Removal of hull scratch

[AllanG]

I have a small scratch on the hull (across the end of the name decal, see photo attached), of my, new to me, boat. As I'm intending to remove the name decal anyway, I would like to have a go at polishing out as much of this scratch as possible.

As the scratch isn't too deep, and I don't have a polishing machine, it's my intention to use different grades of wet & dry emery paper by hand, finishing off with liquid polish and wax, and would like to know if this is the correct way of tackling this type of repair and, if so, what grades of wet & dry would you suggest.

If there's a better method, please let me know.

Many thanks!

 

[duncan99210]

Depending on the depth of the scratch, you might want to fill it first with gel coat repair filler. Then use wet and dry in varying grades from about 300 to 1500 to smooth the filler out into the gel coat. Finish off with a polish to ensure the repair blends with the hull.

 

[Sailfree]

Scratch out any dirt in scratch.

Tape around the area to limit the area to be rubbed with W & D.

Fill with gel coat and smooth flat (but slightly high) using cling film.

Let it cure with cling film on

Rub down with W & D 320 leaving repair slightly high for progressive finer grades of W & D , then 500, then 800 then 1200 and finally 1200 that has been rubbed in a bar of soap to both lubricate and reduce its cutting ability. Finally polish with a mild abrasive like Farcela and finally polish with Wax polish.

 

[AllanG]

After I removed the name decal this morning, I got one of the guys who were polishing a nearby boat to zap the scratch with his orbital sander, followed by a polish and waxing....job done, so we'll pleased!

Thanks to all for their advice, though!