Soon as it gets a bit warmer I will start cleaning/waxing process. Until now I have always done it by hand, and my question is...is a power buffer worth the cost and is it tricky to use without screwing things up? What have been your experiences? Santa will be giving me a Sears a $100 gift card for Christmas (Mrs Santa wispered that ahead of time)and maybe a power buffer would be a good thing to own. What say you?
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To Buff or not to Buff...???
Once you buff with power you will never go back to doing it by hand. I bought a (2 handed) power buffer with variable speed control from Harbor Freight. I think it is 6,000 rpm and at the time I paid $50. you will need to buy a double sided 3M wool buffing pad which has a center disc allowing it to be threaded onto the buffer arbor. They are not cheap but you get what you pay for in this case (around $35). You will also need an arbor extender in order for the pad to have room to curve inward as you press against the hull. You should be able to everything you need for your $100. If you do it right you will end up with a gloss finish worth a million $$. The 3M pad (sorry, can't remember the part number) can be hand washed and then spin dry it using the buffer and let it finish drying in the sun. Any other pad will not do a professional job. I suggest you go to your local automotive paint/finish shop, they will know what you need. Also talk to them about fiberglass compounds and waxes. West Marine makes a fiberglass restorer/wax that works pretty good, just follow the instructions. 3M "Perfection" compound really worked well on a 27 year old hull that was badly oxidized. Be sure to use a wax that has teflon in it. Starbrite makes an RV wax with teflon that holds up well in salt water environments. Be careful with the power buffer on the edges of gelcoat, it doesn't take a lot of pressure to heat up the gelcoat and rub it right off. On flat surfaces you are pretty safe. 10 minutes experience and you will be pro. Don't buy one of those cheap orbital vibrating sanders Sears sells, you will be wasting your money. I hope this helps you out....good luck.
Once you buff with power you will never go back to doing it by hand. I bought a (2 handed) power buffer with variable speed control from Harbor Freight. I think it is 6,000 rpm and at the time I paid $50. you will need to buy a double sided 3M wool buffing pad which has a center disc allowing it to be threaded onto the buffer arbor. They are not cheap but you get what you pay for in this case (around $35). You will also need an arbor extender in order for the pad to have room to curve inward as you press against the hull. You should be able to everything you need for your $100. If you do it right you will end up with a gloss finish worth a million $$. The 3M pad (sorry, can't remember the part number) can be hand washed and then spin dry it using the buffer and let it finish drying in the sun. Any other pad will not do a professional job. I suggest you go to your local automotive paint/finish shop, they will know what you need. Also talk to them about fiberglass compounds and waxes. West Marine makes a fiberglass restorer/wax that works pretty good, just follow the instructions. 3M "Perfection" compound really worked well on a 27 year old hull that was badly oxidized. Be sure to use a wax that has teflon in it. Starbrite makes an RV wax with teflon that holds up well in salt water environments. Be careful with the power buffer on the edges of gelcoat, it doesn't take a lot of pressure to heat up the gelcoat and rub it right off. On flat surfaces you are pretty safe. 10 minutes experience and you will be pro. Don't buy one of those cheap orbital vibrating sanders Sears sells, you will be wasting your money. I hope this helps you out....good luck.
To Buff or not to Buff...Part II
When you go to the Harbor Freight web site, search for "Polisher". They have 2 listed. 92623-2VGA 24.99 90820-OVGA 59.95 Both are variable up to 3,000 rpm. Remember, you get what you pay for.
When you go to the Harbor Freight web site, search for "Polisher". They have 2 listed. 92623-2VGA 24.99 90820-OVGA 59.95 Both are variable up to 3,000 rpm. Remember, you get what you pay for.
go big or stay home w/ the tools
Depending on the levels of oxidation, scrapes & scratches you have in your gelcoat, you may want to concider the higher end polishers ($ 180.00 - 250.00). If you just want to lightly touch up and wax the lower cost units are OK but to lean into the boat and remove the heavy stuff quickly you are going to need some hosepower and 2500 RPM minimum. Use rubbing compound ro romove defects, clean the boat thoroughly and then wax w/ a new pad. You can make a badly chaulked and scratched boat like new. Just be careful on the corners.
Depending on the levels of oxidation, scrapes & scratches you have in your gelcoat, you may want to concider the higher end polishers ($ 180.00 - 250.00). If you just want to lightly touch up and wax the lower cost units are OK but to lean into the boat and remove the heavy stuff quickly you are going to need some hosepower and 2500 RPM minimum. Use rubbing compound ro romove defects, clean the boat thoroughly and then wax w/ a new pad. You can make a badly chaulked and scratched boat like new. Just be careful on the corners.
Heavy Oxidation
I forgot to mention.....I did a test using the 3,000 rpm buffer with 3M pad and compound. I was not happy with the results because of the heavy oxidation. There are different grits of compound but I opted to wet sanded the hull (HC 33,1978) with 800 grit then 1000. I washed the hull with soap, let it dry and then went after it with the compound and buffer, followed by another wash and then a wax job, resulting in a glossy looking hull. She looks pretty good for an old girl!!!!!!
