you more to repair than to just reduce the price. There isn't be a few shortcuts when it comes to getting the hull scratch free or at least looking scratch free. The color looks like you could match it easily with a blue permanent marker. Plenty of us use them to take the white out of a scratch in our colored areas on black boats. But that will only work well on a skinny scratch. You may be able to buff out some of the scratches and scrapes that are not too deep, and that may remove some of the white and give you the blue back. It would be a bunch of work to eliminate them completely but it could be done at a price. Maybe @Glassman could give a little advice about how to restore that hull to its original luster!

 

[scokill]

Besides just making it shine, mechanically sound, and having a history of maintenance on the boat, it looks like the nicks and scratches may cost you more to repair than to just reduce the price. There isn't be a few shortcuts when it comes to getting the hull scratch free or at least looking scratch free. The color looks like you could match it easily with a blue permanent marker. Plenty of us use them to take the white out of a scratch in our colored areas on black boats. But that will only work well on a skinny scratch. You may be able to buff out some of the scratches and scrapes that are not too deep, and that may remove some of the white and give you the blue back. It would be a bunch of work to eliminate them completely but it could be done at a price. Maybe @Glassman could give a little advice about how to restore that hull to its original luster!

I agree that the lemon of repair may not be worth the squeeze. If I were in the market for a 2002 boat I would expect some of those types of dings and minor scratches. Mechanical/electrical and interior would be what I would value more. A good buff and wax would be what I would do.

 

[jetboater4life]

Get one of these and get busy.
http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/griots garage random orbital.do
You could use it on your car and new boat when finished

 

[Murf'n'surf]

You will need to invest an entire weekend and probably $300 if you don't have the rotary buffer with wool pads and 3M Marine rubbing compound and Finesse It II. You will be holding a 10 pound buffer to the hull so hopefully your dock is close -- you can always borrow a neighbors small plastic boat if needed.

Is this still something you want to do?

The results will be fairly good but there is a lot of oxidation to burn off and possible lettering damage. Check out the link for supplies. West Marine started carrying the 3M wool pads down here in Naples so maybe you have them up there also.
http://properboatcare.com/gelcocopa.html

 

[biglar155]

If I were a potential buyer, that would be a bit too much scratching and fading for my taste.

I think it would be worth some elbow grease (and you'd get to buy yourself a new toy to use on other vehicles and boats) to try to clean that up so that you could draw potential buyers better.

When I was browsing for boats on-line on a regular basis, pictures spoke volumes to me. Honestly, I'm not sure I'd click on a boat that looked like that other than to see how ridiculously low the price is.

My thought is that not only will you need to lower the price, you will get fewer "hits" on your For Sale ad. This will mean taking longer to sell.

So while it may be a "wash" price-wise to fix it up, you may sell faster if it looks better. Basically, you'd be paying to market the thing.

This is just my 2 cents of course, but I thought you'd be interested to hear another opinion.

 

[Dough]

My 1988 Sea Ray 210 looked alot like that when i bought it. I used a buffer my dad owned and bought 3m Restorer and Wax. Great product. Change your pad often. Thats all i did, over and over. Works, PO didnt believe i didnt take it in for a full wet sanding.
Before

After

Pic don't do it justice, but I have two weekends invested.

 

[Geiger41]

WOW @Dough that's a crazy difference ...lets see some more before after pics.........next time my boat needs detailing, I am calling you !!!

 

[xoomer]

Thanks for all the responses but unfortunately nobody told me what I wanted to hear--a $39.95 miracle product that I could simply spray on and it would restore the boat to "like-new-condition"--instead, everyone said I had to do some work .

From what I can tell, the oxidation will probably come out but the scratches may be a problem. The locals who do boat detailing charge about $10-$12 a foot for polish/wax but I have no idea what scratch repair would cost--if I can't get away with a magic marker type solution. If I can get all this done for maybe $300 or so, I will more than likely hire someone to do it; however, if it runs much more than that I will have to decide if it is worth it or not. Thanks again...

