gel coat shine???

[cwilt]

can any body tell me how to get that new boat look again! i just bought an electric buffer and tried to shine her up with 3m marine glaze. but its not what i expected. it looks like the haze is inside the gel coat. is this correct? the boat is only 6 years old and i keep her clean and covered. but the s. florida sun is pretty intense.

 

[jerseysportfisher]

Re: gel coat shine???

wet sand with 800-1000 and re-buff, then wax. Try a small spot first, for patch testing.

 

[cwilt]

Re: gel coat shine???

what kind of sandpaper? do i put it on the buffer? thanks for the quick reply

 

[dmbfan7810]

Re: gel coat shine???

I used 3M liquid rubbing compound to clean it up. That alone brought out a nice shine. It was blinding once I topped it off with a Turtle Wax bath. Looks fresh, bright, and beautiful.

 

[HopeSheFloats]

Re: gel coat shine???

Yep, rubbing compound and wet sanding and a little vaseline for good measure...check out mine here{see link} turned out great IMO...

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=324091&page=3

 

[jerseysportfisher]

Re: gel coat shine???

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...6?&cid=chanintel&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=34696

you can get started with 800 grit. Use soapy water, dont sand in circles, use a hatched pattern. Then Buff using a medium compound. Then buff using a fine compound. Then wax.

 

[geedubcpa]

Re: gel coat shine???

The wet sanding they are talking about is a black sandpaper that is 800 grit or higher - it will help with the polishing process - go to NAPA and ask what they have - getting the 800-1000 grit is very important as some of the wetsandpaper is as low as 300 grit and will mess up the gelcoat. The higher the grit the finer the grit - for example a grinder is 36 grit and polishing is 800-1000 or higher grit.

 

[cwilt]

Re: gel coat shine???

thanks all for the quick replies, and tips. i will give it a shot this week..

 

[oops!]

Re: gel coat shine???

the way the pro's do it is to use the stuff made for boats....

the 3m stuff while cheap is not as good as product as the stuff made for gellcoat.

forget sanding....

step one. acid wash the boat with industrial toilet bowl cleaner....yep....industrial toilet cleaner....it contains muriatic acid and will eat most gunk off the hull while not hurting the gellcoat or any thing else on your boat.

step 2.....use farecla 200 polishing compound.......start with a foam applicator and doing a small (5 foot ) section using approx 800 rpm. work the farecla in good using long faster strokes....don't hover over any place or you will burn the farecla in to the gell coat......(then wash applicator with warm water)

step 4.....using the mop buffing pad and approx 1500 rpm.....begin to buff the farecla into the gell....again medium fast....dont stay in one spot.

repeat washing both applicator and mop every five feet.....(just hose it out good with warm water....then put the peice on the polisher and spin at high rpm to spin the water out of it.

step 5. repeate the process using farecla glaze.....dont use too much of this stuff...it really goes a long way...

wear your sunglasses when you look at it.

ive had coustomers hardly recognise there boat....ugly brownish orange faded oxidized gellcoat to showroom finish......and yes...it lasts for a super long time....

 

[cwilt]

Re: gel coat shine???

WOW oops,


questions? #1 will the acid hurt the carpet in the boat? #2 can i mix (dilute it with water)? #3 do i need gloves?? i am actually thinking of combining all of the responses, use the acid to clean, then use the 200 rubbing compound, then 800-1000 sand paper then the polishing compoumd then buff it out.

 

[cwoodffr]

Re: gel coat shine???

what kind of polisher will give the best speed control?

 

[oops!]

Re: gel coat shine???

this is the glaze.....same color for the paste...but thats in a little pail

wash the mop often

cheers
oops

 

[oops!]

Re: gel coat shine???

i use a professional makita vari speed sander polisher.....

harbor freight has a sander polisher....vari speed between 300 and 6000 rpm for around 70 dollars im told.....(i live in canada.....so harbour freight isnt here)

 

[bigredinohio]

Re: gel coat shine???

I bought a sander/polisher from harbor freight for around $30. It's fairly weak on torque so you might want to upgrade to something a little better for polishing.

 

[cwilt]

Re: gel coat shine???

thats where i go mine!! thanks for the info....cheers

 

[Rickairmedic]

Re: gel coat shine???

Heres the one I have from Harbor freight ( cant report on how good it is yet ) I m not yet at the polishing stage still painting .


http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=92623



Rick

 

[bigredinohio]

Re: gel coat shine???

Yep, exact one I have

 

[cwilt]

Re: gel coat shine???

Yep, exact one I have

me also!!!!!

 

[Rickairmedic]

Re: gel coat shine???

Seems as though alot of us with Boats shop at the Chinese tool store from HELL ROFLMAO.


Rick

 

[bigbad 4cyl x2]

Re: gel coat shine???

i use rolite for course buffing , agree with the wet sand first ,then rolite on speed variable buffer with wool pad