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WakeSetter logo burnt into gelcoat? Sand it?


hawaiianstyln

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So I removed the 08 transformer looking wakesetter decals there surprisingly was no discoloration where I thought there would be.  However, the dark domed part of the wakesetter letters (brown if I recall since it's a two piece sticker) appears to have slightly burnt into the gelcoat.  I tried to compound/polish/wax a small area of the "W" and didn't do much.  Now I'm afraid before I buy the new WakeSetter logos I might have to wetsand the entire area of where that sticker was.  I will say that it is very hard to see it unless you are up very close.  I'm not sure if the sun will bleach that out or not.  I tried the muriatic acid hull cleaner, that did nothing either.  Am I looking at 1,000 > 1,500 > 2,000 grit wetsand with a compound buff > Polish > Wax at this point?  I'm shocked that those brown domed part of the letters burnt a tint into the gelcoat.  It's not like when I removed the entire sticker the white gelocat always in the sun was yellow tinted from the sun.  It's actually the opposite and you can tell the sticker caused the light burned tint.  You might be able to see in these pics.

IMG_9686.JPG

IMG_9687.JPG

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I can't see it, but my tribal W had a good shadow when I went naked.  I wet sanded, cut, then polished and it was gone.  Maybe save yourself some work and see if it bleaches out in the sun over a season?

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if I wet sand, it's been a while, that is the process I had right?  1000, 1500, 2000, compound buff, polish, wax?

I thought about seeing if one summer will bleach it but I'm not a fan of the naked with this color scheme.  My 04 I went naked and it looked sharp but not this one.  I didn't want to go all summer naked.

 

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Let me see the a zoomed out photo.  

 

If the fading is light you may not have to go to 1000 grit.  You may be able to start w/ 2000.  I also don't have 1500 paper.  I went 1000 wet, 2000 wet, compound , polish, wax.  

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I can look back at this post on the first pic and see the tinted outline.  Maybe that is because I know it's there, but the second pic I posted I couldn't see it.  I can go take another pic

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hard to look at this all white, but I can see it in the pic on this one for sure.  The LED garage lights help to amplify it.  This is a close up of the ET letters on the wakesetter

 

IMG_9690.JPG

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3 minutes ago, Gavin17 said:

I can see the fading.  I was more curious what the boat looked like and why you don't like it naked. 

I like the new wakesetter logo look, plus I like seeing the "wakesetter" words on the sides.  if they still had the same sticker design or the new one was crap, I would stay naked

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4 minutes ago, gahvey said:

My eyes are bad so take this with a grain of salt but I don't see it.

wouldn't that be sweet if I could have made this into a gif, then after 5 seconds of looking at it, something scary would jump out.  I'm evil. 

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I would hit it with a couple passes of Menzerna 400 cutting polish. I did this with my 15 after removing the WakeSetter logos and it took away the faded top gel coat and left a shiny smooth surface behind, and it was only 1 step.

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If you can polish it off even better.  Most people reccomend doing a small test area first to see how aggressive you need to get. If the polish works then polish the whole boat and be done.  If not then try a compound then 2000 wet etc.  Once u figure out what it takes then do the whole affected area.  No sense in getting more aggressive than  needed, it just wastes time and energy and gelcoat.  This is even more true for cars since the paint is so thin. If you wet sanded a car each year you'd run out of paint pretty quick.   

I went simple with the decals. 

XjFRLaF.jpg

CwpA2eJ.jpg

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On ‎11‎/‎7‎/‎2017 at 7:53 PM, ConnollyCrew said:

I would hit it with a couple passes of Menzerna 400 cutting polish. I did this with my 15 after removing the WakeSetter logos and it took away the faded top gel coat and left a shiny smooth surface behind, and it was only 1 step.

never heard of that stuff, might try it.  it's a bit expensive but I'm sure as always, you pay for what you get...

https://www.amazon.com/Menzerna-Heavy-250ml-Formerly-Gloss/dp/B013CS1G7W/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1510256989&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=Menzerna+400+cutting+polish

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  • 2 weeks later...

Ibelonginprison turned me on to the Menzerna stuff earlier this year.  It is amazing!  Well worth the cost   I used the 400 followed by the sealer and the black portions of my boat looked like a mirror.  Definitely give it a try before wet sanding.  You will need a variable speed polisher and if you don't have one and aren't going to use it but once or twice a year, Harbor Freight has one that you can get for about 30 bucks or so with a coupon.

 

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