Right there with ya Rick: Supplies....check. Ambition....check. Patience this spring while anxious to get in the water fully at war against all of the above... :O)
Rubbing Compound Staining Gelcoat
- Thread starter markwbird
- Start date
You are going to love your boat a bit more if you follow this advice. I kind of poo hooed the micro fiber rags but they work really nice and are not that expensive. I got pretty much everything but the wax at my auto parts store. I already had a cheaper buffer from Jamestown Diostributors but if I had it to do over I would go for the Makita. You definitely want a multi speed unit and the soft start is nice. The compounds are not cheap and the soft start helps to keep from slinging the stuff all over the universe.
Buff hard. Actually you need to buff easy but a lot, Steve.
Buff hard. Actually you need to buff easy but a lot, Steve.
I thought my O'day was white until I followed Maine's tutorial on buffing and waxing. Once the chalk was gone the true color, an off white, came through.
A lot of good advice here but if you follow Maine's advice, you will be happy and won't have to go through it all again the following year. Mine came out great and only needs a wash and wax this season.
A lot of good advice here but if you follow Maine's advice, you will be happy and won't have to go through it all again the following year. Mine came out great and only needs a wash and wax this season.
sand/rub/finesse it/wax
It's already been mentioned, so for what it's worth:
I had a 1981 Mac Gregor which was VERY chalky!
took a few hours, and a bit of elbow grease, and she shined by doing what others have said:
wet sand with 800 - 1000 grit
3m rubbing compound, which if I remember was tan in color. IMPORTANT to note, keep surface / pad WET while buffing!
3m finesse it, again keeping surface wet
wax with a damp micro fiber, wax on wax off, then 2nd coat was on…wait… wipe off.
Be sure to use proper pads for 'cutting' and 'polishing', unlike car ruffing, keep boat wet with spray bottle, and keep pad wet. If it dries… it's easier to burn through gel coat.
plenty of info if you google search buffing gel coat, keep buffer wet, keep buffer moving… put the time and effort into it, and you'll more than very likely be very happy with results!
Hi,
It's already been mentioned, so for what it's worth:
I had a 1981 Mac Gregor which was VERY chalky!
took a few hours, and a bit of elbow grease, and she shined by doing what others have said:
wet sand with 800 - 1000 grit
3m rubbing compound, which if I remember was tan in color. IMPORTANT to note, keep surface / pad WET while buffing!
3m finesse it, again keeping surface wet
wax with a damp micro fiber, wax on wax off, then 2nd coat was on…wait… wipe off.
Be sure to use proper pads for 'cutting' and 'polishing', unlike car ruffing, keep boat wet with spray bottle, and keep pad wet. If it dries… it's easier to burn through gel coat.
plenty of info if you google search buffing gel coat, keep buffer wet, keep buffer moving… put the time and effort into it, and you'll more than very likely be very happy with results!
All the Harbor Fright buffers really "stink", when compared to a quality tool like the Makita 9227C, but they are far better than the ARM 2000...
OK, here are the steps I’ve used on my chalky hulls in the past:
First off you will need to see if there is anything left to the gelcoat (I have used ceramabrite which is for glass cooktops) just on a small area to see if there is even a possibility of getting it clean and bright…
If it seems OK then go to step two, deep cleaning the hull, and I mean DEEP CLEAN, the most likely issue you are having with the dulling, or graying under the wax is just dirt residue.
So, after you have scrubbed the hull down (it should already look a lot better especially when wet) you need to rinse it thoroughly, you do not need to dry it at this point.
Now comes the compounding… DO NOT USE A GRINDER, I know that they look like a polishing machine, but they spin at a much higher RPM and will undoubtedly burn the gelcoat off the boat. The machine should not be faster than 1200 RPM and you should be familiar with the proper use of it.
