It was bound to happen sometime...

[Theryan]

Keep us posted on how it goes and turns out!

Do you have any sort of fins, etc. on your boat? It might give you a little piece of mind if you don't already have them.

 

[wanna-be-jetter]

Keep us posted on how it goes and turns out!

Do you have any sort of fins, etc. on your boat? It might give you a little piece of mind if you don't already have them.

Honestly that's part of why I decided to go for the DIY fix. Cheapest professional bid was $500. Figured I could get the paste and necessary tools (extra sanding discs in different grits, paste, etc.) for less than $100 and spend the other $400 on TV Wake. Get the added benefits of learning a skill I will likely need again, providing a potentially better experience for my kids in the tube (and some day me on a wakeboard!), and get better low speed handling.

 

[Theryan]

Honestly that's part of why I decided to go for the DIY fix. Cheapest professional bid was $500. Figured I could get the paste and necessary tools (extra sanding discs in different grits, paste, etc.) for less than $100 and spend the other $400 on TV Wake. Get the added benefits of learning a skill I will likely need again, providing a potentially better experience for my kids in the tube (and some day me on a wakeboard!), and get better low speed handling.

For what it's worth, I've got a set of the original thrust vectors that I replaced with the newest version that I have no use for if you would want them. I customized them and notched them so that they work with the lateral thrusters.

 

[wanna-be-jetter]

For what it's worth, I've got a set of the original thrust vectors that I replaced with the newest version that I have no use for if you would want them. I customized them and notched them so that they work with the lateral thrusters.

I decided to hop into the group buy on the TV X's but I appreciate the thought. I do have a neighbor that's got a deposit down on a 2021 AR 190 that might be interested though.

 

[wanna-be-jetter]

I believe River Valley sends all their Yamaha glass repair and Yamaha warranty work to Hassis in Stillwater. If you want to try your hand at repairing it yourself with Spectrum, I did that repair last year and would be willing to maybe meet up if we're close enough in Mpls. Feel free to DM me, it's a pretty easy repair for $50.

Hassis Paintworks, LLC

hassispaintworks.com

The Spectrum Color paste comes tomorrow. Got all my new sanding discs all ready to go as well. I'm hoping to get to work on this Friday during the day as we'll be out of town this weekend. I'll be sure to reach out with any questions after I get the product and do a little research on the process. I'm in Forest Lake so not too far from MPLS.

 

[tdonoughue]

There are a number of very good writeups on here. We used to have a pro who was very active here and taught all of us a lot. Be sure to search for 'gelcoat' or 'fiberglass'. You'll find lots of tutorials.

 

[wanna-be-jetter]

There are a number of very good writeups on here. We used to have a pro who was very active here and taught all of us a lot. Be sure to search for 'gelcoat' or 'fiberglass'. You'll find lots of tutorials.

I absolutely will scour this site for any guidance. Given that it's a small nick in the boat and not major damage, I'm actually looking forward to putting a little elbow grease into it and learning something new. Hopefully by the end of this week I'll have "after" pics up on this thread!

 

[wanna-be-jetter]

Finally took some time to get the paste into the gash on the boat. I haven't taken the clear plastic off yet but some early indications are that the shrinking was more than I had expected. I'm guessing I'll need a second round to fill the remainder of the ding. Spectrum is easy enough to work with, I just think I need to be a little more liberal with my application rather than trying to get the repair perfect on the first try.

 

[tdonoughue]

Yeah, that was one of my first learnings, too... So you are right on track! Can't wait to see pics of the unveiling.

 

[wanna-be-jetter]

Finished up my sanding project today with an RO sander, wet from 800 to 2000 grit. When I started, the paste was white and nearly perfectly matched to the boat color. Now, I'm seeing it turn black. I thought I was at the buff, polish, and wax stage of the fix but can anyone tell me what I've done wrong here?!?! For context, the texture feels perfect (so no longer feels like a gouge out of the boat) and follows the contour of the boat just fine. I hand sanded everything up to the 2000 grit paper also, only using the RO for about 10 seconds when I saw it was no longer white.

 

[tdonoughue]

I have only used a sanding block, never a sander.

Maybe the RO burned the gelcoat? Try block sanding and see if the black comes off...

 

[wanna-be-jetter]

That’s what I’m afraid of. I had read somewhere that I shouldn’t hand sand as it could cause finger marks so for the last part I wanted to just quick hit it with the RO. I can’t believe that short of a time would burn it but in reality I have no idea how fast that can occur. I’ll be real upset with myself if I messed it up badly so close to the end!

