Refinishing a pair of 2005 gtx's

[snrusnak]

Just thought I'd share what we have been working on this winter. Picked up a pair of 2005 gtx's last July (one supercharged one NA). First time aquatic vessel owners and operators. Wanted to go buy some new ones (don't need another project.....got one anyways lol) but there literally were none available, and good used ones were more expensive than the new list price. Got lucky and found these at a really really good price on them since they had been sitting and wouldn't run. Also found out when going to buy that they were being sold by a friend of mine's dad, so he knocked the price down even further. Took me a couple hours and about $20 to get both running. We ran them all end of summer and fall, even on 45 minute hauls out to the islands off the coast of Mississippi. Never an issue!

I went through them pretty thoroughly mechanically when I got them, and the guy had just put new batteries in them, and he said the supercharger was rebuilt not too many hours ago. New trailer tires, hubs, straps, etc. They're pretty solid for old skis that were left out to die.

So, this winter the wife and I decided to get them looking as good as they run. We are nearly done, should be completed by end of next weekend. All new decals, new traction mats, buffed, polished, and ceramic coated the entire skis. Got one completed today with exception of seat cover. The tops turned out literally like brand new. Bottoms about 90 percent. Have some dings from hurricane Katrina when they floated off and hit some stuff, but not too bad. I also tried to cheat and skip wet sanding which I regret, I had to buff like 3-4 times, probably created more work than wet sanding, but it turned out good.

Here's a few before and afters...can't wait to get out in the water and show them off. I will say, this was a substantial amount of work...

 

[snrusnak]

In some of these pics we hadn't done the bottoms yet...

We didn't go crazy on spending. Bought lower priced parts as far as traction mats and seat covers and what not but honestly they are really good quality all around.

Blacktip traction mats
I forget the seat covers, jet something
Decals were someone I found on eBay, I believe it was KC graphics. They are insanely good quality decals. As you can see we went minimalistic on replacements and changed the color up to better match the skis.

 

[skiasylum]

Look super nice, after putting in all that work you might want to think about getting the superchargers rebuilt. The plastic bearing cages get brittle with age and if they go serious motor damage. Recommended maintenance is every 200 hrs and 2 years.

 

[snrusnak]

Appreciate that. The supercharger was supposedly rebuilt not that long ago so I think it is ok. That ski has about 240 hours on it. The other one about 110.

 

[Ebfwathdeww]

I have the same (harbor freight?) engine hoist, I have been thinking of getting the lift strap to do the same thing. Thanks for including that pic, I think I will go ahead and get the lift strap now, any recommendations? Also, nice work.

 

[snrusnak]

Yes it's a harbor freight engine hoist. Honestly, harbor freight has come a long way in the past ~5 years or so and many of their tools are not junk or 1 time use items like they used to be. I actually have many HF tools that out perform name brands. This hoist is pretty nice. The sling or cradle or whatever you want to call it is very nice too and works great. Just make sure you get the weight distributed evenly so it's level. You really almost need two people as you have to hold both sides in place while jacking it up. I was skeptical at first, especially about laying on my back with a buffer under a 1000 lb object. But, it is very secure and works great. Use a rag between the cradle and the fiberglass at the one spot on the rear of the cradle, you can see in the pic. It doesn't roll very well with all that weight on it on my carport concrete (kinda rough, not like a finished slab) so have to be careful not to jossle it too much. Also make sure you have the engine hoist arm set at a length that is very safe to lift the 1000 lbs. I think mine is set at 1 ton so plenty of extra capactiy there. It's also slightly tricky getting the hoist around the tire and lined up and everything, not sure that it would be doable with a dual axle trailer.

We finished the 2nd ski yesterday, got it ceramic coated and set back on the trailer. Just gotta wipe the top coat on today, put the new seat covers on (hopefully today/tomorrow), then wipe all the black plastics down with cerakote wipes that we are gonna try out. Ready to put in the water maybe next weekend or once it's warm enough...!!!!! Can't wait. Will definitely follow up with more pics.

 

[mnjoker1]

Nice work, Just did the same, both GTX's came out great with wet sanding. Unfortunately I had a barn find but it was left outside the Barn! now I have a summer project

 

[snrusnak]

Very nice! We should have wetsanded but I was trying to cheat and skip a step. Still came out great just created more work for myself. We have two seats left to finish and then will be DONE!!!

 

[mnjoker1]

I went with the Black tip for the seats and was almost happy but needed to do some sewing to make them fit perfect. Little disappointment but they look great. Installed the hydro turf mats and was very happy with quality and application

 

[snrusnak]

We made our decisions mostly based on price lol. Not that I was trying to cheap out, but these are our first skis and they were a little rough, and honestly even the cheaper parts/materials seemed good quality with great reviews. The blacktip traction mats we bought are excellent quality and stuck down very firmly. The jetarmor seats seem decent. We did the rears and they came out great. We learned this evening the fronts are way more difficult. I'm not sure they're gonna turn out great, but oh well. They were like $150 for the front/back set. Worst case, we will but another set and pay a pro to redo them next season if they're that bad. We are having to stretch the material so much to et the looseness out of the fabric that the staples are tearing through since they're under so much tension. We didn't get to the seats much this weekend as I had to work on my truck, but we should be complete through the week sometime. Planning to go out on the water end of next week!

 

[snrusnak]

They turned out good! The seats were a nightmare ...separate thread on that....but we are going on the water tomorrow!!!! And they look so good!!!

 

[Milehighguy303]

Incredible… that is some amazing work.

 

[snrusnak]

Thank you, they look pretty good. It was a lot of work and a lot of labor but we are really glad we did it.

 

[sktn77a]

Look super nice, after putting in all that work you might want to think about getting the superchargers rebuilt. The plastic bearing cages get brittle with age and if they go serious motor damage. Recommended maintenance is every 200 hrs and 2 years.

I echo this sentiment if you're not absolutely certain the superchargers were rebuilt in the last couple of years.