Tips on fighting fiberglass oxidation

[go boater]

can anyone describe how I can go about getting a 20 year old fiberglass boat to shine like new?

specifically, i'm trying to avoid incurring costs of a full paint job but want to fight the years of oxidation, minor fiberglass repairs and the "shadow" on the transom from the last boat name. a detailer mentioned wet-sanding with 1500-2000 grit paper, then compounding and buffing and then polish and followed by a teflon wax however i don't want to pay $38 per hour (received an estimate north of $5k to do the whole boat )

this is a project i am fully capable of tackling myself with a little guidance so as not to burn through the gelcoat and with a little knowledge in what supplies I should use

thanks to all!

[jawz12]

you need a variable speed buffer,that's first
then you're gonna need 3m heavy rubbing compound
then you're gonna need colonite fleet wax.
using the buffer,you will not burn the gel coat,it's tough stuff,not like clear coat on a vehicle.there's other products out there,"color restorers","poly glow",save your money,buy and use what i told you,you can do it yourself...

[go boater]

you need a variable speed buffer,that's first
then you're gonna need 3m heavy rubbing compound
then you're gonna need colonite fleet wax.
using the buffer,you will not burn the gel coat,it's tough stuff,not like clear coat on a vehicle.there's other products out there,"color restorers","poly glow",save your money,buy and use what i told you,you can do it yourself...

Thanks. Solid feedback!

[clt_capt]

Jimmy is dead on. Take your time, only work a small area at a time with the compound.

[go boater]

Found this info on another website... Any validity to it?



Posted: May 25 2005 at 12:31am | IP Logged

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wet sanding and polishing can be labor intensive and you need the right tools and equip to get a deep shine back. The rule of thumb is that is you can feel a scratch with your nails you will have to wet sand it out. I would go with the 2000 grit paper to sand them out. Or if you want to speed up the process go with 1500 till the scratches are gone. Dry area with a towel and look to see if you can see the scratches. If no, then go over all sanded areas with 2000 grit to finish. This will make the polishing process much easier. To wet sand get a bucket with water, spray bottle with 3 pumps of dish soap in it for lubercation, and a garden hose. wash the scratched area so no dirt. Then spray with soap. Then fold the paper in half and sand with the palm of your hand not your finger tips. Or get a 3m wet sanding block about three bucks. Now you got the scratches out. Get a rotary buffer! Don't even try one of those orbital POS. please. Rotary buffer with a wool pad and Meguyers dimond cut compound. Spin it with your force directly in the center of the pad, use your palm if you need. Work a small area. 1x1 or so. This compound is clay based and the clay particles begin course and break down into a finer polish as you go. Work area to a near perfect shine. This is the most important step because no other compound strength will bring back the deep luster from sanding. You may be satisfied with this look. If your anything like me though, you'll go a little further. The wool pad will leave fine swirl marks and that ok. That's it's job. Now, a red foam Meguires pad with the cleaner polish compound. Use recomended rpms on bottles. This will thake out all the swirl marks left by the wool pad and leave the boat looking super. Go over the boat with this all over if ya like, I do. Then......ah yes, I use a teflon sealent with the yellow Meguyers pad all over. Absolute glass! Your stuff will look brand new. Or get the polymer sealent it's meguyers #20 and great on black also. Your gel coat is super thick so don't even worry about going through it. Stay off the stickers! Good luck. Sounds like a lot but it's really not. 3 pads, 2 compounds and some wax.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I can tell you from first hand and current experience that if you use 2000 or 1500 grit paper, you will do nothing to gelcoat but take out the shine. Gelcoat is far to hard for 1500 grit paper to do much of anything. My advice:

If trying to remove oxidized gelcoat, start with 600 then compound with course compound or go one step higher, then compound. THis approach assume machine compounding. Do not even try to compound by hand.

If trying to remove a deep scratch, then start with 400 and work your way up. Grits higher than 600 and you start wasting your energy.

If you start with 400, you should use a rigid sanding block (NOT rubber). 600 can be used by hand since it cuts very little. Always start and finish with wet sanding using soapy water to help the paper glide and avoid chatter (my word).

[clt_capt]

IMHO wet sanding is a last resort - If you cannot restore it with heavy duty compound.

The power buffer is your friend - I'm not talking about an orbital buffer - more like a disk grinder with a wool pad.

I would try to buff it out first. As the article points out you will have to buff it after wet sanding anyway, so try a small area buffing first.

[jawz12]

wet sanding...
hold on a second there bobalouie...
wet sanding is definatley a last resort,using 600g paper ??? that's some rough stuff,it's gonna eat the gel up quick,and,after you use that,you're gonna have to use either 1000 or 1200 to remove the scratches,and yes,you will have to buff with compound after using a wet sand...

perhaps,you should contact a guy who does this stuff ???

here's gentleman i use for customer's boats...ken post 609-335-0368 give him a call,he'll take care of you...

[Storm]

3M super duty rubbing compond applied with variable speed buffer/polisher followed by good carnauba wax. I purchased a Makita for a decent price. I'm not necessarily a fan of Makita, but I was told that Makita polishers are popular.

My boat had some minor oxidation. I buffed the boat two years in a row. The second year the hull looked considerably better than the first year. If I didn't have a work boat, I would polish and wax the hull every six months.

Anybody can do a good job compounding and waxing. Pick a day when it's not too hot or sunny, and expect your arms to be about a foot longer when you get done.

[nautiduck]

I had decent results doing basically what Jimmy (Jawz12) described. Only I used, I think, the 3m light compound. I do know it was 3m but Im positive it wasnt the heavy compound. I definately think the heavy would have worked better if it cuts more (I was told it would be too much, but I think they were basing their opinion on a cars finish). Mine was still a little hazy when I was finished polishing but I was beat and didnt want to do it again. I used Meguires wax and I wasnt thrilled with that either. As far as the buffer I used a Craftsman variable speed that I picked up at a garage sale for 10 bucks and it had plenty of power. If your going to do it,listen to Jimmy he definately knows his shit.

[TheBigI]

1. 3m heavy duty compound
2. 3m finesse it II
3. Rejex