Power buffer recommendations, anyone?

[philwsailz]

As Capt. Wayne said, the Harbor freight models have worked fine for me. I did splurge though and get the $49 model.

A little off topic for this thread, but I just finished the topsides gelcoat on my 1970 O'day Mariner and was beside myself with satisfaction at how it turned out.
It looked pretty bad and was a "last shot" before considering painting. It had sat outside, uncovered for 5-8 years.
As the gel coat was chalky as well as stained, I used an air powered DA sander with a hook and loop pad. I cut green ScotchBright pads into circles and stuck them on. I scrubbed the entire topsides with that and a strong solution of Simple Green.
The green pads are close to about a 600 grit. I then followed up the same way with the grey pads which are about 1200 grit.
It cleaned all the stains, and removed the chalkiness.

PLEASE, Air Power ONLY with the above method, DO NOT USE an ELECTRIC SANDER with WATER!!

Then compound and polish.
Even on my 20 footer it was about 40 hours work, initial wash to finish wax. I followed up with "Woody Wax" as it's not as slippery, then used 3m Marine wax on vertical surfaces and areas not walked on.

I have to say it worked out great. Boat looks new, literally.
Anyone considering painting their topsides should give their gelcoat one more chance, as once it's painted it's painted forever.

Not too bad for nearly 45 year old gel coat.
Rob Jones
Fork,Md

I find that a spritzer/spray bottle provides plenty of water and I only use electric random orbit power sanders, on an aluminum ladder to add to it.

I would not use a running hose, but a spray bottle is going to apply no more liquid to the work surface than this fat guy sweating.... I am that sweaty guy, at least until I get used to the humidity of the season

Without soaking things, know that wet sanding with a hand pump spray bottle is going to be for all practical purposes safe.

My $.02

 

[philwsailz]

The pictures above show the results of 5" 1200 grit 3M random orbit paper on an electric RO sander, wet-sanded followed by a quick compound, followed by Meguiars Diamond Cut and finished with Perfect-it 3000 trizact finishing material.

The second pic shows the line between wet-sanding and the 3-stage compound and polish.

I decided 6 months ago to park the white wool 3M pads. Too aggressive. I am now just using the yellow 3M buffing pads.

 

[tricyclerob]

Phil,
Looks great! Nice job!
I guess I should had added to the post that I used a spritzer for the water as well, forgot that part. Although, I do have to add I do get a little nervous using power tools around any water.

I think the real key is once they're shined up, maintain, maintain so they don't get to the sanding point again.

I was looking back to find an original photo of "Nunyet" but found only a few. Not a real good closeup, but...

It's a 1970 O'Day Mariner that had sat in a boatyard on the Chesapeake for estimates that vary from 6 to 8 to 10 years. No one knew for sure and the general consensus was it had been there "forever".
In addition to the obvious poor condition of the exterior, the bottom was full of blisters, so soda blast, and West System repair, 8 coats worth.
That's the problem with love at first sight.
I had to post one in it's current state as my "Mini-Crusier". Just finished building new stern rail for 95 watt panel.
Lunacy is in the eye of the beholder I guess.
rob j
P.S. I should add, what's the best way to make a $600 boat worth $3000? Spend $6000 on it.

 

[IH82BL8]

Rob!

Those results are utterly amazing! I'm optomistic again about the potential for my own boat. I have the compressor and the DA pneumatic sander to do the job. My question is where did you get the scotch pads? Do you know if they are also available with an adhesive back? I'm in Deale, MD. Thanks.

 

[philwsailz]

I have found that the big 10" random orbit buffer polisher like you will find in the automotive finish section at WalMart is an excellent machine to use with the scotchbrite pads. Pup a terrycloth bonnet on the machine and the pads stick well enough as long as you apply a small amount of pressure. No adhesive needed. The relatively low speed keeps the pad from burnishing itself and you can use the large full-size pad to sand a lot of area pretty quickly.

Another thing I found out about 10 years ago was that the scotchbtire pads can be used dry if necessary. They are so open grained they will not load like a sanding disc.

I buy the scotchbrite pads when I need them at a local auto refinishing store.

 

[tricyclerob]

Rob!
My question is where did you get the scotch pads? Do you know if they are also available with an adhesive back? I'm in Deale, MD. Thanks.

I don't think they come with adhesive back, but the good news is you can flip them over and use the other side. I know West Marine has them in like 3 packs, but I ordered a box on line as I also use them for lot's of other things, sanding in between varnish coats after the first 1-2 coats, cleaning parts, etc...
I think they come 8x10 [7x9?] or around that size, [I'm not in the shop right now] so you can only get 1 circle out of a pad but for this use they last pretty long as they don't load up. Plus you end up with another piece left over to use for whatever.
For my 20 footer, I might have used 4, maybe 5 so you don't need a lot.

The "Hook and Loop" backing pads for your d/a are also on line lots of places or probably anyplace that sells auto supplies or body shop supplies.
Just make sure you get the right shaft size and if it's "male or female so to speak. Most pads for d/a's are 5/16 with a bolt on the pad and a "nut" [female] on the sander.