 

[wanna-be-jetter]

Well I went ahead and used 3M Perfect-It Medium and Meguiar's Cleaner Wax to see if the dark gray spots would go away. They did not. I'm pretty disappointed in the white color match on the spots that did stay white as well. I have no doubt this is on me as I'm sure I did something wrong on my first attempt at a fix like this and I'm not overly handy to begin with. On the bright side, I am happy with the end result on gloss and texture. Small victories mean a lot today! Even better, the boat is now ready to go back on the water (once I install the recently received TV X's!) and I might just try to tackle this spot again in the offseason. If anyone has any more tips on where I could've gone wrong, I would love to hear about it. Despite the struggle, it was a good experience getting to work on the boat myself and I'm happy I gave it a try.

 

[anmut]

The sun might bleach it out too.

 

[tdonoughue]

Well, let us not give up at this point!

First, yes, if you just use your hand in sanding, you will get finger marks. Using a block is important to getting a smooth surface.

Second, you already have the gelcoat and sandpaper, so why not fix the thing to be properly right. Sand down that spot by hand. If you have a Dremel tool, you can use a little grinding tip as well. Note you don't want to use a block for that--you actually need a dip so that the new gelcoat will have something onto which to stick. That black part, if it was caused by the sander, should not go too deep. You should see it getting smaller. Once it is gone and you have a bit of a divot there, remix a bit of gelcoat and fill that spot. Then sand with a block.

I bet you then have a pretty, white, smooth section of boat.

 

[Wayloncle]

Or you could get one of the awesome JetBoaters.net stickers and put over it??

 

[mrcleanr6]

I have worked on boats my whole life and have done so much glass work its not funny. The black your seeing is where you sanded so much that you have burned through and are seeing the glass or whatever yamaha uses under their gel. What you need to do now is sand the area with 220 and spray a few coats of repair gelcoat over it then sand and buff. You cannot finger sand anything...ever. Blocks only. Also when you order color matched gel its almost never going to be right on the money. Its only close start point. You need to tint from there and do multiple spray outs until you get the color right on. When its all dont you should not be able to tell it was ever done. Hence the reason a pro wants 500-$800 to do the job.

 

[wanna-be-jetter]

Well, let us not give up at this point!

First, yes, if you just use your hand in sanding, you will get finger marks. Using a block is important to getting a smooth surface.

Second, you already have the gelcoat and sandpaper, so why not fix the thing to be properly right. Sand down that spot by hand. If you have a Dremel tool, you can use a little grinding tip as well. Note you don't want to use a block for that--you actually need a dip so that the new gelcoat will have something onto which to stick. That black part, if it was caused by the sander, should not go too deep. You should see it getting smaller. Once it is gone and you have a bit of a divot there, remix a bit of gelcoat and fill that spot. Then sand with a block.

I bet you then have a pretty, white, smooth section of boat.

Unfortunately, the instructions for the Spectrum Gel Coat paste say to not mix up less than an ounce at a time. So being the newbie that I am, the two coats I used made for a lot of waste and I don't have any leftover paste. That's part of why I was thinking of getting back to it in the off season. As for the block to use while sanding, would something like this work since I already have all the hook and loop sanding discs?

2 Pack 5 Inch Hook and Loop Hand Sanding Block Round Sanding Pad Hook Backing Plate for Sanders or Polishers (2) - - Amazon.com

2 Pack 5 Inch Hook and Loop Hand Sanding Block Round Sanding Pad Hook Backing Plate for Sanders or Polishers (2) - - Amazon.com

smile.amazon.com

As you can tell, I've never been very mechanically inclined but am always open to learning new skills (and the headaches that often come with the learning process!).

 

[mrcleanr6]

Those are soft blocks and are meant for doing curved surfaces plus they are hook and loop so the cushion of that wont work anything flat. A block can be anything. You can just get some wet/dry paper and wrap it around a small wood block if you want. At this point though the repair is filled so you need regular repair gel or regular gel and pva to spray on it. The gel needs to be sprayed on. You can get a cheap preval from home depot

 

[tdonoughue]

I see you rationale in waiting, then, if you don't have gelcoat left. If it is not glass showing through (and is in fact black and burned, not sanded through to the glass--it doesn't look like glass), it can certainly wait until then. Even if glass is showing, I don't know that I would panic, given where it is as long as you can cover it while you are not using it.

Spraying gelcoat would certainly be ideal in this situation, but the quantity of gelcoat you need to buy to get the color-matched Spectrum stuff is like a pint. Which as I recall is like $150. That is rather a lot so that you can put a few ounces in a Preval sprayer. That is why I recommended removing the presumably burt gelcoat with a dremel or something and refilling with the paste. Paste is much less quantity and cheaper. If you have other locations to do and are going to use a bunch of the pint, then I would definitely go that route. The regular, un-thickened gelcoat is thin and runny and can then be sprayed on (which then saves sanding, etc.).