Buffing the boat

[oldjeep]

After 10 years of ownership, my hull cleaning got a little lax.  Starting to see some oxidation on the black, so I ordered a chicom DA buffer and some 3m light cutting stuff.

The buffer comes with a bunch of colored pads.  How does one decide which to use?  Up until now it has been all arm power and collinite cleaning paste.

[Cole2001]

Start with yellow with a heavy cutting compound to remove oxidation and work down to a finishing pad from there. Gel coat takes quite a bit more than what paint does, a wool pad is often my choice for starting out. 

[Nick55]

Start with the firmest.  Give them a squeeze test.  Work your way down to softer and ultimately the wax or whatever coating you’re putting on at the end.  I will say, that after 10 years of no polishing, you will possibly need a rotary buffet with a wool pad. 

[electricjohn]

After 21 summers, I'm not there (cutting) yet. Doubt I'll ever do that. Tony's tonic acid wash, sealant, and Collinite 925(?) for me. Folks on my lake still think the boat is new. Same goes for my (saltwater and lake) 1970 Winner.

[oldjeep]

Yeah.  I bought the lightest compound.  If that doesn't work then I will get more aggressive.  Boat has looked like glass most of the time I have owned it, all elbow grease and beer.   Last year or 2, I have not done as good a job on it, but it lives inside.

Edited April 19 by oldjeep

[Pnwrider]

Gel coat is tough, I’d start with a wool pad and medium cut polish. I’ve been impressed with both the cutting and finishing capabilities of wool. 

[justgary]

12 hours ago, oldjeep said:

Yeah.  I bought the lightest compound.  If that doesn't work then I will get more aggressive.  Boat has looked like glass most of the time I have owned it, all elbow grease and beer.   Last year or 2, I have not done as good a job on it, but it lives inside.

I say you have better stuff to do, so have another beer and let it ride a few more years.  Be American and fix it up all pretty right before you sell it.

[JasonK]

Oh dam..."fix it up all pretty right before you sell it" lol 

That's my M.O. for my cars haha

[oldjeep]

29 minutes ago, JasonK said:

Oh dam..."fix it up all pretty right before you sell it" lol 

That's my M.O. for my cars haha

That is when I clean the inside of my truck.  Nobody wants my truck when I am done with it.

[shawndoggy]

I use this stuff which is really more of a polish than a compound: https://a.co/d/jbwNDka

 

it works great on a slightly firmer pad. 
 

then I wax/seal with the super soft pad and whatever bottle of wax I’m working through. 
 

generally do this annually on “put the boat down for winter nap” day, with a wax mid season.
 

But on the old boat my platform got super oxidized (in the places the buffer won’t reach) and I used this to bring it back when I pulled the platform and replaced the swim pad. 
. 

so in short, other than potentially wasting a little time from not going aggro enough, the firmish pad / polish method has worked for me to bring back the shine

Edited April 19 by shawndoggy

[oldjeep]

As it turns out, all the pads are same color and firmness, not like picture on Amazon ad.  Also came with wool pad and a couple wax bonnets.  The 3m stuff I bought seems like your McGuire's.  Unfortunately we are back to 34F today, so buffing is going to wait for another day.

 

Edited April 20 by oldjeep

[Nick55]

Start with the wool, then the egg crate shape, then the flat foam.  Truthfully, I’d imagine you’ll struggle to get a good result with just that compound.  I may be surprised, but based on the age of boat, it may need a 2 or 3 stage polish. 

[Nick55]

I just looked at what I used for my old boat when it needed a good clean up.  Meguiars M105 with a rotary and wool, then M205 with a firm foam pad on the rotary.  I did my final coat, a sealant with a soft foam on a DA machine.  I tried to attach pictures to show the change but I’ll need to add them later. 

[electricjohn]

@Nick55 What did you use for a sealant?

[Nick55]

Years ago I had a friend who had a bunch of exotic cars and he swore by this stuff called Glare.  I don’t think is available anywhere but their website.   He gave me a set of polishes and the sealant and I still had some sealant so that’s what I used.  It still works!  

[Nick55]

Here’s the before.

[Steve B.]

Can't wait for the after....

[oldjeep]

23 minutes ago, Nick55 said:

Here’s the before.

Yeah, mine doesn't look even 10% that bad.

[Nick55]

Here’s the after. 

[Cole2001]

6 hours ago, electricjohn said:

@Nick55 What did you use for a sealant?

I have used Jescar power lock plus in the past and was very impressed with how it held up.  https://jescarfinishing.com/collections/surface-protection-cleaning-products/products/jescar-power-lock

[Nick55]

And this was the ultimate end result. I didn’t really enjoy red anyways. 

[oldjeep]

50 minutes ago, Cole2001 said:

I have used Jescar power lock plus in the past and was very impressed with how it held up.  https://jescarfinishing.com/collections/surface-protection-cleaning-products/products/jescar-power-lock

That stuff was highly recommend by a bu crew member.  I personally found it a pain to work with and it didn't last any longer than a couple coats of Collinite paste wax.

[oldjeep]

44 minutes ago, Nick55 said:

And this was the ultimate end result. I didn’t really enjoy red anyways. 

Pretty close to the color of mine.  Just swap the black and blue.

[Nick55]

33 minutes ago, oldjeep said:

That stuff was highly recommend by a bu crew member.  I personally found it a pain to work with and it didn't last any longer than a couple coats of Collinite paste wax.

Ease of application is important to me.  The Glare I use is just a sealant and you put a few drops on a microfiber or sponge pad and let it sit like I’d be interested in looking at ceramic coatings as well but locally, if you call a pro they hear “boat” and it doubles the labor even if you are bringing it to them.  Last quote I got was $2500 for my truck, and $4k to do a 23’ boat.  I’m nervous to try the DIY coatings too, as I don’t really have an indoor workspace right now to keep the boat in for a few days and work on it.  Until I get the courage to try it, I’ll stick to sealants.