Offshoreonly.com - Buffing not going so well..

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Quote:

Originally Posted by glassdave (Post 3718700)

Boat looks great! :cool:

Thx Dave... That A/C cool the Cig????

Quote:

Originally Posted by JLS (Post 3718811)

Where can you purchase FOY ?
Thanks

I believe you can purchase direct through his website. www.fountainofyouthrestore.com. Let Kevin know Glass Dave and Brad from Michigan sent you there... Keeps us in good graces with Kevin...... and maybe some free stuff up the line:lolhit:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Full Force (Post 3718491)

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e4...g/P6217529.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e4...g/P6217524.jpg

Your process is much like mine but I add another step with Finesse and seal it with Colonite Marine Fleet Wax. My 32 year old Formula never looked better. +1 on the 3M.

[IMG]http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/w...9/DSC_0032.jpg[/IMG]

http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/w...9/DSC_0034.jpg

Go over the whole with magic eraser then FOY products all the way. Great results.

I had the same problem for the first few years with my '88 Fountain. Kind of chalky/orangepeel surface on the sides, Imron paint. I end up taping off the stripes because they either bleed or buff right off if you're using a really aggressive compound. I also (because of wax buildup and a porous surface) had the staining from any type of brown compound. I have used 3M Heavy duty on other boats and it works well, but didnt work on this w/white. Neither did the brown Leverage O.R. The best combo I've found was to completely strip all wax (hot pressure washer or Magic Eraser or dish detergent) then use Menzerna Power Gloss. It is white, cuts at first then breaks down and polishes. Then I cover everything with Leverage (now Spider Wax) because it goes on/off very easily and doesn't leave any buildup/residue. I had trouble with any types of wax building up, they would just smear and stain in the next time I tried to compound. So stripping is key, then white compound, and using a non-wax sealer. Took me a few seasons to figure this out. :angry-smiley-038: Hope this helps.

Also based on this thread I might try FOY products and/or the new white 3M, feedback seems good.

Quote:

Originally Posted by waterboy222 (Post 3717910)

I'm trying to get my new (to me) Formula buffed out so the hullsides match the deck. The deck was buffed recently before I purchased it and it looks fantastic. But the hullsides are in pretty poor shape.

Im using Leverage's Oxidation Remover and I'm having trouble with either the product or my technique.

First off, the boat has a white hull with black and red stripes in the gelcoat. The colors are running and staining which is creating even MORE work. The black and red polish up to a mirror finish just with the wool pad and LOR. But when the pad hits the white, it rubs the red off the pad and into the gel leaving a stain. Should I be cleaning the pad between colors or using seperate pads?

It also seems like my pad is gunking up and burning the gel. There's a few places that I had to use the OR and a scotchbrite pad to get the brown marks out of the gel. I'm using a Harbor Freight cheapy rotary buffer with a 7" wool pad set to about 4 out of 6 on the speed.

I've tried finding some youtube videos for techniques and its all going so much smoother on the videos than what I'm experiencing. It seems like the pad gets gunked up and then it grabs the gel and tries to pull the buffer out of my hand and usually leaves a burnt mark on the gel. I've tried slowing the buffer down, using more, using less, doing it by hand, and seem to be getting poor results all around.

Am I just putting too much product on? Should I be cleaning the pad every few feet? I worked about an hour and only got a 2x2 section done and it didn't even come out that great.. I didn't think it was "that" oxidized because it doesn't feel chalky. Should I be using a less or more aggressive product?

I have 15 years experience detailing boats. Here is a few suggestions. I would make sure you are using a Makita 9227C or similar rotary buffer with the right supplies such as

1000, 1500 and 2000 grit sand paper
3M Super Duty Compound
Pink Buff Magic Polishing Compound
Compounding Pads White (2-3)
Polishing Pads Yellow
Collinite 885 Paste Wax

As far as the color bleeding, that is the compounds removing the lays of dead gelcoat faded from the sun. That is a good sign and shows you are making progress. I would agree with the comment about taping the areas you are not going to be working but also understand how much time and expense that ads. If you are not going to tape, start on the color part and compound throughly the colar areas (don't worry about the bleeding). Next when you are finished with the color you can move to the white sections compounding them. 3M super duty compound will remove the oxidation and any staining left from the color areas. When you get to polishing (to bring out the shine) you would duplicate the same progress. Follow up the process by using Collinite 885 Paste wax to seal the deal! I have managed a boat detail operation in Chicago for 15 years and would be available for any questions regarding the detailing topic. I may write a quick tips and tricks of the detailing industry to share with others. Any particular topics?

[IMG]http://i457.photobucket.com/albums/q...-13-41_965.jpg[/IMG]

Before/after video

[YOUTUBE]http://youtu.be/PQkMsywC4Ds[/YOUTUBE]

http://youtu.be/PQkMsywC4Ds

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