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Buffing and Polishing compounds


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I have light oxidation on my boat. Mad.gif What kind of compounds have you used or do you suggest? I will be using a buffer with wool pads, if it matters.

Thanks, Mike

Edited by O man
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I use a terry cloth cover, ( have heard the foam works great for appling) and wool for the final buffing with no polish as mentioned. I just finished (7 hrs with the trailer) doing just what your talking about. If you don't have bad oxidation and do not need to wet sand then I would start off with 3m perfect-it II rubbing compound. Follow that up with 3m Finesse-it II finishing material and then use meguiars boat wax

JM3C ;)

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I've used 3M Finesse It, Meguiar's Marine/RV Polish, and Meguiar's Pure Wax with good results. Based on what I have read, the wool pad is not the best choice for compounding unless you are trying to remove heavy oxidation. Also, it is better to start with less aggressive pads/compounds and then work your way up if necessary. Below are a couple of quotes from the provided links.

"The first breakdown is between wool and foam pads. In general, wool pads are considered "cutting" in nature. That is, the fibers of the wool pad "cut" into the paint, removing top layers of paint much more rapidly than foam pads, which do a relatively small amount of cutting but instead rely on greater heat build-up to do their work. " LINK

"LCM also sells a wool pad, which is designed for fast, aggressive cutting - I rarely use the wool pad, as it's possible to introduce some swirl marks if used improperly." LINK

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I would use meguirs fine cut cleaner with wool pad, then swirl remover with wool pad, then foam pad with swirl remover, and lastly hand wax. Be careful, keep the wool pad clean and use two seperate pads for the first two steps, also I would use detailer in between steps to keep everything clean. Lastly, I would not expect to have fun, but your boat should look like new.

Edited by johnsvt
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I use a terry cloth cover, ( have heard the foam works great for appling) and wool for the final buffing with no polish as mentioned. I just finished (7 hrs with the trailer) doing just what your talking about. If you don't have bad oxidation and do not need to wet sand then I would start off with 3m perfect-it II rubbing compound. Follow that up with 3m Finesse-it II finishing material and then use meguiars boat wax

JM3C ;)

Greg,

I always have trouble finding the 3M products. Where do you get them at?

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you can find 3m products at any automotive finish store, If you dont know where there is one in your area just ask any autobody shop where they get there paints. These places will have both 3m and meguiars products. hopefully this helps

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I use a terry cloth cover, ( have heard the foam works great for appling) and wool for the final buffing with no polish as mentioned. I just finished (7 hrs with the trailer) doing just what your talking about. If you don't have bad oxidation and do not need to wet sand then I would start off with 3m perfect-it II rubbing compound. Follow that up with 3m Finesse-it II finishing material and then use meguiars boat wax

JM3C ;)

Greg,

I always have trouble finding the 3M products. Where do you get them at?

I think Napa will care most 3m products or could get them. Also look in the yellow pages (auto body shop equipment and supplies) I would also say your with a company (the city) Innocent.gif for a discount.

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I use a terry cloth cover, ( have heard the foam works great for appling) and wool for the final buffing with no polish as mentioned. I just finished (7 hrs with the trailer) doing just what your talking about. If you don't have bad oxidation and do not need to wet sand then I would start off with 3m perfect-it II rubbing compound. Follow that up with 3m Finesse-it II finishing material and then use meguiars boat wax

JM3C ;)

I would absolutely agree here. I have been detailing for a dealer here in Mi for the last 3 years, and that is what we found to work the best.

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06060 3m compound then use 38112 durable glaze works awsome.If you have water spots spray mequires hard water spot remover on,let sit a couple minutes then squize a little evercoat #23 compound by hand wipes the spots right away.

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06060 3m compound then use 38112 durable glaze works awsome.If you have water spots spray mequires hard water spot remover on,let sit a couple minutes then squize a little evercoat #23 compound by hand wipes the spots right away.

Water spots are easier than that... if they are bad and you are having troubles with them... Lime-a-way... Put it in a spray bottle, and spray the hull down. Once finished you will want to rewash the boat and most likely rewax as well... If it is just slight watermarks, use some Vin-water. I usually use about 40/60 vinegar to water.

-Joel

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  • 1 month later...

O Man,

I just bought an 89 Sunsetter (my first boat) and I need the same type of products! I have 'heavy' oxidation according to the dealer. He wants about $1000 to dry sand, buff and seal the boat, but I think I will be doing it myself. Here are a couple website which you may find useful: http://www.properboatcare.com/redugelcofi.html. or http://www.jamestowndistributors.com. I'm thinking of buying one of their complete kits and doing the work myself?!

My dealer recommends to use 3m products (which I may purchase anyway). There are a few websites which sell 'package' deals for products for this specific purpose.

I plan to do the following to my boat (once I pick it up next weekend):

1.) Clean entire surface to be treated.

