Thread: Cowling help

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  1. #1
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    Jun 2012
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    Yellville, Arkansas
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    Cowling help

    I am in the process of doing some updates to my 2000 Ranger with Mercury 150 XR6.

    I have seen several pictures of guys who have gotten Mercury decals from Iguana and thought that it looked really good. Today, I peeled off the old decals with a heat gun. You can see the outline of the old decals because the paint underneath had not faded any. How should I go about restoring this cowling? I have a buffer from wet sanding and refinishing my gelcoat last week, so I am familiar with running a buffer.

    If all else fails, I will just buy an OEM replacement decal set to go back over these unfaded spots.


    cowl1.jpgcowl2.jpgcowl3.jpg

  2. Member
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    May 2020
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    Boise, Idaho
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    #2
    I actually just finished up restoring my cowling as well. Although mine was in much worse shape. After repainting and laying down the new clear coat. I used meguiars ultimate compound. With a 100% wool buff pad. I followed that up with their ultimate polish and a foam polishing pad on my 6" orbital buffer. Came out pretty good! It was my first time using any of this stuff. So it doesn't take any experience to get a good result. One thing I learned the hard way though...Just be careful with the buffing compound on any corners. You don't want to burn through the clear coat. 0513202148.jpg
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    Last edited by 92nitro; 05-26-2020 at 07:17 PM.

  3. Member
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    Dec 2021
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    Raleigh NC
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    #3
    Is the cowling on my 2001 Mercury outboard painted from the factory? My first guess would have been that it is made of plastic, but it almost seems like fiberglass or similar. Like the guys above I'd like to restore the aesthetics on mine a bit. Maybe I can start by just rubbing it out with ??? Maybe some new stickers would be in order....


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  4. Member
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    Dec 2021
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    #4
    Regarding polishing up my cowling I first removed the decals (stickers). This revealed some very glossy paint surrounded by the dull paint that been exposed to the elements, so it definately gave me a goal to work toward. Note: on this 2001 outboard the paint is acrylic laqure. Maybe they all are? Anyway, I then went through various polishing techniques and finally settled on this one:
    Step 1: Started with 2000 grit wet/dry sandpaper. I actually used an electric DA sander but was super careful and hand sanded corners, edges and convex curved areas.
    Step 2: Red rubbing compound on a rotary buffer/polisher.
    Step 3: White polishing compound.
    Step 4: Wax
    steps 3-4 were done with a DA polisher - since I didn't want to make a career out of this.

    I'd put results at about 90%. Maybe could have done better with a few more hours invested
    Last edited by MattG.; 02-04-2022 at 07:39 AM.

  5. Member crank68's Avatar
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    Mar 2011
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    Kenly, NC
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    #5
    By what I’ve seen and done in my shop your cowling looks to be restorable without painting....just from the 3 pics.
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