cagedlx

I recently got a few scratches in the color side of my boat, due to a crappy dock, and rough water..

Question is, how careful do i need to be color sanding the gel? Is there much to work with on the eliminators? I really would like to try and get most of these out but don't wanna get carried away and burn through and make it worse then before? Any advice?

thanks in advance!

Rattlesnake Jake

iTrader: (2)

I've sanded out light scratches, Wet sand with 600, then 1000, then buff with compound, then polish. Depends on the age of the gel for the results.

Carbon Footprint

iTrader: (4)

I don't know if all Eliminators are the same, but most newer ones have clear gel over the colors, and it is much harder to sand out than regular gel on other boats.
Take your time and be patient.

Tinkerer

If they are more than just very fine surface scratches you might want to take it to a professional. I just color sanded mine and there were a few places where it was obvious that I had it thin..

cagedlx

I started with 2000, I did use 1500 on a couple of spots where the scratches were deep. i went to 2500 and then polished with white compound and a new white wool pad, followed by dark polish with a foam pad, then hand waxed and boat candy mist on the whole boat.

I got almost everything out but a few that were just a little to deep. I mixed some touch up paint as close as I could get it, tabbed it in there, sanded and polished it too. It's almost un- noticeable to the naked eye and would probably have to point it out. I still plan to have it repaired professionally this winter just because I am a little crazy!

IROCDave

Might depend on the year and or what color the scratch is in. Shaded blends are going to be really thin, base color will be really thick. I bought my Eliminator used and it had deep (1/4") gouges on the gunnels near the engine hatch from a poorly fit bimini top. They were in the white base color and I rounded the depth of the scratches off without hitting glass or another color. The purple fade just in front of the cockpit had lots of oxidation that wouldn't come off with a buffer so I color sanded it. My boat didn't have clear so I could see the tinted gel coat coming off so I took my time with 1K - 2.5K and got it all off but it slightly lightened up the 12"s of shaded purple. Not a big deal because I color sanded the entire boat and it blends well. Gel coat isn't like automotive paint, it's much more forgiving but you still need to understand what your working with and how tinted gel coat is applied when the boat is built.