[quotehi (rod?),
i've restored an '89 nacra 5.8 that has the 3 blue stripes on the side. near the transom, the stripes have been removed by the previous owner. i would like to fill in the missing sections but don't know where to get the exact color to do this. would you have any suggestions on who to talk to or where to go to get some of the striping material?][/quote] Jon, as with Ed, I apologize for not checking my inbox like I should. I have had very good results with striping using the following address....www.decalzone.com/striping/solid.php The great thing about these guys is that if you can't find what you want they will custom cut the widths you need. I have cut a few old style NACRA logos with their wide decal materiel. Another trick I have tried is to feather edge worn striping...taping the edges and rattle caning the striping.Does this look familiar? I found three colors that match old style NACRA colors/stripes perfectly Krylon Peekaboo Blue, Rustoleum Fresh Blue and Krylon True Blue[imgAfter the masking and painting go over the whole works starting with 1,000 grit wet/dry paper with a few drops of dawn dish soap in a gallon bucket of warm water. Then repeat with 2,000 grit. I cringe when I read about people sanding their gelcoat with 600 grit paper....that"s like scrubbing a baby's bottom with a luffa. Then HAND RUB with Meguiar's Ultimate compound followed with a couple coats of Mother's Carnuba wax.The results are well worth the effort. Take my word

Nacraman,
It looks awsome.
Did you start with 600 grit and then folowed with 1000 and 2000 or you sanded only with the last 2 grits?
Did you sand decals too? Where can I get Mother's Carnuba wax?
What are you doing with that wooden block?

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Adam Bartos
Nacra 5.0
SolCat 18 (sold)
Lake Zurich, IL
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Quote

Did you start with 600 grit and then folowed with 1000 and 2000 or you sanded only with the last 2 grits?
Did you sand decals too? Where can I get Mother's Carnuba wax?
What are you doing with that wooden block?

No I never sand gel coat with anything that harsh. Usually start with 1000 and finish with 2000. If your decals are just faded they can be brought back to life the same way. I won this 5.0 on ebay for $750.00 but when I went to pick it up I thought I had been screwed.....there was that black pollution residue all over the hulls, the ropes and transom had moss growing on them and the decals were all beat up. The pictures were taken to present it's best views that's for sure. But, when I got it home I noticed the gel coat was in pretty good shape. Took a lot of elbow grease and some upgrades but now it looks and runs like a raped ape.The decals were sanded, masked over then traced with an ex-acto knife, excess peeled off then painted. You have to get within inches to tell its paint. After several tries replacing striping and decals on other boats I wanted to see if this would work. After all, it's a thirty year old boat! The block you refer to has a piece of 1000 wet/dry paper rubber cemented to the bottom. This is a way to sharpen the edges of the striping and to remove excess paint that sometimes seeps under the masking tape. The carnuba wax can be found in most any box store or your local auto parts store. I do not use a machine to apply and buff compound or wax. It seems to "burnish" swirls into the finsh that's hard to remove. Maybe I just have too "heavy" a hand with machines.