Time to Wet Sand?

How do you know when it's time to wetsand? It's an '85 2001 and now that I've got it running right it's time to make it shine again. I've already done the teak (easy) but the gelcoat obviously needs some work.
I've been reading alot and was hoping I could get away a heavy duty cutting/rubbing compound rather than putting sand paper to her. No chalk comes of when it's dry and I can't tell if it's been wet sanded before. I'm worried about burning it or rubbing through the gelcoat as this will be my first time.
Any advice? CCFan.com has tons of info, maybe too much...

My old boat looked exactly like that but it was black. I hit it with a light rub of 1500 grit and then buffed it and it looked like new. When wetsanding, just try to get the whole boat looking uniform and then hit it with the buffer.

Check out the DIY section on here good info there.

http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/showthread.php?t=282492

Why are your rear tower legs reversed?

If you use a lil bleach and power wash your rub rail it'll look shiny fresh too!

i did mine 800 first, 1000 second , compound 3rd, wax

No way it would hurt to try something like the marine "color restorer" rubbing compound from walmart, by hand, or on a buffer....before wetsanding.
If it doesnt' work....move to sanding.

Thanks for the tips.

The tower was like that when I bought it. They are not really reversed, just every one puts them on the same way and this guy did different. I actually preffer them this way, it keeps the tower from looking bloated and being wider than the boat and it make putting boards in the rack much easier.

You will probably have to wet sand where the old badge was. Use 1500 grit with a foam backer and just go lightly. You can follow with a buffer and some marine/rv cutting compound then polish, then wax.

I just recently detailed a boat at my shop that required just that process:

Before:



After:



The rest of boat I only used cutting compound, polish, then wax to finish. You can see in this picture the left side is done and the right side has not been touched:




Just take your time and use the right products and it will come out great!

That came out great Tyler. Should I use the polisher with 1500 grit over the existing decals or should I go around them by hand. I would try to remove them but those three letters took me about 2 hours with a heat gun.

On the plus size with the decals it did give my boat a name, the CORRE RAFT. ie. hardcore wake boat.

Stupid, funny or both?

The tower legs that way give you a little more clearance at the dock too.

I would wet sand by hand, definitely not with a buffer. I know it is pain but in the long run you will be better off taking the decals off. It will be almost impossible to get a clean look inside and around the lettering. With them gone you can get a very clean and even result.

If you use a strip off wheel the decals will come right off. Here's what I'm talking about. Our local auto parts stores usually have 'em in stock. Good luck!

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3...beRJ5GMFSMV0gl

Thanks philly, I had heard of these decal erasers but couldn't find them anywhere. That link is very helpfull cuz now I know exactly what I am looking for. I really wanted to remove the decals anyway and do something modern. Probably a simple [I]NAUTIQUE across the back and something similar to this decal on the sides, except replace the word "super" with "2001". This would actually be more accurate for the boat since it has a tower and plumbed ballast tanks.

If you change the decals, you will have some shadowing where the old decals were. I don't know if the wet sanding will eliminate that, but something to consider.

I just had a my boat partially wrapped. Unlimited options for graphics and location. Just another option...

I've been trying to convince my friend who owns a banner company that he needs to get into wraps. I've offered my boat a guinny pig several times but no luck yet.

A guy who works for me just said he would do the boat for $500, that sounds like way to much to me.

$500 for a full boat wrap too much???????????????????

That is usually in the 4-5k range.

I am going to do a partial on mine soon and I am hoping to keep it under 1500 I just need to get a better idea of what I want.

As for your buddies business, the 2 wrap shops by me can't even keep up with the workload. TONS of work coming in from huge trailers to cars, boats etc..

Thanks Cobra, I had two trains of thought going, my bad. My employee was saying $500 to wetsand and polish the boat. I wish I could get a wrap that cheap, I think that $500 would probably only cover material cost becasue I hear the base wrap material for marine application is much more than for autos.

Here a couple 2001s with different decals for you to look at.

Id say $500 to wetsand & polish isnt bad considering it cost me $185 to have my suv detailed. But isnt that part of restoring a classic boat is doing these type of projects yourself? Just some elbow grease and a 12pack

Thanks for the pics, those are great starting places.
How did you get a picture of my wife though?

Originally Posted by JoLo_Si

On the plus size with the decals it did give my boat a name, the CORRE RAFT. ie. hardcore wake boat.

Stupid, funny or both?

Hahaha Corre means run in spanish so that made me think of a bunch of cubans on the boat trying to escape to florida.

that's funny Raf.