oxidation and bad decals

[AirJordan175]

here is a picture of the 1988 2001 SN i am picking up this week

i want to start immediately bu stripping it of the old decals and wetsanding i think

what are the steps i should go about cleaning it up to shine

i also want to get new decals for it, can someone direct me to a place that sells them

thanks in ahead

blake

[SquamInboards]

You may not need to wet sand if it's as shiny as it looks in the picture, hard to tell with the shadows though. Using a good buffing wheel and good rubbing compound should bring back the shine, plus wax on top of that... search on this forum for other topics on this because I know it's been discussed. Decals especially, several dealers have been known to stock these and that information can be found using the search on here as well... good luck!

[waterskifanaticGAJ]

I detail boats on the side. I use Meguiars Heavy Oxidation Remover followed by Meguiars One Step Cleaner wax. If that does not work, then go the heavy artillery route. Start with the Meguiars Heavy Oxidation remover, then use FLOOD Company Glassworks. If the oxidation comes back after doing that, repeat until it stays restored. Then follow up with more cleaner wax. To keep it from fading again, put at least one coat of cleaner wax on your boat once per month during the season. It sounds like a big job, but it gets easier the more often you do it, and it is not near as much work as wetsanding.

[shag]

For heavy oxidation I use 3M microfinishing compound with a heavy nap drill mounted pad, being carefull not to 'burn' the surface. Then after that, use 'Liquid ebony' for darker colors(I've never used it on red before). Follow that up with a good quality wax and you should nice results.

[Hollywood]

Put her in the sun and we'll see how dull she really is, that picture is in a shadow. We have an 88 SN and will be restoring the gelcoat. I ordered the "Ski Nautique", "Correct Craft", "Competition Ski Boat", and the double pin stripe from MWCC. Nobody has the "2001" in stock. I found one set recently on this site in the "Decals" thread. Woody from Southeast Marine (formerly SECC) is working on getting the full 1988 Ski Nautique decal set reproduced. Call him and put your name on the list.

If you want that original, showroom shine I think you're going to need to wetsand. Besides, you don't want to have to do the buffing over again and again once you finally replace the decals.

I just emailed with Brad on his boat, this is what he posted on CCF a while back.
"I originally started with 400 but it was taking too long. I personally found better results using the 320 (Get a quicker cut from it). I then worked 320 – 400 – 600 – 800 – 1000, then buffed with heavy cut and then with swirl remover. Removing all of the external hardware is definitely a must!! "

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k179/bbrech1/nautique_01__1_.jpg
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k179/bbrech1/nautique_01__59___large_.jpg
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k179/bbrech1/Nautique01124.jpg
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k179/bbrech1/nautique_01__187_.jpg
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k179/bbrech1/nautique_01__167_.jpg

I will be doing this eventually.
320
400
600
800
1000
1200
Heavy compound
Medium compound
Polish
Wax

[Chris4x4Gill2]

I wetsanded my '89 this winter. Mine had some heavy oxidization in some places, mainly near the transom. I didnt want to go with a heavy grit so I started with the 1000. I went over it as many times as it took with the 1000 to remove the oxidization, then used an abrasive cleaning polish on a buffer. Then moved to a cleaner wax with the buffer.