My 1990 PS 190 Restoration Diary

[BriEOD]

I have that gel restoration kit and it works miracles.

Shep did you do that upholestry and carpet yourself?

[shepherd]

I had a local shop do the upholstery and carpet for me. Figured it was a little beyond my abilities. The gel coat kit is great, but the key was getting the circular polisher IMO. There's no way my old orbital polisher would bring the shine out like I've gotten with the circular...

[BriEOD]

Originally Posted by shepherd

I had a local shop do the upholstery and carpet for me. Figured it was a little beyond my abilities. The gel coat kit is great, but the key was getting the circular polisher IMO. There's no way my old orbital polisher would bring the shine out like I've gotten with the circular...

I think I have that same polisher. Just a suggestion, I would use wax and not that liquid sealer in the kit after you use the oxidation remover. That liquid sealer on the circular polisher goes EVERYWHERE!! It makes a mess. If you don't get it off immediately it dries and is difficult to get off. I gets all over the trailer, the floor of the garage, etc. Use something else...trust me.

Do you mind me asking what you paid for the carpet/upholestry and labor?

[shepherd]

Thanks for the tip Brian. I'll get a good paste wax instead. Any recommendations? How about Meguiars?

I got 3 quotes for the interior. The winning quote was $2500 -- after tax and replacing a few pieces of rotted wood in the side panels, the total came out to $2900. I've seen a few people on TT get it done for less, but I'm really limited on who I can go to in this area.

[Linkster]

Fantastic job!

Are there any secrets to using that gel coat kit besides using a wax paste? With buffing out the gel coat - is this a weekend job? How many hours should I plan on devoting? Do you have to be pretty careful around the decals? I may just get that same kit!

[shepherd]

Originally Posted by Linkster

Fantastic job!

Are there any secrets to using that gel coat kit besides using a wax paste? With buffing out the gel coat - is this a weekend job? How many hours should I plan on devoting? Do you have to be pretty careful around the decals? I may just get that same kit!

It's not really a secret, but make sure you get a circular buffer that is capable of at least 2500 rpm. The Vector machine I got from properboatcare was cheap at $70 and works great. The other ones I looked at were around $200.

I've been doing mine a few hours a day so it's taking a little while. Expect to spend 8 - 10 hours total(?). You just need to use lighter pressure around the decals, no problem at all.

[shepherd]

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[87MC owner]

Have you found that the kit you purchased is better than buying the components seperately? I have used everything i can think of on my hull and it is taking a very long time to get the red back to red and not purple.

[shepherd]

I haven't bought the components separately before, so I can't say. The kit is great because it comes with all you need. I just finished buffing the hull and deck tonight, I just need to hand buff a few areas that the machine wouldn't reach, then seal/wax it all.

Here's a pic from when I was midway through the starboard side, showing the difference. It took very little effort to bring back the color with the circular polisher.

I'm going to try to find some touch up paint to hide that big scratch - it's pretty deep. I decided I'm going to replace that pinstriping also.

[thijs]

That is inspiring!