I scuffed up a new Mercury cowling a few years back when I forgot to remove the ski pole before trimming the motor up (what an idiot). Took the cowling to a friend’s body shop and he had it wet sanded, buffed up and looking like new in 20 minutes. I’d start there before trying to paint it. Good luck.

Fiber optic cable just came available up at our cabin in the UP. It’s fantastic. Super fast. As good if not better than our Comcast service outside of Chicago.