Detailing a jet ski

**krouchchocolate** · 11-29-2009, 02:46 AM

Has anyone ever detailed a jet ski before?

Also I just recently purchased a used jet ski, but the front of the jet ski is partially faded from staying out in the sun for too long. Is there anything I can do to restore the "gloss" back into it?

The black part right under the yellow part is where it is dull. Next to the TX numbers.

**Gary Sword** · 11-29-2009, 07:50 AM

I have 2 jet skis that sit out on my dock 24/7. You can polish painted parts just like you would you car to bring back the gloss. On plastic 303 work pretty good buy nothing seems to hold up to saltwater very good.

**Meghan** · 11-29-2009, 09:08 AM

Gary is right with salt water doesnt really matter what you do, salt water always wins. Not sure if you are using it in fresh or salt but either way there are things you can do to protect it. 303 is one of the best for the UV protection, but there is a lot you can do to restore the faded areas. Just needs a good polishing, and there are several sealants that do hold up better in the water, I like the Collinite Double Coat and or the Klasse twins.

2001 Wave Runner- Fuzion Style

**krouchchocolate** · 11-29-2009, 12:09 PM

Originally Posted by Meghan

Gary is right with salt water doesnt really matter what you do, salt water always wins. Not sure if you are using it in fresh or salt but either way there are things you can do to protect it. 303 is one of the best for the UV protection, but there is a lot you can do to restore the faded areas. Just needs a good polishing, and there are several sealants that do hold up better in the water, I like the Collinite Double Coat and or the Klasse twins.

2001 Wave Runner- Fuzion Style

So the black area just needs a good polishing. What kind of polish do you guys recommend? Right now i currently have the 3 stages of the optimum polishes. The polish, compound, and heavy compound.

I also have the klasse twins, so I will use those for protecting it.

**krouchchocolate** · 11-29-2009, 12:10 PM

The 303 you guys are talking about is the 303 aerospace protectant correct?

**Gary Sword** · 11-29-2009, 06:03 PM

Optimum makes some find polishes. Just like with your car's paint start out with the least aggressive polish you think will do the job on a test spot and see how it goes. 303 Aerospace Protectant is correct.

**Lasthope05** · 11-29-2009, 06:27 PM

On oxidized gel coats like on your pwc I would start with a compound first. Gel coats are different from automotive paint in which they are much harder.

I usually start with a compound and foam. If it doesnt work I'll switch to a wool pad. My last resorts for or very stuborn oxidation is 1500 wet sand, wool and 3m superduty.

For trim on anything that touches water i like SC1 ClearCoat. Its a great protectant thats water resistant lasts fairly long and best of all it smells like pixie sticks.

**krouchchocolate** · 11-29-2009, 07:14 PM

Is there a way I can tell if the clear coat is gone? Could that be why the paint looks dull in that area?

**CTS-Veo** · 11-29-2009, 07:44 PM

if the clear coat is gone, when you polish your pad will start to show the color of the paint. When you polish you are removing a small amount of paint. If you are polishing clear coat; the paint is clear (obveosly) so you don't see the paint building up on the pad. If it was the base coat (color) that you are polishing, you will be able to see the paint; that you removed; on the pad.

I just recently did a detail on my dads Seadoo PWC, and it's not nearly as fun as I expected. There are so many different panels that need to be worked on, instead of a few big panels. And so many different materials used on the body (there was like 4 different textures of plastic trim).

I used Optimum Poli-seal on the lower half. WG Finishing Glaze on the upper painted panels, with a coat of Collinite 845, topped with DP Max Wax (the DP was just for looks while it's in storage). All of the plastic trim was dressed with Optimum Opti-bond tire gel. The Opti-bond worked fantastic! It even looked good on the ruberized foam material on the back platform.

Here's a picture of how it turned out:

**Lasthope05** · 11-29-2009, 08:04 PM

Originally Posted by krouchchocolate

Is there a way I can tell if the clear coat is gone? Could that be why the paint looks dull in that area?

Jet ski's and boats dont have clearcoats. They have gel coats which is basically pigmented epoxy resin. The paint looks dull because of the fact that the gel coating has oxidized similar to how single stage paints oxidizes.