2.) Wetsand with 600 grit and mild soapy water (spraying surface of boat with water bottle)

3.) Drink beverage of choice

4.) Wetsand with 1000 grit and mild soapy water (spraying surface of boat with water bottle)

5.) Drink beverage of choice

6.) Use wool wheel with heavy cutting compound (3m Super Duty rubbing compound or equal)

7.) Drink beverage of choice

8.) Use wool wheel with fine cut compound (3m perfect-it II rubbing compound or equal)

9.) Drink beverage of choice

10.) Use foam wheel with buffing polish (3m Finesse-it II finishing material or equal)

11.) Wax with teflon based material

Maybe I'm nuts for trying to do this myself! Now that I have written it out, it sounds even worse!

hope this helps!

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O Man,

I just bought an 89 Sunsetter (my first boat) and I need the same type of products! I have 'heavy' oxidation according to the dealer. He wants about $1000 to dry sand, buff and seal the boat, but I think I will be doing it myself. Here are a couple website which you may find useful: http://www.properboatcare.com/redugelcofi.html. or http://www.jamestowndistributors.com. I'm thinking of buying one of their complete kits and doing the work myself?!

My dealer recommends to use 3m products (which I may purchase anyway). There are a few websites which sell 'package' deals for products for this specific purpose.

I plan to do the following to my boat (once I pick it up next weekend):

1.) Clean entire surface to be treated.

2.) Wetsand with 600 grit and mild soapy water (spraying surface of boat with water bottle)

3.) Drink beverage of choice

4.) Wetsand with 1000 grit and mild soapy water (spraying surface of boat with water bottle)

5.) Drink beverage of choice

6.) Use wool wheel with heavy cutting compound (3m Super Duty rubbing compound or equal)

7.) Drink beverage of choice

8.) Use wool wheel with fine cut compound (3m perfect-it II rubbing compound or equal)

9.) Drink beverage of choice

10.) Use foam wheel with buffing polish (3m Finesse-it II finishing material or equal)

11.) Wax with teflon based material

Maybe I'm nuts for trying to do this myself! Now that I have written it out, it sounds even worse!

hope this helps!

That all sounds correct, just don't plan on being able to do it all in one night. To do it correctly it will probably take a good weekend or two, so don't get frustrated early. Its also the type of thing that if you start it, you are going to want to finish it completely. A time savor you might want to look into is new decals. It saves time by not having to tape them off and trying to buff around them and such. Also when the project is complete, with new decals it looks like a brand new boat. Good luck with the project. Thumbup.gif

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I plan to do the following to my boat (once I pick it up next weekend):

1.) Clean entire surface to be treated.

2.) Wetsand with 600 grit and mild soapy water (spraying surface of boat with water bottle)

3.) Drink beverage of choice

4.) Wetsand with 1000 grit and mild soapy water (spraying surface of boat with water bottle)

5.) Drink beverage of choice

6.) Use wool wheel with heavy cutting compound (3m Super Duty rubbing compound or equal)

7.) Drink beverage of choice

8.) Use wool wheel with fine cut compound (3m perfect-it II rubbing compound or equal)

9.) Drink beverage of choice

10.) Use foam wheel with buffing polish (3m Finesse-it II finishing material or equal)

11.) Wax with teflon based material

I would say your plan is very good- I used a very similar method. I have a few minor suggestions that may help.

-You may want to use 800 grit between 600 and 1000. I skipped the 800 (because I couldnt find it locally) and ended up doing 1000 twice, and it might have benefitted from a 3rd time.

-I assume youre using a variable speed rotary buffer and following the RPM recommendations listed on the bottles of the product?

-I got great results by doing 2 rounds each of the Super Duty and Finesse-It II.

-After each round, I removed any excess product with a microfiber towel.

-After the Finesse-It II, make sure you wash the gel down before applying wax. Use either a water+dish detergent bath, or use acetone to clean the gel. You dont want any residue left from the polish, else the wax wont stick.

General tip: If wetsanding more aggressive than 600 grit, a rigid sanding block should be used. 600 and above work best by hand.

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Thanks for the insight about the sanding and other details!

By the looks of your Nautique, it looks like you know what you are talking about!

I was just reading your story about blasting from CT to Chicago over a two day run to pick up the boat. I'm driving from Rochester, MN to Detroit, MI (Waterford actually -Skiers Pier) to pick mine up next weekend. Should be interesting Thumbup.gif, I hope the bearings hold up (its a tandem).

I plan on using the 'ski crew' (three brothers and one brother in-law) to tackle the sanding and buffing. I am hoping to knock it out over a weekend, but will be patient as the ice is just starting to break up.

Does anyone know a good place to get either replacement or newer malibu decals? Should I use the old style decals or upgrade to a newer look? I have a 89 malibu sunsetter in the dark red (maroon) color.... Dontknow.gif

There is just something about the clean look of the older boat (keeping them authentic to their production date that is)!

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Does anyone know a good place to get either replacement or newer malibu decals? Should I use the old style decals or upgrade to a newer look? I have a 89 malibu sunsetter in the dark red (maroon) color.... Dontknow.gif

I am not real sure, but the first person to ask would be your dealer. If no response from there, you can check into some vinyl cutting places, and see if they can make something close to what you had.

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I started with 3M rubbing compound and a wool bad and it worked great! My advice would be do not start to aggressive and make more work for yourself. Then a glaze and wax.

Good luck! Mike

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All the buffing is finally done. Yahoo.gif The foam pad was different to use, but worked well. So the next question is what is the best wax to use?

Mike

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