JonathanEngr
Seaman
- Joined
- Jun 10, 2009
- Messages
- 66
Well, as I delve more and more into the restoration of my 'toon I'm nearing completion. It's funny--the one thing I thought would be the *easiest* to fix has become the most elusive--side panels.
Okay--my boat--despite the fact it has "Bentley" on the side--is actually a Smokercraft. I finally confirmed this. It was a weird deal for Smokercraft, but they made some pontoons for Bentley that went to the Pontoon Depot. The boat has a Smokercraft steering wheel and Smokercraft serial number (begins with SMK, and so I called Smokercraft to confirm). Anyway...
The panels were all in good shape except for one, and they cleaned up to brand-new condition after compounding and waxing. The panel in question is the one in front of the left gate (looking from the driver's seat) that is continuous wrapping around to the front gate. It seems that the previous owner may have moored it to a dock and either forgot to drop a bumper out or a storm pushed it repeatedly into something. There are probably 50 little scratches and dents in a 1-foot by 1 1/2-foot section of the panel.
I figured any body shop might be able to fix the dents, but due to the zig-zag nature of the panel, it doesn't seem possible. Additionally, repainting the panel in just one area (to keep from removing and replacing the stickers) isn't recommended. I've been told that even with "fogging" over the area it's likely to not match up perfectly, and may look worse than it does now.
The lady I spoke with at Smokercraft was very helpful, and she contacted their service department to see if I could either get a replacement panel and/or panel and frame combo. They don't have them--they only have replacements for the past 5 years (2005 and up).
I'm attaching a pic of the damage to this post. Any thoughts? I've been told that another "custom" sticker with a tapering wave pattern could be used to cover it (basically looking like an additional factory sticker), with a matching one added to the other side. The dents would still be visible under the sticker, but the scratches would be gone. I guess I could also have someone completely remove the stickers and repaint the whole panel, then re-apply new stickers (there's a guy here in town that can do the stickers and supposedly get the shape, colors and location spot-on). Or, does anyone make these panels anywhere? Is there a "boat junkyard" that might have a Smokercraft that's been scrapped but with a non-dented panel section I could use to replace it? Any input would be appreciated!
Okay--my boat--despite the fact it has "Bentley" on the side--is actually a Smokercraft. I finally confirmed this. It was a weird deal for Smokercraft, but they made some pontoons for Bentley that went to the Pontoon Depot. The boat has a Smokercraft steering wheel and Smokercraft serial number (begins with SMK, and so I called Smokercraft to confirm). Anyway...
The panels were all in good shape except for one, and they cleaned up to brand-new condition after compounding and waxing. The panel in question is the one in front of the left gate (looking from the driver's seat) that is continuous wrapping around to the front gate. It seems that the previous owner may have moored it to a dock and either forgot to drop a bumper out or a storm pushed it repeatedly into something. There are probably 50 little scratches and dents in a 1-foot by 1 1/2-foot section of the panel.
I figured any body shop might be able to fix the dents, but due to the zig-zag nature of the panel, it doesn't seem possible. Additionally, repainting the panel in just one area (to keep from removing and replacing the stickers) isn't recommended. I've been told that even with "fogging" over the area it's likely to not match up perfectly, and may look worse than it does now.
The lady I spoke with at Smokercraft was very helpful, and she contacted their service department to see if I could either get a replacement panel and/or panel and frame combo. They don't have them--they only have replacements for the past 5 years (2005 and up).
I'm attaching a pic of the damage to this post. Any thoughts? I've been told that another "custom" sticker with a tapering wave pattern could be used to cover it (basically looking like an additional factory sticker), with a matching one added to the other side. The dents would still be visible under the sticker, but the scratches would be gone. I guess I could also have someone completely remove the stickers and repaint the whole panel, then re-apply new stickers (there's a guy here in town that can do the stickers and supposedly get the shape, colors and location spot-on). Or, does anyone make these panels anywhere? Is there a "boat junkyard" that might have a Smokercraft that's been scrapped but with a non-dented panel section I could use to replace it? Any input would be appreciated!