 

[Bruce]

Like others have posted, I see a lot of work there. I also would not consider it when shopping. I would be concerned that the engines were in just as bad of shape.

I would guess that it would sell for several thousand more if the hull were repaired. But no one is going to do it for $300. It looks like that scratch might require some gel coat repair.

I have invested in repairs for vehicles before selling them that did not bother me while I owned them and felt that I came out ahead when selling.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

It's really hard to tell from the pictures how deep those white marks are. Most of them look like they will buff right off but the deeper parts will remain. After a deep buff and polish those scratches will not stick out so much.
If it was up to me, I would invest $400-500 in a good hull buffing -- it will increase your selling price and attract a wider range of buyers. I wish you lived closer to me so I could check it out and give you a hand.

 

[scokill]

Thanks for all the responses but unfortunately nobody told me what I wanted to hear--a $39.95 miracle product that I could simply spray on and it would restore the boat to "like-new-condition"--instead, everyone said I had to do some work .

From what I can tell, the oxidation will probably come out but the scratches may be a problem. The locals who do boat detailing charge about $10-$12 a foot for polish/wax but I have no idea what scratch repair would cost--if I can't get away with a magic marker type solution. If I can get all this done for maybe $300 or so, I will more than likely hire someone to do it; however, if it runs much more than that I will have to decide if it is worth it or not. Thanks again...

Don't fret. $300-400 would be a good investment IMO. It's a 12 year boat and most of the folks on here are enthusiasts and take meticulous care of their boats. They are a segment that wouldn't consider your boat, but they are not the only segment. I grew up selling cars and boats and as my dad said "son, there is a butt for every seat". I would be more concerned about the market for used Yamaha jets of this age in general regardless of condition. Is it in good enough condition to sell at all is one hurdle, once you get over that it's about price.

 

[xoomer]

It's really hard to tell from the pictures how deep those white marks are. Most of them look like they will buff right off but the deeper parts will remain. After a deep buff and polish those scratches will not stick out so much.
If it was up to me, I would invest $400-500 in a good hull buffing -- it will increase your selling price and attract a wider range of buyers. I wish you lived closer to me so I could check it out and give you a hand.

I think the concentrated pictures make it look worse than it is--at least when considering the overall condition of the boat. The port side only has oxidation, no major scratches, the interior is in great shape, and the engines run good--just had the carburetors overhauled--those will be the main selling points. I think (hope) once it is buffed out that it will look a lot better and the scratches will not be a major problem--if so then I will have to deal with them at that time.

 

[Bruce]

Last year about this time I decided to upgrade to my current SX230. I sold my 2005 LX210 in three days for $12,000. I spent a day or more cleaning and polishing before listing. I also had replaced all of the gauges and upgraded the lights to LED.

 

[Dough]

Thanks, @geiger41! I'll have to check when I get home but here is my first time out after a coat of the 3m.

Also the buffer was a 6 inch black and decker and worked great. It was under 40 bucks new, but has waxed my boat and suv many times.

 

[xoomer]

Last year about this time I decided to upgrade to my current SX230. I sold my 2005 LX210 in three days for $12,000. I spent a day or more cleaning and polishing before listing. I also had replaced all of the gauges and upgraded the lights to LED.

There are two or three jet boat similar to mine for sale in this area for around $7-$8K. The one problem is that I don't have a trailer for this boat but a lot of people here live on canals and don't necessarily want to keep a trailer. I'm more interested in a fast sale than getting the last dollar so I will probably let mine go at a relatively low price.

 

[Bruce]

Perhaps figure out how much you want for her then decide if you need to clean her up.

$7 to $8k was the price range for a nice LS2000 when I was shopping in 2012. I have noticed that prices are higher in Florida. Perhaps you could get $5k without any work and be happy with that.

 

[xoomer]

I was thinking $6-6.5k after cleaning her up but if someone showed up with $5k today I would probably let her go and move on...

 

[Gym]

@xoomer, I would talk to a couple of car detailers in your area. It's the same process to detail a car as a boat and they don't tack on the extra $$$ just because it's called a boat.