I think I ordered both off "Amazon". [With gas prices high and time dear, and shipping fast, I order just about everything on line nowadays.]

rob j

 

[kbbarton]

Great insight, everyone - thanks!

Next question: I have been doing a little research on variable-speed polishers, and ideally the one I choose will do good work on both my boat and car. I noticed that some are "random-orbital" and some just "orbital". Is one more suited than the other for what I'd like to use it for?

 

[tricyclerob]

Great insight, everyone - thanks!

Next question: I have been doing a little research on variable-speed polishers, and ideally the one I choose will do good work on both my boat and car. I noticed that some are "random-orbital" and some just "orbital". Is one more suited than the other for what I'd like to use it for?

I think anything called "orbital" or "random orbital" is not what you want. With these the pad does spin but also occilates.

What you want is a variable speed rotory sander/polisher. This is the one I bought from Harbor Frieght and it worked well.
http://www.harborfreight.com/7-electronic-polishersander-with-digital-rpm-display-69696.html
They have 39.00 models that I've heard also work well.
Normally I buy "name brand" but I don't see this getting a ton of use so I went cheaper.
rob j

 

[caguy]

That really is beautiful, Bob. I notice that the Oday seems to have some large flat surfaces to work on compared to as Catalina. The absence of the toe rail, hand rails and deck hardware makes me jealous. That is what drives me crazy about doing the deck of the Cat. Where is water involved that prohibits the use of an electric sander?
Thanks for the tip on the Scotch bright pads. For the nook and crannies I have used a my Dremmel Multi-mate triangular sanding pad with microfiber cloths with some success, but it sounds like the Scots bright will save a lot of time.
Thanks again
Frank

 

[philwsailz]

Here is effort today going towards the bow

 

[philwsailz]

Here is the one I use

 

[philwsailz]

Remember that fluorescent lights are the most revealing to work under. I hate them but I love them. The only problem is you gotta know when you can stop. An incandescent or halogen light is handy to check your work. Many flaws you see in fluorescent will never go away in that light. Change you light source or use sunlight and you will appreciate your work a lot more.

 

[philwsailz]

If you get to work inside......

 

[shemandr]

The gel coat on my boat has little faint black specks all over it,
Kristian

I just took delivery of a new love and it had black spots on the deck. I was about to go all orbital a la Mainsail but before my wife used some windex on the deck and they came off. The boat's going in the water. Next fall I may do the hull - it would look great.

 

[Maine Sail]

Rob!

Those results are utterly amazing! I'm optomistic again about the potential for my own boat. I have the compressor and the DA pneumatic sander to do the job. My question is where did you get the scotch pads? Do you know if they are also available with an adhesive back? I'm in Deale, MD. Thanks.

The best "Scotch" pads I have found are made by Festool. They are Velcro attach and the dust will suck through them... They have multiple grits.. I often use them on aluminum pieces to prep them for anodizing but they can work well on gelcoat too.. Grainger also has a bunch of brands of these pads but I find the quality to be rather abhorrent compared to the Festool "Scotch" pads..

 

[tricyclerob]

" The absence of the toe rail, hand rails and deck hardware makes me jealous. That is what drives me crazy about doing the deck of the Cat. Where is water involved that prohibits the use of an electric sander?"

Frank, I had removed some of the deck hardware and the grab rails and had coaming, etc off the stern in preparation for adding the stern rail. That's sorta what prompted the topside polishing. It does make it easier/safer with less stuff to work around.
For the initial "sanding" I used a 6" d/a air sander with green scotch bright and a heavy concentration of Simple Green and water. It cleans everything really well, [ground-in smudges] eliminate dust, and I think it just sands easier with the soapy water to lubricate. I think it also reduces the tendency of the pad to "catch" on things.
rob j

 

[BigEasy]

I really like the Makita buffer/polishers. I purchased one about 15 years ago after seeing the boat yard use them. This is definitely a heavy weight industrial type machine. The polishers are highly rated on Amazon, where you can read the reviews. No regrets after all these years. The only problem that I had with it was I got the power cord wrapped around the bonnet! Was able to order a replacement cord online & now back to work!
I really need to research using the foam bonnets instead of wool. I primarily use Collinite's paste wax as my first choice; still highly rated by Practical Sailor over the years.

 

[IH82BL8]

My question is where did you get the scotch pads? Do you know if they are also available with an adhesive back?

I was at Home Depot the other night and found a conversion disc--adhesive on one side, hook and loop on the other, for around $5!

 

[TahoeMAC]

I agree with Tricyclerob; harbor freight model works a charm. I used it to do mine recently (see post Mac22 bottom/blister job on this forum). The machine worked great for sanding the bottom crud, blisters, etc. and was awesome with the polishing bonnet to do the whole hull and bring back that new (almost) shine to the entire boat.
cheers,

 

[spraygun]

When you learn the art of compounding and waxing.You can achieve this.