2 Q's: Fiberglass Renewal & Pump Rattle

[nwittema]

Hi All,

I have a few questions about my jet pump.

1.) Is there a service out there to restore fiberglass hulls to the smooth finish they once had? I don't care much about looks, but a smoothed clear coat to cover all the scratches from beaching would be nice for my old girl. What would be a rough cost estimate? I am mechanically skilled for an average person, and my father is a very skilled auto/boat mechanic. I am not comfortable doing fiberglass work unless others suggest it is intermediate or easier.

2.) When my ski is started on land w/hose attached (or when jumping waves) I hear a lot of loud metal rattling in the back. I believe this is the nozzle/steering assembly which is bolted on tight, but has loose play to it. Is this normal?

A link to my YouTube is below, this is my ski after replacing the pump/head gasket etc. The white smoke is b/c I used Marvel Mystery oil thinking the pistons were seized when in reality it was the old pump that froze.

youtube.com/watch?v=yC_n1p-n9Mo

Thank you for any help!

~Nick

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

I'd also like to get my hull back to OEM color / spec / glossyness... how can I do that? I'd even pay someone!

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

repair

hmm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWEE6SFUdpg

 

[djredman99]

I did my hull this past March. There are other threads out there on this, but I bought a gelcoat repair kit from Spectrum Color. They sell factory matched kits for Seadoos as well as other boats/skis. You have to call them because their website is not working, but you can get their info there. I have ordered from them twice in the past 6 months. Price is about $35 shipped for the kit.

Another company that does the same is Gelcote International.

What I did was start with a rough sandpaper to sand the scratches on the bottom of the hull. Then apply the gelcoat, let dry. I then started with maybe 200 grit paper to quickly get the high spots down on the gelcoat I applied. Then moved to wet sanding with 600 grit...1200 grit... and I finished sanding with 2000 grit paper. This is gonna give you a very smooth finish. I finally used some fine rubbing compound to remove any remaining scratches. Looks good as new and you cannot tell where I applied the gelcoat.

As I said, there are other posts on here for doing this with pics. I think Rampage posted up some pics of his work.

EDIT: I sanded the entire hull with the finer grit sandpaper and compound, even in spots that I did not have to apply gelcoat. This will restore the shine to your hull. Also, for larger jobs, you can buy larger quantities of the factory matched gelcoat.

 

[djredman99]

2.) When my ski is started on land w/hose attached (or when jumping waves) I hear a lot of loud metal rattling in the back. I believe this is the nozzle/steering assembly which is bolted on tight, but has loose play to it. Is this normal?

A rattle from the pump while not under load is normal. They do make an anti-rattle kit if it bothers you too much.

 

[JustD00It]

If you have any lake water stains or scuffs I use Purple Power or Purple Magic that you can get from Wal-Mart. You can really tell the difference and if you wax your PWC it will make it smoother.

 

[RFoster130]

Yeah the gel cote is easy to work on. There are lots of videos on youtube. I bought the factory match kit for my boat, but for the underside of a PWC, you could save a few bucks and get a universal type kit for like 20 bucks.

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

I'd say it looks like a winter project for me, but it says I need 70-80 degrees to do it! maybe next spring.... I've blown 2 engines this summer... (so far)!