1979 Ski Supreme ski boat - back from Davey Jones' Locker

[RaskyR1]

Re: 1979 Ski Supreme ski boat - back from Davey Jones' Locker

Sanding of the dead, oxidized surface will indeed reveal a much nicer looking finish below. But that's only part of the story. Gel coat is much more porous than automotive paint, and sanding it tends to just open the pores up even more. The more open the pores, the more the surface is prone to oxidation. It can become a viscous cycle if you're not careful.

Thanks.

[Bill Davidson]

Re: 1979 Ski Supreme ski boat - back from Davey Jones' Locker

I laughed, while saying Oh my when I say to first transformation shots. That boat is going to draw more attention now then the day it was new. It looks great.

[the other pc]

Re: 1979 Ski Supreme ski boat - back from Davey Jones' Locker

... Did you use M40 on the interior vinyl as well after you cleaned it?...

We used Flagship Premium Vinyl & Rubber Protectant.



You want to stick with a dressing from the Marine line, like Flagship or M57, for a ski boat interior. They tend to be less slick when wet. You don't want to be slip sliding around when climbing in and out of the boat.


pc.

[aris]

Re: 1979 Ski Supreme ski boat - back from Davey Jones' Locker

Awesome work

I've never worked on a boat before, but how do you treat the areas that the boat rests on the trailer with?

haha..i was going to ask the same question..lol

[Mary S]

Re: 1979 Ski Supreme ski boat - back from Davey Jones' Locker

Nice job, and thanks for the write-up! I predict boat detailing in my future. Hmm, 18 man hours, is that about 8 woman hours? (just kidding, I wish!)

[Hemin8r]

Re: 1979 Ski Supreme ski boat - back from Davey Jones' Locker

Awesome turnaround fellas. That red really pops now. Maybe the owner can take a picture of the boat once it's in the water.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: 1979 Ski Supreme ski boat - back from Davey Jones' Locker

Nice job, and thanks for the write-up! I predict boat detailing in my future. Hmm, 18 man hours, is that about 8 woman hours? (just kidding, I wish!)

Hmmmm.... sounds like a challenge. How 'bout we get a group of guys buffing one side of a boat and a group of lady detailers working the other side and see who a) finishes first and, b) achieves the best finish.

We're sure Ash can hook us up with a nice 50' boat in need of some TLC. Sounds like a fun day, huh?

[Andrew C.]

Re: 1979 Ski Supreme ski boat - back from Davey Jones' Locker

It's common for guys to jack the boat up off the trailer a bit, work on those areas and then drop the boat back onto the trailer. We did not have the equipment needed for that, but all of those areas are below the water line and we weren't going for a true hardcore restoration here.

Ah that makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the insight!

[Shawn T.]

Re: 1979 Ski Supreme ski boat - back from Davey Jones' Locker

If you want to go this route on leather it's probably best you only do it for very light maintenance cleaning and dressing. Use a finishing pad and set the tool to the lowest speed and just gently work the product in. What you do NOT want to do is use a polishing pad on a higher speed for deep cleaning really dirty leather. At that point you run the risk of getting overly aggressive/abrasive with the surface and you could rapidly degrade the clear coat on the leather. That surface is not intended to be worked on with anything abrasive and although a typical leather cleaner/conditioner is not abrasive, a polishing pad spinning at speed is. We don't technically recommend this process, so if you choose to try it just proceed with caution. Remember, common sense is your friend.

We didn't really do anything for the diamond plate or the trailer itself, other than a simple wipe down, as most of it was just too far gone. We did dress all the interior vinyl though.

It's common for guys to jack the boat up off the trailer a bit, work on those areas and then drop the boat back onto the trailer. We did not have the equipment needed for that, but all of those areas are below the water line and we weren't going for a true hardcore restoration here.

We do expect the gel to fade back pretty severely in as little as a year, especially if the owner doesn't do much maintenance to it. Heck, we're already toying with the idea of bringing it back next year and wet sanding it. That's not always recommended as the sanding process tends to really open the pores of the gel coat and can actually speed up the oxidation process, but on something this old and in this rough shape that's sort of a moot point.

Thanks for all the positive feedback! We've been wanting to do a boat write up for quite a while so it was nice to finally get this together, and your responses tell us it was a good idea overall!

Could you elaborate on this line in blue please? I did not know that leather had a clear coat.

[Mary S]

Re: 1979 Ski Supreme ski boat - back from Davey Jones' Locker

Hmmmm.... sounds like a challenge. How 'bout we get a group of guys buffing one side of a boat and a group of lady detailers working the other side and see who a) finishes first and, b) achieves the best finish.

We're sure Ash can hook us up with a nice 50' boat in need of some TLC. Sounds like a fun day, huh?

LOL! I don't know what the owner would think of that tape mark down the middle! But I know I would win if I used Magic Eraser on the interior. Zip zip zip done!

[Michael Stoops]

Re: 1979 Ski Supreme ski boat - back from Davey Jones' Locker

Could you elaborate on this line in blue please? I did not know that leather had a clear coat.

Most automotive leather has a clear coat of some sort applied to it. The coating is generally unique to leather as it is designed to move, stretch, conform and otherwise feel like leather. It is a porous film that still allows the leather to breathe and allows leather dressings to penetrate to the leather itself. It's generally there to prevent wearing off the dye and/or to keep the leather a consistant color. If you think of something leather that has no coating, like a baseball glove, then applying almost any sort of lotion to it will darken the color. Sometimes quite dramatically. Obviously that would not be a welcome situation for most car owners.

These coatings tend to be pretty resilient, for the most part, but they are not designed to be aggressively buffed. Doing so in a small area, like when trying to remove a small stain, can result in rub through and the creation of a dull spot.

[ESSO]

Re: 1979 Ski Supreme ski boat - back from Davey Jones' Locker

A Big project and need more time... nice

[Wills.WindowsAndWheels]

Re: 1979 Ski Supreme ski boat - back from Davey Jones' Locker

Hmmmm.... sounds like a challenge. How 'bout we get a group of guys buffing one side of a boat and a group of lady detailers working the other side and see who a) finishes first and, b) achieves the best finish.

We're sure Ash can hook us up with a nice 50' boat in need of some TLC. Sounds like a fun day, huh?

I think that would depend on the lady buffers choice of clothing lol. A group of male detailers in the presence of female detailers may cause a few delays on the men's side lol

[KC's]

Re: 1979 Ski Supreme ski boat - back from Davey Jones' Locker

ma ma mia

[Michael Stoops]

Re: 1979 Ski Supreme ski boat - back from Davey Jones' Locker

ma ma mia