Wet sand and wheel?
 

On avarage how many times can you wet sand and wheel out boat?

Till ya see fiberglass :D



Not sure if there is any rule of thumb here. First make sure the finish is gel and not paint. Some boats, like the 38 ZX i have, have a clear coat on the gel on the sides of the boat but not the deck. If its gel i would imagine as many times as you care to. The gel is going to be the same at all levels, or should be anyway. There could be a point the UV damage is sever enough that sanding and buffing is a waste of time though. At that point the effort put into restoring the surface is about the same as painting it. Hope this helps.

I was kind of wondering this my self, So Dave your saying on any typical Gel Coat finished boat that is great shape I can continue to use a mild cleaner like 3mm Finesse once a season with maybe something a little more aggressive every other season for say the next 10 years with out significantly thinning the gel coat? ….The boat is always racked stored inside when not in use. Thanks……..

Should gel be wet sanded with block rather than a da

Yes that should be fine, gelcoat is pretty durable. In all my experience I've never buffed through, sanded yes but buffed no. Like anything there is a limit though, with paint the margin is very small but gelcoat is generally pretty thick. Biggest issue with gel is gonna be UV damage and that can run pretty deep. If you keep up on it you shouldn't have a problem. My boat is ten years old and still looks almost as new and the gel is nice and bright white. I use Fountain of Youths totally buff once a year and their Quick Shine the rest of the time with Power One on the running surface.


http://www.fountainofyouthrestore.co...outh_Home.html




either works but i use a DA unless i need to straighten something out.

Look close!
 

Be sure porosity hasnt started to show before any sanding begins

Seems to make for a nicer job :drink:

the block does a nicer job?

How does that change the equation? What would be the porosity test, or what do you look for?

DA is faster but the Block will give a flater straighter finish :drink: