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PostPosted: Sat Jul 20, 2019 6:32 pm 
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Joined: Sat Jul 20, 2019 6:21 pm
Posts: 6
Good morning, friends,

I made two trips of several hours with my hobie mirage ti on his trailer (also hobie) and bad surprise: scratches on the hull and the amas that rubbed together.

Here is a partial view to give you an idea, but it's much uglier and wider in real life: https://ibb.co/4FHqWY8

Another owner told me that he always put linens between the hull and the clusters during transport, but I learned it too late.

I tried to reduce the scratches by sanding one of the clusters and the result is worse:(

Here is the result: https://ibb.co/nnJjz3W

My hobby mirage ti is new and already well damaged, I am sad :(

Do you have any ideas to "repair" the sand area, please? I tried to pass the heat gun (220 degrees for 10 minutes) but it didn't change anything.

Thank you for your ideas!


Last edited by ricoco on Sun Jul 21, 2019 8:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Sun Jul 21, 2019 3:46 pm 
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Joined: Sat Nov 05, 2011 1:58 am
Posts: 2893
Location: Forster, NSW, Australia
(Images didn't show up BTW)

If the scratches are deep, you might need to use Hobie's repair system to add material. If no, just remember that you CAN sand out scratches, but be careful not to make the surface too hot with friction, and use fine sandpaper.

I avoid damage between the hulls by adding a 6-8 inch long loop of old suit legs material (probably free from your nearest dive-shop) suspended on a short piece of plastic pipe

_________________
Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker


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PostPosted: Sun Jul 21, 2019 8:30 pm 
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Hi Tony,

Thank you very much for your answer, very appreciated.

I tried to repair the links for the pictures in my first post.

In fact, I follow this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZ63Q_w_t1U

In fact, I followed the instructions in this video using 80, then 320 and then 1000 sandpaper. I didn't use the rubbing compound. Then I tried with a heat gun at 240 degrees fahrenheit for 10 minutes on a small area but I didn't see any improvement.

As you can see on this picture: it is smooth but white (instead to be red): https://ibb.co/nnJjz3W.

I think it's worse than with the stripes :(

I finally contacted my dealer and he advised me to use a wet sandpaper of 1000 and a rubbing compound. He told me that I should recover the red and brilliant aspect (like in the video).

He advised me to not use the heat gun because he is frightened that I distorted the hull.

I must admit that I am very disappointed with my first job and that I hesitate to touch it up for fear of making things worse. What do you think of that?

Best,


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 22, 2019 3:52 am 
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These boats are made of rotomolded polyethylene. This is a very durable material which can take a lot of abuse, but it is soft and very vulnerable to scratches. It's simply a plastic boat. This is certainly not the kind of boat to buy if scratches bother you. You'll get many more in normal use.

Almost everyone has those scratches on the amas unless they took the effort to avoid them right from day one. You can try to use heat from a blow torch to try to minimize the scratches. This is best done by someone with experience because a light touch is required to avoid damage. A heat gun won't work well. Do not use Hobie's plastic repair kit. This kit will repair deep gouges in the hull, but at the cost of making the repaired area look worse. Never attempt to use this kit just for scratches.

Polyethylene is extremely difficult to refinish, you can't really fill it, paint it, or properly repolish it like you can with other materials such as wood, fiberglass, and metal. It's just the nature of this material. It was never meant to have a great finish. Simply use some 303 aerospace protectant on it a few times a year, that will make it looks its best.

I know it's tough to get scratches on something new, but on these types of boats, it's really no big deal. A polyethylene plastic finish is never going to be something to be proud of and protect like a sports car. It's perfectly ok to get scratches on it, no one should really care. Overall the boat will still look good for many years despite a few flaws. Go look at any polyethylene boat that's been in use, you'll never find one without scratches.

So forget about it and just enjoy the boat, you'll love it, scratches and all.


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 22, 2019 8:23 am 
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Joined: Thu Aug 21, 2014 6:43 am
Posts: 202
Location: Chalfont Pa
Best way to remove light scratches is a torch, but best to learn the technique on an old kayak.
For now, put a sticker or something over it and ignore it. Enjoy the boat.
I got tired of putting something between the hulls, now the main hull is supported with PVC pipe. I cut up the old cradle and just use the ama supports, bolted to the cross bar so there are a few inches of space between them and the main hull.


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 22, 2019 9:09 am 
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Joined: Fri Dec 01, 2006 1:38 pm
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See this post for repairs I made to an Oasis:
https://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=63417

For final touch-up I used a Wagner HT1000 heat gun on low setting (750 degrees) with the flaring attachment. I kept the gun about 8 inches from the surface at a 60 angle and in constant motion with multiple passes. This causes just a thin surface layer to melt and then re-solidify on each pass. The white haze from sanding quickly turns back to the original shiny color and you can see improvement with each pass with only 2 or 3 passes required.