Now for the surface preparation; Look over the entire hull for any blisters, gouges, deep scratches, cracks, etc. as these should be dealt with accordingly or avoided during the compounding process. For most small gouges and some cracking or crazing, you can use a fine 800-1000 grit wet sand paper to smooth it out then apply some sealer (lightly) to the area and let it dry. Also, you will need to pay close attention to any lifting or pealing decals, loose badges , emblems, capacity plates, or any raised points and screws as these will tear up the pads and also (in the case of stickers) release glue which will foul up the pads and smear over the area you are cleaning, screws and other metallic attachments are even worse, as small metallic shavings often chip off of poorly plated chrome parts and rust particles can get into the pads turning them effectively into grinders which can further gouge the surfaces you are trying to clean.
You should have plenty of pads, buckets of soapy water to clean them in and piles of clean soft cloths (ONLY SOFT COTTON CLOTHS) I get cotton flour sack-cloth or cheese cloth with no seams.
VERY IMPORTANT: After each pass with the compound you must rinse the area to remove any leftover dirt or compound left behind.
Check surface, if it is not smooth and chalk-free then wash it off and start again. You will know when it is ready for wax when you can wipe it with a dark cloth and get no chalk or compound residue on it.
Next is to start waxing… WAX ON, WAX OFF… Do not let the wax completely dry on the hull, as you will just be removing most of it when you go back to buff it out. Keep the boat out of direct sunlight and work in small areas (3’ x3’) is about an arm’s reach all around, and again, use several pads as not to take the dirty wax and smear it over a clean hull. I use 6 pads for compounding and 4-6 for waxing with a final buffing with a clean one. Please use a quality brand of pads and cleaning products (unless you don’t mind spending the better part of two back-breaking days re-cleaning and re-applying every couple of months…
I have a 20’ Hunter (mostly trailered) and only need to do this twice a season. I typically will do a major scrub down, compound and wax at the end of the season just before winterizing, then sometime in mid-season. With proper maintenance (a soap & water wash down every time I use it) my boat looks really nice…
A WORD OF CAUTION: Never use wax on the deck! (unless you really like swimming or breaking a leg).
From experience
I've done four or five different boats, all heavily oxidized fixer uppers. It took some trial and error and really observing the hull. Ill try not to restate all of the other posts.
- first off sanding is a LAST option, the gel coat is a layer of stuff that is essentially dry hard mud. Every manufacturer has a different thickness. Generally figure an 1/8" NEW. Every time you put sand paper to is it significantly takes away from that layer.
- Think of your compound as a sandpaper in a liquid form. The "heavy oxidation" compound is heavier sandpaper. The "slight oxidation" is lighter sandpaper. The finer you go the better the shine. "Polish" is just the finest liquid sandpaper.
- Wax is the layer of glaze you put over your already finished, shinny surface, meant to protect the gel coat from dulling from the exposure of the UV rays of the sun.
- So don't wax it until your happy with the shine. You will gain some shine with the wax. When you start all this you need to first make sure all the wax is off the hull. Usually with a stripper cleaner.
Good luck and post some pics for us
I've done four or five different boats, all heavily oxidized fixer uppers. It took some trial and error and really observing the hull. Ill try not to restate all of the other posts.
- first off sanding is a LAST option, the gel coat is a layer of stuff that is essentially dry hard mud. Every manufacturer has a different thickness. Generally figure an 1/8" NEW. Every time you put sand paper to is it significantly takes away from that layer.
- Think of your compound as a sandpaper in a liquid form. The "heavy oxidation" compound is heavier sandpaper. The "slight oxidation" is lighter sandpaper. The finer you go the better the shine. "Polish" is just the finest liquid sandpaper.
- Wax is the layer of glaze you put over your already finished, shinny surface, meant to protect the gel coat from dulling from the exposure of the UV rays of the sun.
- So don't wax it until your happy with the shine. You will gain some shine with the wax. When you start all this you need to first make sure all the wax is off the hull. Usually with a stripper cleaner.
Good luck and post some pics for us
Lots of really great info. Thanks to all. The bad news is that this is going to be more work than I thought. I had originally planned to do it myself in the slip but with all the sanding and compounding and acid washing, etc, it looks like I will have to haul her out to avoid all the runoff into the water.