84' that has lost some shine to it and wondering how possible it is to get its luster back (unless these boats were never high sheen to begin with):

**I already bough star brite hull cleaner (oxalic acid)** which will be my first step to remove the lake water line at the bottom. But then what?

- I don't want to ruin/remove the "SKI NAUTIQUE" decal/paint on it.

    - I think this is paint, but not sure (you an see it chipped)

- I will need to also likely patch the olds from the POs wake tower

- I am willing to do the job myself as long as its easy enough

- I will be replace the ugly reg stickers with a custom decal sticker

Can someone give me advice on where to start? Is it possible for this 84' to shine again? 

http://www.google.com/search?q=correctcraftfan+restoring+faded+gelcoat+site:www.correctcraftfan.com&sca_esv=4b73ca8f0ec787dd&sca_upv=1&sxsrf=ADLYWILD7HaETx5n-MoYLnEU8CuQs2HGww:1716491630749&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjF-aPPvaSGAxVtFlkFHd26BNcQrQIoBHoECBgQBQ&biw=1536&bih=703&dpr=1.25" rel="nofollow - link

On your 84, the brown stripes are Industrial Rustoleum paint that the CC factory used. The White Ski Nautique letters are the bare hull gelcoat. The letters are taped off when painting the brown, the the tape is removed and it magically says "Ski Nautique" where the tape used to be.

Some people used a more durable scratch resistant paint than Rustoleum when repainting their graphics.

Here's a link to some graphics and Rustoleum paint threads on CCF

http://www.google.com/search?q=correctcraftfan+rustoleum+site:correctcraftfan.com&sca_esv=5a8c8ac8ff46dd80&sca_upv=1&sxsrf=ADLYWIJcqmaHxKlYg0uZ7KNE2eIegOW__A:1716497257319&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiw1Z7K0qSGAxW4KFkFHZQ_DtYQrQIoBHoECBoQBQ&biw=1536&bih=703&dpr=1.25" rel="nofollow - link

In your picture it doesn't look too bad at all......there were a lot worse out there that look good again with some effort.

Now, the stripes require gentle care...

it seems as tho the painted stripes are added AFTER the gelcoat, correct?

does this mean that I should avoid buffing/waxing those areas and tape them off instead? Or should i buff/wax?

my thinking is that they are much more brittle, and beacuse they are painted on after the gelcoat, then they are not supposed to be reflective and shine like the hull is

The gelcoat is the first thing sprayed into the mold, then the fiberglass cloth and resin is laid into the mold, the boat is built from the outside inwards.

Your 84 had the stripe painted on after the boat was popped out of the mold at some point during the assembly process.

You'd really want to say the stripe is "less durable" not more brittle.

They were pretty easy to scratch or just wear through from contact with things over time. Same for any pinstriping tape.

In 85 Correct Craft started putting the stripe color in the gelcoat, so the stripe color was the first thing sprayed into the mold and any pinstripes were still external tape and the lettering was vinyl decals 

Listen to what MourningWood said about the gelcoat and the stripes

MourningWood wrote: You'll find that the base gel coat is very robust. It can be wet-sanded and polished in several steps as mentioned. It takes patience, but the resulting gloss can be better than when new. Now, the stripes require gentle care...

Light, fine, gentle compounding can help out the stripe but you need to be careful.

The last step of your whole process would be waxing everything, stripes and all 

And remember, the thing just turned 40 years old, it ain't gonna be perfect unless it lived on a trailer and the water stains tell me it was one of those boats that stayed in the water for extended periods......nothing wrong with that at all 

And since nobody really knows anything about your boat, except maybe the guy you bought it from, sooner or later someone will come along and ask a question like "what kind of shape are your stringers/ floor in?" just to give you something else to worry about..... then again, I think I might have just asked. 

Hopefully the link will work.

Regards

Roy

https://www.correctcraftfan.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=51601&title=cleaned-up-the-87-ski-nautique" rel="nofollow - https://www.correctcraftfan.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=51601&title=cleaned-up-the-87-ski-nautique