The polyethylene plastic appears to have a melting point around 275 to 300 degrees. If you are unsure or unclear how to use a heat gun without damaging your kayak, your dealer should have somebody familiar with the process.

Peter


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PostPosted: Thu Aug 01, 2019 1:38 pm 
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Joined: Tue Jul 10, 2012 10:22 am
Posts: 63
I display my TI's scars with pride as a display of the many victorious battles with rocks, piers, jetties and and other assorted flotsam and jetsam.


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PostPosted: Thu Aug 01, 2019 8:07 pm 
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I found filing with a metal file a good way to restore a smooth finish.


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PostPosted: Mon Aug 05, 2019 12:51 pm 
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Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2008 6:18 am
Posts: 3058
Location: Sarasota,Key West FL
If it were me I wouldn't try to sand the boat, it never ended well for us.

Also applying heat from a torch, typically never ended well for me either.

What I do is just get a single edge utility razor, and a holder from home depot, (like the kind used for removing caulk from windows).

Hold it vertically and swipe it back and forth quickly over the scratched area, the plastic comes off like snow and you can quickly repair pretty much any area like your describing in about 5-10 minutes, so when your done it looks like brand new. Change the blade often, (buy extra blades).

Don't worry about rubbing thru the hull, you would have to rub that area tens of thousands of times to get thru the hull.

However on deep scratches and cuts I typically fire up our Hobie welder, and fill in deep gouges with the Hobie supplied filler that matches the boat, (all the dealers carry the matching filler rod, just ask for it). After filling the gouge just go over with the single edge razor to finish up, you can't see the repair if you do it right....

We had 3 TI's over the years and used the daylights out of all of them pretty much every weekend year round, mostly in SWFL and the keys, where there are lots of shells, oyster fields, and shallow surprises. We didn't worry too much about the bottom of the boat, (scratches are unavoidable), we typically flipped the boat over annually and cleaned everything up to look new again, (takes about a day), just with the razor and Hobie welder, (yea and we cleaned up where the AMA's rub the hull when on the trailer at the same time). Never had any problems really, the darn boats are nearly indestructible, (believe me we pushed the heck out of all of ours)
FE


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PostPosted: Mon Aug 05, 2019 1:30 pm 
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Thanks a lot for all your answers.

I think I'm going to follow your advice and not touch it too much, especially since it barely shows.

If one day I get tired, I'll try the razor or the heat gun.

Thank you again!


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PostPosted: Mon Aug 05, 2019 5:43 pm 
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I took advise of other threads here when I first got my TI. I cut 2 pieces of carpet about 24" x 14", folded each one and glued it closed with pile side out to make 24 x 7 pads. Tied them with 2 strings long enough to hang them on main hull like a saddle (in the forward section of rear cockpit), then close amas and secure them against the carpet pads. Simple to drop on and take off each sailing. Like someone else said, other scares are battle scars to wear with pride, or a reminder of what not to do...lol.


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PostPosted: Mon Aug 05, 2019 7:20 pm 
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Location: Sarasota,Key West FL
Lol, talkin about battle scars, I had a strap break while going over a long bridge, and one ama fell outside the tire and the tire rubbed a giant swirly on the side of the AMA.
The AMA was still watertight, I felt trying to repair the damage, would be too risky, so I just left the swirly, (never forgot to check the straps ever again, lol).
FE


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PostPosted: Wed Aug 14, 2019 3:52 am 
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Joined: Mon Nov 10, 2014 6:20 pm
Posts: 146
Location: Pula - Sardinia
FE u suggested a razor... could u post a link of which kind of tool do you mean. i tried to google but found different ones.


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PostPosted: Wed Aug 14, 2019 5:05 am 
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Location: Sarasota,Key West FL
If you go to home depot web site and type in stanley 1 1/2 razor paint scraper, that’s the unit you need, (around $3 bucks). Get extra blades.
Hold it vertically and swipe back and forth quickly. The plastic comes off like snow.
Hope this helps.
FE


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PostPosted: Tue Aug 20, 2019 2:14 am 
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Joined: Mon Nov 10, 2014 6:20 pm
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Location: Pula - Sardinia
ehehe FE you yankees always forget that Europe is another world, with other languages, and no home depot or walmart stores.... anyway google understood which kind of tool it is though here is costs 3 times more :-) I also have a decolored area in my hull and amas because the former owner didnt put any protection in the trailer between the 2 parts.


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