Gel Coat? paint? what is it?

So I'm totally new to this so bear with me please. Here's a close up photo of the side of my 1989 ski nautique 2001. I've owned it for 2.5 yrs now, and am interested in fixing it up a little. The previous owner redid the sides and the graphics. The graphic and the red pinstriping is vinyl, and easily removable. The question is, since I can see the old graphic underneath, it seems like they did kind of a half assed job. Did they just paint over the old graphic or what? I'd like to polish up the oxidation and order new vinyl matching the old graphic. Do i just need to use a compound and a wax? Or am I way off right now?
thanks

I can see the pattern inside the ghosting of the original decals... Im not sure how that would show up if they had been painted over. The pinstriping looks original, or at least the original style.

Im guessing that the stripe has never been redone. What makes you think anything has been painted? The previous owner obviously replaced the original graphics with some ugly home made ones though.

TRBenj wrote: I can see the pattern inside the ghosting of the original decals... Im not sure how that would show up if they had been painted over.

I'm pretty sure that pattern is printed on a clear decal, so if the decal was removed you shouldn't see the pattern at all. Maybe it's just a thin coat of paint and the white is showing through or maybe it didn't stick well.

Woody has these decals available. They are reproductions, but I guess pretty good ones. Don't quote me on the price, but I think 450 for a full set...
Number is 407-851-1965.

It sure looks to me that what you are seeing is where the decal once was. There is no paint on the black stripe. Just oxidation on the gel coat.

rubbing compound may work. You may have to wet sand first and then go back with rubbing compound to reduce the old lettering. If you can find original graphics, you won't have to work so hard to cover up what is pre-existing.

adam
It actually says Competition Ski Nautique. I don't think you can still get the faded cross hatch decals. TRBenj will know for sure. I matched my new decals as close as I could without the fading. I too do not like the fading cross hatch pattern much. But for originality I would like to get my hands on some.

TRBenj wrote: You can see in the picture the ghosting that would presumably be left if the clear parts didnt protect against UV as well as the colored parts.

Spot on. Out of curiousity, I checked where my old transom lettering was on my 88. It wasn't quite as pronounced as the above images, but you could still see it.

HW and I have discussed the 88-90 decals at length. I believe that the conclusion that we reached was that 89-90 are the same, 88 are slightly different. The style is similar, but the shadow on the 88 is slightly thicker, and I believe they were cut vinyl instead of printed on clear. I believe all '88 graphics were completely white.

89-90 graphics were optionally available with some colors, at least in '89 (Ive never seen the colors on a 90). HW has a bunch of cool pictures that maybe he'll share. Most were either white with a gray shadow (like mine posted above) or black with a gray shadow.

I believe several people have looked into having both 88 and 89-90 decals reproduced, but the set up costs are not cheap. Even if Woody has a file that he'd be willing to share, I doubt you could do any better on the price for an original style set than $450.

adamophoto wrote: I'd love to see HW's photos... who is he?

If you need vinyl graphics made, let me know. A friend of just made some valve cover decals for me. She is great at and inexpensive. You will need to provide dimensions, drawings, and/or a photo if you can.

my email: tonyjestis@gmail.com