96 XP Rescue Project

[Daveinpa]

Picked up this 96XP last fall to resell or part out and dump the hull.
I changed my mind after I got it home. The ski was 100% original.
The engine still had factor tags on it and showed no signs of ever being
disassembled.
It's nice to see but not a positive when it comes to tear down.
6 broken head bolts, 2 carb bolts and 1 RV cover bolt.
Not a big deal, I have another engine to drop in.
I was able to save the crank, cases and mag parts which all
looked new.
The mpem and wire harness all were good to
I assume this ski had very few hours on it.
The gel and glass on both top and bottom was in good shape, faded but no cracks.

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Looks to be an early 96

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I know it looks rough
Next was to gut the ski

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At first the plan was to wet sand and buff the gel coat back to a gloss finish but I came up with a better idea.
Since I already have 2 96xp's and 1 95xp limited I decided to build this one with the color scheme of the 99SPX
So next came the wet sanding and then into the paint room


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4 coats of Dupont base color followed by 3 coats of Dupont clear

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At first I painted the handlebar cover flat black like the 99s are but I didn't like the way it looked on the ski and this one originally looked like they all do after 20 years

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I came up with a process to refinish these pads a few years ago and it does not involve painting
or color dyeing.
I've done about 15 of them this way, some of my own and some for other guys.
Sorry but this trade secret stays with me for now.



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Now the long process of going back together.
Actually I only had 30 days from the time I started painting until vacation so it became a rush job.
The new decals arrived with two weeks to spare, The seat cover only 1 week from D day.
I had one day to test on the water then a 500 mile tow to the Outer Banks.
Pulled it off without a problem and had hours of good riding in OBX with all 4 skis

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[Daveinpa]

The finished ski
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[Matt Braley]

Wonderful work Dave I love it.

[Grumpy Old Guy]

[fastgas]

that's amazing work

[Myself]

That ski looks great!

[critracer]

Very nice!

[scottw090]

That steering pad cleanup looks fantastic. Does your secret process involve a heat gun followed by RIT dye? Spill those beanz!

[Daveinpa]

No heat gun used.
I tried every chemical known to man including oven cleaner and bleach.
Destroyed a few in the process
It was my last idea that worked, I figured " F-it, Can't make it any worse "
Same process works on the rear grab bar

[Benflynn]

Heat gun....shhhhhh