2003 Supra Launch SSV light restoration

[txnight]

Bought this boat last week and the projects have begun.

The price was right and the hours low so I was prepared for the project in front of me.

Project #1 Remove oxidation. The owner hadn't waxed it in years and was going thru an ugly divorce. Typical story. I researched pretty hard and was able to bring the hull back to life with wet sanding, compounding, etc. I removed most of the decals with the exception of the Launch and SSV decals. The wave sticker, giant S and the horizontal stripes were removed to make the job easier. Now I'm thinking I like the look of a naked boat.

My local dealer has quoted me very high prices to install the large chrome decals that come on the newer Supras. Does anyone have a good source for them?

Project #2 Replace ballast system. During my test drive the right valve was stuck open. Easy fix and while I was at it I went ahead and replaced the pump and all three valves. In a past life I installed sprinkler systems so this was pretty straight forward. All working now.

Project #3 I am now ready to turn my focus to the interior. This sounds small but the plastic cup holders are ugly to me. Where can I find stainless steel replacement cup holders? The problem now is I can't figure out how to get the cup holders to pop out. They feel like they are really solid and I don't want to damage the interior. Maybe they are just sealed on there from 10 years of texas heat.

So, here are my questions.
Decal supplier? Doesn't have to be from a supra dealer.
How to remove rear cup holders?
Source for stainless cup holders?
What size is the bolt that holds on the spark arrestor and engine cover? I can't find it anywhere after working on the engine this weekend.
Easy way to upload pictures to these threads? I looked but couldn't find an explanation that I could understand.


Thanks guys, I look forward to learning from you.

Bill D.

[ramzak]

I would also be very interested in a suplier for the new style chrome decals.

Please write about your decal removal process, wetsanding, etc... Im looking to do that as well on a 2008

[txnight]

Still no supplier for the chrome decals. I think we are going to replace some of the originals with Vinyl .

Removing the oxidation is slow work. Take your time.

Here is the process we followed. I'm sure we made some mistakes but I'm pleased with the results:
1. On this boat we had to start with 320 or 600 grit wet sanding. I tried 3 different compounds and it simply wouldn't remove the oxidation. It hurt to use that heavy of a sandpaper but it worked.

2. Wet sanding with 1000 grit

3. compound with 3m on a random orbital or polisher.

4. 1200 grit wet sand

5.1500 grit wet sand

6. Meguiars oxidation remover which is essentially a very light compound on a polisher.

7. Check that all the scratches are smoothed back out. At this point the meguiars should have brought the hull to a nice shine and scratches shouldn't be visible. Where necessary wet sand with 1500 or light compound as necessary to smooth out the scratches.

8. Apply two coats of polish.

9. Apply as many coats of wax as your heart desires.

Overall it took roughly 35 man hours to restore the hull. With your boat only being 5 years old maybe you can skip the wet sanding and just use compound. If so it will go much faster and you will not run as much risk of damaging the gel coat.Good luck!

[supraaddict]

Bill,

The easiest way to upload good pics to the forum.

1. Set up an account at www.imgur.com
2. Upload all your boat pics (especially the ones that you have from wet sanding and polishing the hull )
3. Select the pic on imgur.com that you want to put in the Supra forum thread.
4. In the top right corner of the image you select on imgur.com copy the Direct Link (email & IM)
5. It will look something like this: http://i.imgur.com/En3Fi.jpg
6. After you have copied the link, go to your thread on this forum and in your comment place the copied image link from imgur.com between these tags [IMG]linkyoucopiedgoeshere[/IMG]
7. the forum will automatically size your image to fit on the forum webpages.
8. Your image should end up looking something like this:



Let me know if you need any more help on this.

[KG's Supra24]

Someone had another supplier lined up on the Moomba forum for the chrome letters but it didn't turn out well once the products were received. The chrome decals are pricey. I like the naked look but of course I'm biased as mine is mostly naked.

My cup holders don't have anything holding them in. They may just be stuck bc of the heat. I accept no responsibility for damage, though. Ha!

What supraddict explained on the photo's is probably easiest and it gets large photos. I use photobucket instead of imgur.

Congrats on the new ride.

[txnight]

[txnight]

Addict,
Thanks for the directions. I think I followed your directions correctly. It says that the images are pending approval from a moderator. I guess I don't have enough posts yet.

The cup holders looked they had some spray glue on them to keep them in place. I managed to remove them and got the replacements on the way. It should be a good improvement.

I have another little project in mind. Let me see what you think.

Have any of you ever installed a T on the fill line with a couple of ball valves and used it as a hose or an extra line to fill additional ballast bags? It seems simple and it would be nice to have a hose to spray things off with out having to throw another pump over the side.

Bill D.

[jhgsupra]

Still no supplier for the chrome decals. I think we are going to replace some of the originals with Vinyl .

Removing the oxidation is slow work. Take your time.

Here is the process we followed. I'm sure we made some mistakes but I'm pleased with the results:
1. On this boat we had to start with 320 or 600 grit wet sanding. I tried 3 different compounds and it simply wouldn't remove the oxidation. It hurt to use that heavy of a sandpaper but it worked.

2. Wet sanding with 1000 grit

3. compound with 3m on a random orbital or polisher.

4. 1200 grit wet sand

5.1500 grit wet sand

6. Meguiars oxidation remover which is essentially a very light compound on a polisher.

7. Check that all the scratches are smoothed back out. At this point the meguiars should have brought the hull to a nice shine and scratches shouldn't be visible. Where necessary wet sand with 1500 or light compound as necessary to smooth out the scratches.

8. Apply two coats of polish.

9. Apply as many coats of wax as your heart desires.

Overall it took roughly 35 man hours to restore the hull. With your boat only being 5 years old maybe you can skip the wet sanding and just use compound. If so it will go much faster and you will not run as much risk of damaging the gel coat.Good luck!

txnight,

A few questions about your oxidation removal as I've never done this sort of thing before. Did you do all the wet sanding by hand? Also, did you just do the sides of the boat or did you do the cap as well? How difficult is it to sand around the raised Supra graphics? I'm concerned about permanently scratching my gel coat in those areas.

I don't think that I have much oxidation however after years of exposure to sunshine I'm guessing it has slowly developed without me noticing it.

If you did much of this by hand I would think it would wear you out after 35hrs of it!

Thanks,

Joe G.

[txnight]

Joe,

The wet sanding was done by hand. Everything above of the rub rail had been under a cover and was in good shape. We made the decision to remove all the decals except for the Launch and SSV. Having the decals out of the way made removing the oxidation possible. Otherwise it would have been impossible. Working around the letters takes lots of time and should be done in 10 to 30 seconds spurts. Lots of water and stopping to check if you have sanded enough.

I had no idea the oxidation was as bad as it was until I began removing the decals. There was a moment of "what am I going to do now"

I'm looking for some LED bulbs right not for the three lights inside, the two bow lights (MR16) and the light above the swim platform if anyone has a supplier and a part number.

Bill D.

[supraaddict]

Atwood makes a LED Bow Nav light I'm thinking of ordering one myself. Here is the link to one:
http://www.iboats.com/Stainless-Stee...view_id.366688

As far as the transom nav light, there is an LED for it as well, I am just not sure if it will fit so I am going to order one soon for testing. They can be purchased here:
http://www.ledlight.com/SearchResult...KeyWords=84634