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Someone bumped a dock and took a piece of gelcoat off the bow of this waverunner. This lets water in the fiberglass, not good, so I need to reseal and strengthen it.
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To get access to all the damage we need to remove the plastic bumper. Get your 10mm wrench and remove the locknuts that hold the bumper and the two trim pieces on.
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Remove this plastic nut from the middle of the bumper and the piece it is on so you can pull the bumper off.
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As you can see here, the bumper was hiding a few more cracks and chips! We'll go ahead and fix these too.
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With 100 grit sandpaper, sand the damage so nothing sticks up above the level of the bow. This helps the epoxy bond to the glass.
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I use Marine-Tex epoxy, it is made especially for repairing gel coat and comes in white or gray. It comes in several sizes, I used about one fourth of the small size for these repairs, about $3 worth. Blow the sanding dust fromt the area and work the Marine-Tex in the glass fibers, then smooth it out. Try to get close to the original shape or a little higher, a piece of plastic cut from an empty oil bottle makes a good squeegee. You should be able to find Marine-Tex at your local boat shop, but if they don't stock it you can order it below.
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After letting the Marine-Tex cure for a day, carefully sand it down to match the original body. This Waverunner, a 1995, has a VERY thin white layer on top of the gel coat, so be very careful not to sand it or the white color will go away.
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I cleaned the bumper by scraping it will my fingernails, sure looks better but it took a while. All the chips and cracks are repaired and sealed.
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Copyright © 2003, David Luckenbach, all rights reserved
Personal Watercraft Article Index
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Order Marine-Tex
Made from epoxy resins and reinforced with high strength fillers, then further processed with a series of other plastic materials. Bonds to metal, plastics, hard and soft wood, plywood, etc. Hardens to tensile strength of 10,000 lbs. per sq. inch. Non-magnetic, non-rusting, and non-corrosive. Kits contains catalyst and instructions. - Type: WHITE * Size: 2 oz * Color: White
See other sizes and colors of Marine-Tex, it comes in larger sizes and also in gray.
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Share your PWC know how! Do you know how to repair a particular Personal Watercraft? Have a hint on increasing performance? Submit your article here and have it published on the web to help others! Email David at davidluc@earthlink.net to submit your articles and pictures, you retain copyright and reserve all rights!
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