I forgot to mention.....I did a test using the 3,000 rpm buffer with 3M pad and compound. I was not happy with the results because of the heavy oxidation. There are different grits of compound but I opted to wet sanded the hull (HC 33,1978) with 800 grit then 1000. I washed the hull with soap, let it dry and then went after it with the compound and buffer, followed by another wash and then a wax job, resulting in a glossy looking hull. She looks pretty good for an old girl!!!!!!
Try New Glass 2
If you haven't checked out this product from the Chandlery, your missing out. Results are amazing and no buffing or heavy rubbing needed. I would never was or buff again. Try it, I'm sure you'll like it.
If you haven't checked out this product from the Chandlery, your missing out. Results are amazing and no buffing or heavy rubbing needed. I would never was or buff again. Try it, I'm sure you'll like it.
303
Try doing google search 303 products inc and go down about six or so lines to 303 products,a lot of info what and how to clean and wax,plus tips on how the pros do it. nick
Try doing google search 303 products inc and go down about six or so lines to 303 products,a lot of info what and how to clean and wax,plus tips on how the pros do it. nick
New Glass, Vertglas etc are indeed phenomenal....
Everyone--including me--LOVES the result when they apply it the first time. That is, until it finally deteriorates enough to require completely stripping it ALL off and re-applying. I've never met anyone--including me--who's ever re-applied it after going through THAT agony.
Everyone--including me--LOVES the result when they apply it the first time. That is, until it finally deteriorates enough to require completely stripping it ALL off and re-applying. I've never met anyone--including me--who's ever re-applied it after going through THAT agony.
Acrylic Coatings
They make your old boat look new. VERTGLAS will yellow in 2-3 years and is difficult to remove. Poliglow is much better and won't yellow. Both are difficult to remove. I was so impressed with the initial results I stripped the Vertglas and switched to Poliglow. I highly recommend this stuff for older boats especially if you think you may be selling it in a few years
They make your old boat look new. VERTGLAS will yellow in 2-3 years and is difficult to remove. Poliglow is much better and won't yellow. Both are difficult to remove. I was so impressed with the initial results I stripped the Vertglas and switched to Poliglow. I highly recommend this stuff for older boats especially if you think you may be selling it in a few years
waxing
To me the hardest part is putting the wax on evenly, but then again, I use the paste 303 wax, not buffing it. Sometimes I think since the most important part of the wax's job is to protect the gelcoat, increasing the gelcoat's life, I wonder what would happen if I just applied the wax and not buffed it off. Sure it would look ugly until it was taken sailing a few times, but the protection may last longer. I haven't tried it yet because I'm afraid I will get wax buildup in some areas and not others. So for now I put two coats of wax on and buff by hand each one. I figured if I got a power buffer, I'd buff too much of the wax off and end up needing to wax more often. Oh yeah...incase some of you don't know like some I know, if your boat has white powder on it, that's the gelcoat coming off. You need to get wax on there to protect the gelcoat.
To me the hardest part is putting the wax on evenly, but then again, I use the paste 303 wax, not buffing it. Sometimes I think since the most important part of the wax's job is to protect the gelcoat, increasing the gelcoat's life, I wonder what would happen if I just applied the wax and not buffed it off. Sure it would look ugly until it was taken sailing a few times, but the protection may last longer. I haven't tried it yet because I'm afraid I will get wax buildup in some areas and not others. So for now I put two coats of wax on and buff by hand each one. I figured if I got a power buffer, I'd buff too much of the wax off and end up needing to wax more often. Oh yeah...incase some of you don't know like some I know, if your boat has white powder on it, that's the gelcoat coming off. You need to get wax on there to protect the gelcoat.
vertglass
I agree with Peggy one hundred percent on that one < I applied poliglow and it looked pretty good for a few years . When it was time to re apply it finally came off and getting it off was a job . I am back to using meguiras 3 step , and have some polliglow I will let go cheap, Mike
I agree with Peggy one hundred percent on that one < I applied poliglow and it looked pretty good for a few years . When it was time to re apply it finally came off and getting it off was a job . I am back to using meguiras 3 step , and have some polliglow I will let go cheap, Mike
Vertgals removal with what?
I know Vertglas sells their own remover. Any idea what else (cheaper) will remove it? Thought about xylene, but that's pretty nasty stuff...
I know Vertglas sells their own remover. Any idea what else (cheaper) will remove it? Thought about xylene, but that's pretty nasty stuff...
Vertglas Removal
After my Vertglas turned yellow I removed it and switched to Poliglow which does not seem to yellow with age. During the removal process I tried several techniques which involved commericial acrylic floor wax removal and #600 wet sand paper, There was a lot of gelcoat on my old Hunter and I stopped sanding when the waer i was using turned white indicating I was through the clear coating. I applied Poliglow immediately after sanding with no need to buff, rub or polish. I wouldn't put this stuff on a new boat but it performs great on tired old gelcoat. Everyone should try it (Poliglow) a year before the sell their boat
After my Vertglas turned yellow I removed it and switched to Poliglow which does not seem to yellow with age. During the removal process I tried several techniques which involved commericial acrylic floor wax removal and #600 wet sand paper, There was a lot of gelcoat on my old Hunter and I stopped sanding when the waer i was using turned white indicating I was through the clear coating. I applied Poliglow immediately after sanding with no need to buff, rub or polish. I wouldn't put this stuff on a new boat but it performs great on tired old gelcoat. Everyone should try it (Poliglow) a year before the sell their boat
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