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Scratch Repair Help


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My new to me 2010 RLXI has a blue top deck color.  The blue scratches very easily and appears to be pretty thin.  I have a couple scratches that went through the blue and show up as white.   I would never order a boat with a deck color other than white this for this reason.  My question is, what is the best way, if at all, that I can repair the scratches?  They are not very deep and don't require any filling.  It is just a cosmetic issue.  Can I repair or do I just live with it?

Thanks for the help.

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ahopkins22LSV

You can try buffing out the light scratches. There is loads of information on here if you search. For the deep ones I’d suggest getting a spectrum repair kit. Many have used before and quite a bit of info on here for that too. 

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13 hours ago, PURDUEskier said:

My new to me 2010 RLXI has a blue top deck color.  The blue scratches very easily and appears to be pretty thin.  I have a couple scratches that went through the blue and show up as white.   I would never order a boat with a deck color other than white this for this reason.  My question is, what is the best way, if at all, that I can repair the scratches?  They are not very deep and don't require any filling.  It is just a cosmetic issue.  Can I repair or do I just live with it?

Thanks for the help.

My midnight blue Response came to me with a bunch of small fender scratches in the dark blue last year.  I tried some Chemical Guys Boat Heavy on a cutting pad first, but I wasn't getting deep enough with it to remove those to my satisfaction.  They were mostly invisible, but I'm anal about getting a complete repair.  So I bought a sanding block, mixed some Dawn and water in a spray bottle, and wet sanded those sections.  Then hit with Chemical Guys Boat Heavy on a cutting pad and Boat Revive on a polishing, followed by a finishing pad.  Scratches gone.  Easy job.

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2 hours ago, UWSkier said:

My midnight blue Response came to me with a bunch of small fender scratches in the dark blue last year.  I tried some Chemical Guys Boat Heavy on a cutting pad first, but I wasn't getting deep enough with it to remove those to my satisfaction.  They were mostly invisible, but I'm anal about getting a complete repair.  So I bought a sanding block, mixed some Dawn and water in a spray bottle, and wet sanded those sections.  Then hit with Chemical Guys Boat Heavy on a cutting pad and Boat Revive on a polishing, followed by a finishing pad.  Scratches gone.  Easy job.

^^^ This is my experience as well.  Generally, if the scratches are not wide, this solution will get the job done.  Wider scratches will may require the use of spectrum repair kit.  As @ahopkinsVTX said, many of us have used these kits with success.  If you have to go that route, you may want to get some hardener to add to the kit as they sometimes don't set up as well as they should.  A little hardener goes a long way with that stuff, so use it sparingly.  

 

 

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@ahopkinsVTX @inlandlaker @UWSkier thanks for the information.  My concern with the buff or wet sanding is that the scratch looks to have gone through the blue color and is showing white.  Again, these don't appear to be deep at all.  I can't even feel them with my fingernail, but they are white.  I am worried if I wet sand, will I just sand through the blue and have a patch of white?  That sounds crazy to me, but I don't understand why the scratch would be white.  I have wet sanded an older boat before that had heavy oxidation and fading.  It worked out really well but this seems different.  Is this normal for the color to be that thin or am I seeing something else?

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ahopkins22LSV

If you can’t feel it with your finger nail I doubt it is a scratch. If guess it was more of a rub mark from something. Have you tried some light polish on it? You probably don’t even need to use a true rubbing compound. 

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9 minutes ago, PURDUEskier said:

@ahopkinsVTX @inlandlaker @UWSkier thanks for the information.  My concern with the buff or wet sanding is that the scratch looks to have gone through the blue color and is showing white.  Again, these don't appear to be deep at all.  I can't even feel them with my fingernail, but they are white.  I am worried if I wet sand, will I just sand through the blue and have a patch of white?  That sounds crazy to me, but I don't understand why the scratch would be white.  I have wet sanded an older boat before that had heavy oxidation and fading.  It worked out really well but this seems different.  Is this normal for the color to be that thin or am I seeing something else?

Scratches, even tiny ones, always look white on dark colors.  You won't sand through the blue.

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The gel is about 22 mils thick - each colour is a proportional fraction thereof.  ie. for a three colour hull each colour is 8-11 mills thick.  So if you can't feel the scratch it is not through the colour.  Buff away!

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Thanks everyone.  Knowing the thickness and that its normal for a scratch to show up as white makes me feel better.  I will use some rubbing and polishing compounds and get to work. 

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