Gel coat ghosting

Hey all my name is Chad and I'm new to this forum but have been a reader for a long time. Here is my dilemna and for now I'll give the short version.Last fall picked up a 1981 ski nautique anniversary model for $600.00 it had been towed off the highway after the state police had flagged it for tow for sitting their for what was obviously an extended period. The boat then went to the towing yard where it stayed for two years til I came along. The tow yard owner really didn't have a clue as to what he had but I did this not being my first nautique so I was very familar with the company. He preceeded to tell me all about the boat where it was built that it had a rebuilt motor ya da ya da ya da none of which he was correct about of course. Except for possibly the motor rebuilt part it did have fresh paint on the block and the intake was masked off. I really didn't want a project but after putting a wrench to the crank to make sure she wasn't seized up, I decided to take it home knowing I really couldn't get hurt for the price I paid even if it had a seized motor. After getting it home I pulled a valve cover because I wanted to make sure there wasn't any rust that had built up on the under side of the cover which I figured would not be a good sign. As I pull up the cover and looked at the inside of the cover I was shocked the cover looked like new no rust and what assembly lubed rockers! I quickly pulled the number one plug and cranked her over to TDC shining a light into the plug hole.I could see there was no carbon on the top of the piston. At that point I realized the tow yard owner was right about one thing it did have a new motor and one that hadn't even been fired. Over the last year my oldest daughter and I have been slowly restoring this boat and right know we need the help of the forum. The original striping was not on the boat and you can see the old stripes ghostingthrough even after we've wet sanded. You can rub your hand down the sides and both sides are as smooth as a babies back side but you can still see the ghostingDowe just need to keep sanding or what? Also I would like everyone opinion on paint or gel coating. I was considering a gel stripe down the side but have been thinking if a quality paint would be o.k. I could save alot of $ by doing it myself. Also would I be better off repainting the whole boat white and then painting on the stripe. Any help would be appreciated. Sorry I guess this was the long version.

Thanks for the reply 8122. Yes, I am restoring the boat and I'm probably going to get hammered for saying this but I'm not planning on bringing it back to original. I have some custom ideas I'd like to implement. If I were going to stripe the boat with the original striping the ghosting would obviously not be an issue but I'd like to run a design strip of some sort down the length of the boat which will not completely cover the ghosting. Regarding painting the boat. I have heard of people painting fairly large solid colored stripes on there nautiques using a quality marine grade paint such as Awlgrip just not sure if this would give me the overall result I'm looking for. I'll try to get some pictures posted if it will help. Thanks again.

Yes, I have considered the value of the finished boat but to be honest no amount of money will be enough to sell it when it's done. My daughter has really put her heart and sole into this project and for that reason it will never leave this family. I look at it as if someones restoring a classic car. Some people choose to bring the car back to it's original state others choose to build a hot rod, both are cool in there own way and opinions very depending on who you ask. Regardless, either choice is better then allowing the car to sit and rust way in some farmers field and both are considered "restorations"! So I'll continue to telling my daughter that she is helping to restore a classie nautique because that's exactly what she's doing! Thanks for you help though

Chad, I'll throw in another "Leave it Original" vote. We do realize that it is your boat but you may come to realize that what you have is indeed a classic. Take a look at Alan's 81 981Nautique). It's a beautiful restored boat that pictures do not do it justice. It's a beautiful boat in person and has won several awards at our reunions.

We've had several members here that were going to customize an old boat but after the guys here suggested that they not. End result was they didn't, kept it original and were glad they did.

HOWEVER...it is your boat and we respect your choice to customize it as you wish.

Well so much for me talking up the 81 and it's originality.

I knew the trailer wasn't original and the paint was a little more metallic than original (but you did keep the original lines didn't you) but I thought the interior was original. Thanks for setting me straight Alan.

Was my point as well. BKH

agreed. make it your own.

81, Now that's funny!!!   So much wrong, but still a beautiful boat.

Same way with mine, wrong rub rail, lettering and stripe colors etc...
But still very easy to put back to original once that CC Museum opens up.


AT

adiocassette wrote: agreed. make it your own.

And the guy doesn't even fill in his profile!!! But does comment!!

O.K. after sleeping on it and taking in everyones comments I agree with all of you in different ways. I think bk said it best "They created boats which looked modern yet timeless and which meet their own tastes". So after carefully considering the pros and cons I have decided to go with the original stripping with a classy modern flair nothing distaistful or goddy. Now I'm assuming that they can all be made in viynl decals correct? If so, that to me makes the most sense because color changes can be made in the future by simply removing the old ones and applying your new color of choice if desired. I know by running a wide colored stripe down the boats length this will be a permanant choice and would be a b%*&# to remove so decals sound appealing. I know the graphics are on this site, are they templets can you send them to a graghics artist and have them made in the color you'd like? Thanks for all the help guys.

The graphics are in the reference section the site. I don't know if anyone has made them in vinyl, but I don't see why it could not be done.

From the factory, the graphics were paint in 81, not gel coat. Still kind of a pain to sand and remove, but not nearly as difficult as gel coat.

BKH

Pete,
Don't take this the wrong way, but why do you consistently tell people to join a different site. CCF, in no way, stands for "Original Boats Only". Some of your woody groups probably push the topic, and I understand that. Nobody should be rediculed on this site because of what they do to "their" boat.

After a bit of discussion, this owner is going the better way, just as BK suggested. Keep the original look, but add a modern flare to it.

I hope you think about it for a second and realize what you could actually be doing to this site with comments like that.

-Josh

Hawktique wrote: Pete, Don't take this the wrong way, but why do you consistently tell people to join a different site. CCF, in no way, stands for "Original Boats Only". Some of your woody groups probably push the topic, and I understand that. Nobody should be ridiculed on this site because of what they do to "their" boat. I hope you think about it for a second and realize what you could actually be doing to this site with comments like that. -Josh

x2

I like ya Pete and you are one of the most helpful and knowledgeable members (on both sites), but I also think you take the 'keep it original' thing a little too far sometimes. Particularly when telling members to go elsewhere. I can understand it with the rare and truly special classic boats on this site, but not all CCs need to be "restored".

I know I can rest easy knowing Morfoot's boat is around

-Ryan

Pete,
I'm by no way offended, or up in arms over it. I was only trying to highlight the feelings of brand new members. They aren't yet up to speed with the CCF community, and the common jabs some of us give with no harmful intentions. I only mentioned something because the same thing happened very recently where the new member took everything as it was written, not knowing the way some are, and swore to never return.

Bsmooth,    One more thought.

Paint may be a lot easier than trying to center and apply properly, a full length vinyl graphic.

AT